The family is in Maine this week; we’ve got a place on a lake near my parents. I’m bringing up an old windsurfer that’s about 14 feet long, so I’m excited about showing everyone how it’s done (!).

After we’ll be in the ocean-side town of Ocean Grove, NJ. The main sport for Jack and me will be surfing. I found this old beat-up board a few years back that I got repaired for him. Six feet long, with a single fin. Jack loves it.

He’s also a pretty good skimboarder. Watching him do that is hilarious because he puts on this “I’m cool” face as he’s whizzing by people in the surf.

Doug

Posted by Doug Donaldson at 05:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Jack is also learning Ultimate Frisbee—and I’m totally psyched. That’s one of my favorite sports from college. The other day, he and I were out tossing the disc around. We practiced the traditional throw and also the “flick” method.

We just shot some Ultimate Frisbee videos for PlaySportsTV, so I'll keep you posted on when they'll be live on the site. Until then, keep those discs flying! (Hey, remember that early glow-in-the-dark model?)

Posted by Doug Donaldson at 02:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So, my son, Jack, is enjoying his summer. Right now he’s at sleep-away camp in Maine. It’s a great, traditional place that’s been around for 100 years. All boys, 8-14, and no electronics! I can’t wait to hear how he’s enjoyed it.

We purposely didn’t schedule anything for him the first week he was out of school, back in June. The funniest thing he did then was that he and one of his best friends played on our swing set for hours. They came up with a synchronized swinging routine where they both flipped over, swung upside down while just holding on with their feet, and just other crazy stuff. Their dismount was hilarious.

Doug

Posted by Doug Donaldson at 02:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Okay, I am not the perfect parent-coach—if such a thing even exists. Plus, it’s not about being perfect, anyway.

One thing I have learned is that the game is about my son and not about me. R-E-S-P-E-C-T: You have to respect your child’s sports experiences. I learned this lesson the hard way. I used to run up and down the sidelines at Jack’s lacrosse games and scream advice—and I wasn’t even the coach. Finally, Jack told me that this just confused him, because he got advice from the coach and from me, and he didn’t know who to listen to.

I learned to keep my sideline shouts to encouragement and leave the game-time advice to the coach. Oh, yeah, I later became coach of Jack’s lacrosse team!

Posted by Doug Donaldson at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So you don’t need to know much about the sport your son or daughter plays to meaningfully share this experience with him or her.

This truth is a big part of our goal for PlaySportsTV. We want to provide straightforward instructional videos and other materials that easily give parents an understanding of the game their kid plays. A lot of our videos demonstrate particular skills you can demonstrate or drills you can run with your child.

That way, you as a parent won’t feel intimidated to just go out and play the game with your daughter or son. In the end, PlaySportsTV wants kids to develop their skills but also develop their confidence and understanding of sportsmanship. And ground-level, I think that’s comes about when we parents spend meaningful time with our kids—just knocking the ball around.

Posted by Doug Donaldson at 03:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I think a lot of parents worry that they don’t know enough about the sport their child is playing, and so don’t feel comfortable playing it with their daughter and son. I know I felt that way when Jack, my son, took up lacrosse.

It turns out that you really don’t need an in-depth knowledge of a sport to share time playing it with your child. That’s what the sports experts tell us, and I’ve found it to be true with Jack and me.

Just having fun and participating at some level with your kids in, say, soccer, baseball, or softball makes the experience better for them. It shows you care and have an interest in their interests. And, hey, you can even let them teach you a thing or two!

Posted by Doug Donaldson at 04:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)