Better Sports Parents

Camille Martens survived fear-based coaching and abuse to become a Canadian champion, Commonwealth Games champion and Olympian in rhythmic gymnastics. But she always knew there was a better way, so she now focuses on helping parents build healthy, loving sport environments.

Camille has spent four decades in sport as an athlete, coach and parent. She competed at the World Championships and Olympics, founded the Okanagan Rhythmic Gymnastics Club, and became president of Gymnastics BC, a master coach developer, and National Team Coaches Chair for 16 years. She's also the author of MVP in the Stands: Becoming the Parent Your Child Needs in Sport.

In this powerful episode, Camille talks to Scott Rintoul about moving away from home at 13, training in Russia and Bulgaria under coaches who normalized fear, weigh-ins and abuse, and competing at the Olympics on a torn labrum. She shares the toll it took on her body and relationships, why she stayed silent to protect her access, and how she tried, and sometimes failed, to build something different as a coach and parent.

You'll learn:

• The difference between "Red flags" vs. healthy "growth edges"
• Why emotional regulation is the parent's real job
• How intention and impact can be worlds apart
• Tools: keyword check-ins, a fridge scratchpad, the "buddy system"
• How to build a strong coach-parent-athlete relationship

Chapters:

0:00 Opening

1:34 Introducing Camille Martens

3:24 Early path into sport

4:54 Discovering rhythmic gymnastics

7:15 Moving to Vancouver to train

9:03 Making the national team at 13

11:01 Protecting an unhealthy environment

12:01 Fear-based coaching in Eastern Europe

13:48 The physical and emotional cost

16:14 A horrific Olympic Games

17:26 Starting a club to do it differently

18:41 Training in Russia and Bulgaria

20:34 Limited contact with her parents

22:32 Training alongside teammates in silence

23:14 The teddy bear story

24:11 Why she stayed

25:18 How the sport has changed

27:12 What a healthy environment looks like

28:35 "Red flags" vs "growth edges"

29:04 The coach-athlete-parent triangle

30:12 Spotting red flags as a parent

33:10 Founding her own club

34:06 Repeating ingrained patterns

37:11 A hard conversation with her daughter

38:02 Intention vs. impact

39:45 How her coaching evolved

41:19 Why she wrote MVP in the Stands

46:07 Parents: sport's biggest stakeholders

47:33 Emotional regulation as the real job

50:55 Buddy system and keyword check-ins

53:14 The fridge scratchpad

53:55 Coach-parent talks done right

56:29 Why she never coached her own kids

58:47 Early specialization in gymnastics

1:01:23 Gymnastics in Canada today

1:03:19 Her relationship with the sport now

1:05:15 The number one issue in youth sports

1:07:07 The compliments that mean the most

Resources:

⁠Camille Martens⁠

⁠MVP in the Stands⁠

⁠Better Sports Parents

A remarkable alternative schooling program in East Vancouver is transforming the lives of youth through the sport of running. Streetfront began as an idea nearly 50 years ago, and has blossomed into a program that turns at-risk youth who are struggling with conventional education into high school graduates who run half marathons, full marathons and beyond.

In this episode of What's Working, Streetfront's Program Lead, Trevor Stokes, describes how removing barriers to entry empowers students, why running every step with the students matters so much, and how life-changing the program has been for children who often live "in the shadows". He also reveals that Streetfront has evolved from the humblest of beginnings into a program that has seen its students run more marathons than any other high school in the world.

For more information on Streetfront, visit ⁠Streetfront's website⁠ and email Trevor at [email protected].

Chapters:

0:00 Opening

0:41 What is Streetfront?

