For Episode 119, Alan and Jason are joined by Jason’s friend Alan who’s story helps articulate some of the difficulties dads go through with their kids during a divorce.  Sometimes the relationship can feel like you are starting over.  For the kids, they may be in an unfamiliar environment which can add additional stress to them.  The discussion some understanding of what both dads and their kids may go through during the divorce as well as offering these tips to maintain the connection with your child during these difficult times: 1. Make sure the time you do spend with them is quality, focused attention 2. Don’t force it – be flexible 3. Be involved in their activities 4. Communicate often – text, phone, skype, email.  Schedule if possible 5. Be consistent  – do what you say you are going to do – times, schedules, etc. 6. Have to cooperate with ex whether you want to or not – sometimes that cooperation needs to be forced. 7.  Showing them love – more important than telling.  Show interest in what they are doing.  Discover things you can share.…

This episode is for the new dads.  Oh, it’s exciting.  You get to hold your baby for the first time.  There is nothing like holding your newborn baby and feeling like you can’t believe that you can love something so much.  Then a few days go by.  And then a few weeks. Unless you are spending a lot of time with the baby, it can be difficult for you as the dad to feel an immediate close bond with the baby.  I’m sure some guys do, but many do not. I know with my kids, the first few months there was much more time spent with my wife than me.  Whether that was my doing or not, I worked and she was the one who was breastfeeding, fell asleep with them on occasion, or just simply took them wherever she went. Men can often have a more difficult time feeling the immediate bond with the child.  Mom had a 9-month head start.  As such, here are a few tips to bond with your baby: 1) Talk to your baby – My wife would talk to our kids before they were born.  I found it a little difficult but would occasionally give a high five or say hello.  It just takes practice to become comfortable with it. 2) Carry your baby – Whether this is in your arms or in a sling, carrying the baby allows both you and it, to feel close. 3) Skin To Skin Contact – There is something about a baby’s skin that is just amazing.  It’s soft and feels nice.  The touch is also good for the baby.  You could either place the baby simply on your chest while reclining or laying down or even give the baby a massage. 4) Give the baby a bath…

Watching your parents age isn’t easy. As we have our own children and they grow, we begin to see our own parents aging. The dynamics of the relationship can begin to change. It can also be difficult as to go through this change. For episode 117, we discuss tips to deal with aging parents. 1) Takes things slow – You must have patience and know that things are going to take you a lot longer than you planned. They may move pretty slow so you need to be considerate of that. 2) Be empathetic that change is hard – Whether they need to downsize where they live or go into a home or senior center, change is not easy. Be empathetic to this rather than trying to convince them that everything is going to be so much fun and better. 3) Ask for help – Don’t try to do everything yourself. Call on family members, friends, and even caregivers to assist when they can. If someone needs to be hired or they need more permanent assistance, consider the options. 4) Understand they are just going to forget things – You may find yourself repeating things over and over. It may even be something you just talked about. Realize that their memories are often affected as they age. 5) They may be in denial – They may not want to admit that they need help or that they are getting older. It’s often hard to admit you can’t do things you once did.7 6) Be aware that you may feel angry or scared – These feelings may come up and it’s ok. It’s not easy to deal with seeing them change, roles changing, and dealing with the different type of relationship. They may not be able to do the same things …

Terry Liskevych is the President and CEO of The Art of Coaching.  The Art of Coaching helps teach coaches how to effectively manage and run their teams. 1) First, we discuss Terry’s background, how he got started, and some of his career highlights, etc. Here is a little background on Terry: Former Collegiate Volleyball Head Coach The Ohio State Men’s Team – 1975-1976 University of the Pacific – Women’s Team – 1976-1984 Oregon State University – Women’s Team – 2005-2015 Took college teams to seven final fours Collegiate Coach of the Year – 1983 PAC-12 Coach of the Year – 2014 Former USA Women’s Volleyball National & Olympic Coach – 1985-1996 International Coach of the Year 1995 Two adult kids – Mark & Krista – both played several youth sports and both played soccer in HS and College 2) We talk about what ages are appropriate to get kids into sports.  Should it be competitive? 3) Terry talks about multiple sports and the Pros / Cons on each 4) The reality of competition and playing at a higher level 5) Also, he talks about recruiting and or the process of getting into college sports.  He has some tips for parents of children in high school who are thinking about playing in college. 6) 5 Tips To Be an Effective Sports Parent A) It’s about them B) Have fun C) Learning Skills D) Support – unconditional skills E) 1%…