2:17 Running as a tool for self-worth and determination

3:51 Turning "running the other way" into buy-in

4:46 Why staff run every stride with the students

5:21 How the program started in 1977

6:54 Why running is cheap, local and effective

7:52 Removing every barrier to entry

8:52 The marathon doesn't care who you are

9:54 Earning trust before earning results

11:21 Alumni who come back to run with current students

12:23 Navigating school and school board politics

14:40 The metaphor behind the mission

15:15 How kids and families find Streetfront

16:59 What success looks like for a Street Front student

18:06 300+ half and full marathons in one year

20:23 How the funding and finances come together

22:04 High expectations, not sympathy

23:31 How peers view students after the program

25:11 "When somebody wins, we all win"

26:24 Advice for communities who want to start their own program

Hayley Wickenheiser says youth sports have lost the art of play, and parents can help bring it back. The five-time Olympic medalist, emergency physician and mom shares what she'd change for youth hockey and every kid in youth sports. Hayley is a pioneer of women's hockey. She won four Olympic gold medals and one silver, plus 13 medals at the Women's World Hockey Championships (seven gold, six silver). She is in the Hockey Hall of Fame, the International Hockey Hall of Fame and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. She also played softball at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, played professional men's hockey in Sweden and Finland, worked eight years in the NHL including as an assistant general manager, and now works as an emergency room doctor. She founded Wick Fest, a hockey festival that has reached over 30,000 girls, and the Wick Hockey app. In this episode, Scott Rintoul talks with Hayley about growing up in small-town Saskatchewan, where she played hockey with the boys and heard that girls didn't belong. She explains why that made her resilient, why 70 to 80 percent of her skill came from unstructured play, and what she'd tell any parent worried their child is falling behind.

Hayley also explains:

• Why early specialization, year-round sport and early tiering often backfire
• How free play builds hockey sense and decision-making
• Why letting kids fail is one of the best things parents can do
• How coaches can skip the practice plan and just let kids play
• Why she'd choose the lower tier every time
• Why "movement is medicine" starts in youth sports

Chapters:

0:00 Opening

1:35 Introducing Hayley Wickenheiser

3:44 The hardest job of all: Parenting

7:04 Two rules: an instrument and a sport

9:10 Playing hockey with the boys in Saskachewan

10:39 "Girls don't play hockey"

14:14 Why parents lose their minds at the rink

16:50 We've lost the art of play

19:55 Why early specialization backfires

24:19 Early tiering and the Nordic model

27:06 The "little Johnny" pathway myth

29:21 Backyard rink creativity

31:03 Hockey robots

3:51 Why kids need to fail

35:47 Coaches: be brave, skip the practice plan

38:05 What a great youth coach looks like

40:07 Winning, losing and participation medals

44:07 Movement is medicine

47:28 Wick Hockey app and Wick Fest

50:56 Keeping hockey affordable

53:56 Swim, skate and daily school PE

56:45 The 1988 Olympics and the barn ski jump

1:01:07 Why every kid needs an off-season1

03:13 Choose the lower tier

1:05:47 The coaches who believed in her

1:08:07 What would she change in youth sports

Resources:

⁠Hayley Wickenheiser⁠

⁠WickFest⁠

⁠Better Sports Parents⁠

Geroy Simon is one of the most decorated players in CFL history: three Grey Cup victories, a Most Outstanding Player award, and a place in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Since retiring, he's built a front-office career that's taken him from scouting to the CFL front office and now back to where it started: Executive Director of Revenue Share and General Manager at his alma mater, the University of Maryland.

He's also a father of four with very different journeys through sport: sons who played college football at West Point and in Canada, daughters who pursued gymnastics and their own paths. Combine that with his career, and he's sat in multiple chairs around the recruiting table.

Geroy and Scott dig into recruiting in the NIL and transfer-portal era, the difference between coaching other people's kids and coaching his own son, why he wants his kids to experience real failure, and the lessons his parents and grandmothers imprinted on him that still guide how he talks to student athletes today. Geroy also tells the story of a player nobody expected much from who's still in football today, and opens up about the toughest stretch of his own career: getting cut seven times in two years before Winnipeg gave him a second chance.

Chapters:

0:00 Opening

1:35 Introducing Geroy Simon

3:12 Being Recruited by Maryland, Then and Now

5:30 The Other Side of the Recruiting Desk

6:18 How NIL Has Changed Recruiting

7:44 Transactional vs. Transformational Athletes

9:23 His Son's Choice: West Point Over the Ivy League

12:50 The Pressure of Carrying the Simon Name

14:12 Coaching His Own Son

17:21 Checking His Ego as a Youth Coach

19:16 His Daughters' Sports Experience

20:11 The Real Impact of Youth Sports on His Kids

21:37 Growing Up a Multi-Sport Athlete

23:39 Is Year-Round Specialization Hurting Kids?

25:29 Why Football Was the Right Fit

27:26 What Made His Love for the Game Endure

32:45 Lessons His Parents Imprinted on Him

34:39 Control What You Can Control

37:16 Giving Back: Lessons From His Grandmothers

38:40 How Family Dynamics Affect Recruiting

40:08 Has He Ever Walked Away From a Recruit?

41:01 Advice for Overly Involved Parents

42:32 NIL, the Transfer Portal, and Free Agency Culture

44:28 Building Culture in the Transfer Portal Era

47:14 Is This Bleeding Into Youth Sports?

49:19 Wanting His Own Daughters to Fail

51:37 How Great Coaches Make Every Player Feel Valued

53:18 Meeting Every Kid's Different "Why"

58:34 Comparison Culture and Highlight Reels

1:01:19 Educating Athletes on Gambling and Money

1:07:00 The Number One Issue in Youth Sports Today

1:08:06 Cut Seven Times: His Toughest Stretch

Resources:

Geroy Simon

Better Sports Parents

When Tim Adams noticed an abundance of siblings watching their brothers play on an after school soccer team, he started to design a program that would accommodate childcare and physical activities. Nearly 20 years later, that simple idea has become a citywide program called Free Play for Kids that serves more than 5,000 children and their families in greater Edmonton every year.

In the opening episode of What's Working, Tim explains the importance of providing accessible sports programming, why collaborative partnerships with schools and community centres are essential for our youth, and what other cities can learn from the approach Edmonton has taken in leveraging many of its public facilities to serve its population.

For more information on Free Play for Kids, visit ⁠www.freeplayforkids.com⁠ and email Tim at [email protected].

Chapters:

0:00 Introduction

1:24 Welcome Tim Adams

1:56 What Is Free Play for Kids?

4:02 The Origin Story: From CBC Journalist to Coach

6:45 From a Volunteer Club to a Staffed Program

8:24 The COVID Pivot That Changed Everything

9:49 Training Coaches and Volunteers

11:10 What Is Social-Emotional Learning in Coaching?

13:26 Why This Model Works for Families

15:36 Getting Schools and Facilities on Board

17:45 Solving the Transportation Barrier

21:18 How the Program Is Funded

23:47 Advice for Replicating This in Other Communities

26:48 How to Get in Touch With Free Play for Kids

James Paxton pitched on some of baseball's biggest stages, battling through injuries to become one of only two Canadian pitchers to ever throw a no-hitter in the big leagues, and the only one to do it on Canadian soil. Earlier this year, he came out of retirement to pitch for Team Canada at the World Baseball Classic. However, these days, most of his innings are as a husband to Katie, a father to two young kids, and co-host of The Pitch podcast.

James and Scott dig into the catch-in-the-backyard relationship with his dad that shaped his love of the game, how getting cut from an all-star team at 10 years old became one of the best things that happened to him, and why he doubts the 2026 recruiting version of James Paxton would even get looked at today. They talk through the "allostatic load" youth athletes are carrying with school, friendships, and training stacked on top of each other without the recovery time James had as a kid. They also discuss why velocity gets over-indexed in youth baseball and what are we actually trying to teach kids through sport knowing that most will never become high performance athletes. James also opens up about untangling his identity from his performance on the mound, why he sought out a therapist, and the simple parenting shift he believes matters most: praise the effort, not the result.

If you've ever wondered how a former big-league starter thinks about raising his own kids through sport, this conversation is full of hard-earned, honest perspective.

Chapters:

0:00 Opening

1:35 Introducing James Paxton

4:11 Childhood Friendships Rooted in Youth Sports

5:33 Late Physical Growth

6:41 Getting Cut From the All-Star Team at 10

8:24 Baseball Was Always His Choice

9:25 Unstructured Backyard Play vs. Skills Clinics

12:05 Where Creativity Actually Comes From

16:12 Recruited to Division I Without Elite Velocity

18:28 Why Late Developers Outperform at the Pro Level

19:38 Why Velocity at 13 Doesn't Predict Anything

20:18 Building the Mental Game With a Sports Psychologist

21:13 Are We Over-Indexing on Velocity?

22:06 Baseball's Many Paths to the Pros

23:10 The Sacrifices of a Pro Career

24:22 "Treating Young Athletes Like Professionals"

25:35 Protecting Actual Childhood as a Parent

26:45 The Line Between Joy and Serious Development

28:00 What His Parents Actually Talked About After Games

30:36 His Dad Catching Bullpens in Steel-Toe Boots

32:57 Allostatic Load: Why Kids Are Burning Out

34:37 The Fear of Not Being Seen

36:39 Less Than 1% Go Pro, So What's the Real Goal?

37:11 What Youth Sports Actually Taught Him

38:22 Travel Sports and the "Free Agent" Problem

39:32 Is Money Driving the Pressure?

41:04 Why Every Kid Needs an Off-Season

42:50 Coming Out of Retirement for the World Baseball Classic

45:36 The Calm That Defined His Career

48:08 Teaching Kids to Reach Their Own Conclusions

48:56 Why You Learn More From Failure Than Success

50:47 The Mentors Who Shaped His Career

52:34 The Value of Playing Across Age Groups

53:46 Small Steps and Delayed Gratification

55:36 Growing Up Without Social Media Comparison

58:53 Separating James Paxton the Person From the Player

1:02:10 The Number One Issue in Youth Sports Today

1:03:53 Praise the Effort, Not the Results

1:05:03 Control the Controllables

Resources

The Pitch Pod

Better Sports Parents

Manny Malhotra is the Head Coach of the Vancouver Canucks and a central piece in a family that has an incredible amount of perspective and opinion on youth sports. Drafted seventh overall in 1998, Manny played nearly 1,000 NHL games across seven organizations, and built a reputation as one of the league's most respected leaders. His coaching career has seen him move from an NHL assistant to a Calder Cup winner as head coach of the AHL's Abbotsford Canucks to the bench boss of the NHL franchise he helped lead to the 2011 Stanley Cup Final as a player. He's also a father of four, including son Caleb, who was drafted by the Canucks this past summer, putting Manny on the verge of coaching his own son in the NHL.

Manny and Scott dig into the youth sports household that shaped him, and how that same philosophy now guides how he and his wife Joann, the younger sister of Steve and Martin Nash, raise their own four kids. They talk through the real challenges of coaching your own child, why he and Joann deliberately keep their kids multi-sport despite living in a city with ice available year-round, and why they believe producing good people through sport matters more than producing great players. Manny also shares the story that changed how he thinks about pressure in youth sports today, and closes with a simple truth every sports parent should hear: most of what your kid remembers won't be the score.

If you've ever wondered how a former first-round pick and now NHL head coach actually parents through youth sports, this conversation is full of practical perspective.

Chapters:

0:00 Opening

2:05 Introducing Manny Malhotra

3:45 Growing Up in a Competitive Household

6:52 Why His Parents Made Sports Central to Family Life

8:53 Never a Forced Issue

10:36 Passing These Lessons to His Own Four Kids

13:59 The Challenges of Coaching His Own Children

16:17 The Conversation That Changed His Coaching Approach

18:33 Stepping Back From Coaching Caleb

21:36 Coach Hat vs. Dad Hat

24:20 Why "He Was So Polite" Means More Than Stats

27:41 Growing Up the Youngest of Four

29:47 Married Into an Even More Competitive Family

32:08 How Monetization Changed Youth Sports

33:01 Intentionally Raising Multi-Sport Kids

37:25 "Don't Be That Parent"

41:29 The Foundational Lessons: Don't Be Late, Work Hard

43:21 Why Kids Specialize So Early Today

44:59 Steve Nash's Warning About Individual Training

45:57 Skill Level Is Up, Hockey IQ Is Down

48:00 The Lost Art of Pickup Shinny Hockey

50:28 What Should a Youth Coach's #1 Priority Be?

54:47 Chasing Plastic Trophies

57:17 Becoming a Role Player at the NHL Level

59:38 What Coaches Should Actually Praise

1:02:31 The Matheny Manifesto

1:04:38 Why Youth Sports Pressure Is Heavier Today

1:07:31 The Number One Issue in Youth Sports Today

1:07:43 "We're Just Buying Memories"

Resources

Manny Malhotra

Better Sports Parents

Duff Gibson won a World Championship and Olympic gold in skeleton, a remarkable achievement at the end of a winding athletic path that took him through wrestling, speed skating, and rowing before he ever touched a sled. He also spent 25 years as a Calgary firefighter, and since retiring from competition has built the Community Coach Program (contact [email protected]) and the multi-sport kids' program Dark Horse Athletic.

Duff unpacks the phrase that shaped his entire relationship with sport — "it's just sport" — and how his parents held that belief alongside a genuine passion for competition. They talk through the real difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset, why youth sport is quietly manufacturing the wrong one, and the story of a coach yanking a child by the jersey that led directly to the founding of Dark Horse Athletic. Duff also shares what a landmark German study of Olympic athletes actually proves about early specialization, why the cost of youth sport is a bigger barrier than most people realize, and why he believes the ultimate measure of a youth sport program isn't pro athletes or Olympic medals.

If you've ever wondered whether taking sport "too seriously" actually helps kids perform better, this conversation offers a rare, research-backed answer from someone who's lived it at the very top.

Chapters:

0:00 Opening

01:35 Introducing Duff Gibson

03:15 From Wrestling and Rowing to Olympic Gold

04:04 Raised on "It's Just Sport"

08:47 Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset

14:30 Helicopter Parenting and the Physical Literacy Decline

17:52 Building the Community Coach Program

18:46 Purpose: The Missing Piece in Youth Sport

22:59 The Rising Cost of Youth Sport

25:02 Beckie Scott and the Coach Who Didn't Interfere

30:55 Watching His Own Kids Choose Fun Over Obsession

33:03 The Lake Placid Story: Two Mindsets, One Team4

0:04 Why His Son Walked Away From Baseball

40:51 The Moment That Started Dark Horse Athletic

49:59 Personal Challenges Over Competition

50:58 The State of Physical Education Today

54:17 Coaching Kids With ADHD

56:33 From Wrestler to Rower to Skeleton Champion5

7:28 Handling Olympic Pressure

59:37 Kyle Shewfelt on Trusting His Coach

1:01:47 Is a "Failed" Sports Career Really Wasted?

1:02:38 The Common Upbringing of Olympic Medalists

1:07:44 The Number One Issue in Youth Sports Today

1:09:33 What a German Olympic Study Really Proves

1:11:28 Roger Federer, Late Specialization & Genetics

Resources

Duff Gibson

Dark Horse Athletic

Better Sports Parents

Jamie Huscroft played more than 350 NHL games with seven organizations, won a Memorial Cup with the Medicine Hat Tigers, and was drafted in the 9th Round after starting out as, in his own words, the worst player at every level he ever played. Since retiring in 2001 after suffering 13 concussions as a pro, he's spent nearly 25 years building community hockey in the greater Seattle area, where he's now Director of Facilities for Sno King Ice Arenas.

Jamie and Scott dig into what's changed and what hasn't in youth hockey: rising costs, shrinking off-seasons, and the pressure to specialize early despite Jamie's own multi-sport upbringing in tiny Creston, BC. Jamie shares how his parents' hands-off, "how was your day" approach shaped him, why his own kids never played hockey and he never pushed them to, and how Sno King's philosophy puts character development ahead of chasing the NHL. He also opens up about the toll of his concussions, how hockey has evolved on safety, and why cost — not talent or dedication — is the number one barrier keeping kids out of the game today.

Whether your child is just starting out or already deep in the travel-team grind, Jamie's perspective as both a pro-hockey veteran and a rink operator offers a rare, grounded view of youth sports from the inside.

Chapters:

00:00 Opening

02:06 Introducing Jamie Huscroft

03:13 Why He Chose Community Hockey Over the Pros

03:59 Concussion Number 13 Ended His Career

06:12 Watching Former Youth Players Become Coaches

08:32 How the Kraken Changed Seattle Hockey

10:29 Rising Costs and Shrinking Off-Seasons

13:24 The Norway Model vs. Choosing Earlier

14:21 Top Teams, Early Specialization, and "The Outlier"

15:14 Why He Never Pushed His Own Kids

17:35 Character Development Over Chasing the NHL

19:22 Turning Teenagers Into Mentors

20:38 The Worst Player in Camp, Every Step of the Way

24:35 His Parents' Hands-Off, Car-Ride Philosophy

27:12 A Multi-Sport Childhood in Creston, BC

28:17 Is Early Specialization the System's Fault?

29:59 "If I Don't Do It, Someone Else Will"

32:13 Where Win-at-All-Costs Culture Actually Lives

33:34 Pond Hockey: Letting Kids Coach Themselves

35:22 Parents Coaching From the Stands

36:48 Building a Mentorship Pipeline for Referees

39:18 Has Parent Behavior Really Changed?

41:50 Are There Really Only a Few Paths to the Top?

43:41 The Attrition Rate of Elite Hockey

44:58 How He Defines Success Through Sport

48:01 Staying in Hockey after 13 Concussions

49:25 How Hockey Has Changed on Safety

54:55 The Number One Issue in Youth Sports Today

55:54 Keeping Hockey Affordable at Sno King

Resources

⁠Jamie Huscroft⁠

⁠Sno King Arenas⁠

⁠Better Sports Parents⁠

Ilya Orlov almost quit soccer at 13 due to pressure from well-meaning parents, punishing coaches, and a body that developed later than his peers. On the brink of leaving the game he loved, his father gave him one piece of advice that changed everything: drop down a level. That decision, and the years of reflection since, shaped how Ilya now coaches as head coach of the University of Toronto men's soccer program, a role he's held for over seven years after playing at York University and captaining them to a national championship.

Ilya holds a master's in developmental psychology and has trained as a coach across Europe, giving him a research-backed, data-driven lens on what's actually broken in youth sports. In this conversation, he and Scott dig into the relative age effect, why year-round training without recovery is quietly injuring kids, the real odds of making it to university or pro sport, and why coach education in North America is dangerously subjective. Ilya also opens up about the traumatic coaching moment from his own youth that he vowed never to repeat, what he actually looks for in recruits and their parents, and his blunt take on social media, private coaching, and the number one issue facing youth sports today.

If you've ever wondered whether your child should specialize, drop down a level, or just be allowed to have fun, this episode offers a coach's rare combination of lived experience and research.

Chapters:

0:00 Opening

01:35 Introducing Ilya Orlov

03:32 From Player to Coach at 24

04:56 His Soviet-Influenced Sporting Roots

06:21 Relative Age Effect and Late Puberty

07:34 On the Brink of Quitting at 12

09:36 When Parental Pressure Really Starts

14:01 Pushed Out of a Team by a Coach

16:28 Free Play and a Multi-Sport Childhood

17:10 Should More Kids Drop Down a Level?

18:29 The "Overload" Theory of Development

20:11 Tiering, Late Bloomers, and False Perceptions

26:02 Year-Round Training and Missing Recovery

26:51 The Real Odds of "Making It"

28:39 Private Academies and the Pressure to Specialize

30:49 Kids as Revenue Tools in a Money-Driven System

32:03 Overuse Injuries and "Any Given Monday"

33:38 Why Coach Education Needs to Be Evidence-Based

35:18 The Volunteer Coaching Problem

37:42 The Foundation of Coaching: "What" vs. "How"

42:36 The Punishment Run That Changed How He Coaches

46:24 Pro Coaches as Role Models for Bad Behavior

48:45 What a Parent's Role Should Really Be

51:11 Support Them, Don't Coach Them

53:49 The Real Odds of Playing University Soccer

57:25 Why Parent Behavior Factors Into Recruiting

1:00:11 The Real Goal: Raising Good Humans

1:04:33 Social Media in Youth Sports

1:06:09 How Private Coaching Leads to FOMO

1:08:20 The Number One Issue in Youth Sports Today

Resources

⁠Ilya Orlov⁠

⁠Any Given Monday ⁠

⁠Better Sports Parents⁠