Amanda Stanec, PhD

Soooo…I did a thing. Pre-Order link: Protect the Joy: A Positive, Collaborative Approach to Youth Sport a.co/d/i3WPbxV #ProtectTheJoyBook @AmplifyPubGroup #youthsport #sport #physed Would REALLY appreciate if you consider sharing. 🩷

𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐄𝐫𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐲... @MaryvilleHockey is proud to announce the Saints will make the jump to NCAA Division I in 2027-28! 🚨 #BigRedM 🐾 | #NCAAHockey 🏒

Congratulations @scottiestanec!

Hockey is the sport where every mom and dad spent every weekend getting up at 5am to load the family vehicle in 16 below weather and drive to some rink somewhere for practice. An 8am gold medal game sounds like a vacation.

& no Canadian cares what time the game is on early. We are all just thrilled we can watch because it’s on a Sunday. ❤️❤️❤️❤️🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

Regardless, hockey is 🇨🇦’s game. My 1st child was due Dec 26, 2009. Every 🇺🇸: “Have her before Jan 1 for tax write off.” Every 🇨🇦: “Do NOT have that baby before Jan 1. Needs good hockey bday. 🇺🇸’❤️ of NFL+NBA+MLB +NHL = 🇨🇦’❤️ of hockey.

brad marchand's old ass father doing a 6-7 joke is better than any paternity test

open.spotify.com/episode/16OCcZ… Great 🎧 as a parent, coach, & teacher. I have my highs and lows here every day. #physed #LTAD @TyRiddick @doug_gleddie @MoveLiveLearn

So excited about our Valentine's book giveaway, forgot to share the episode yesterday! We chat about joy, competition, coaches, parents, developmental goals and all things youthy sporty. buzzsprout.com/2358344/episod… @MoveLiveLearn @SportForLife_ @TyRiddick

What @nickbaumgartner is able to do at any age is amazing, let alone at age 44. What you may not know is that he was D1 wrestler at Michigan State. I’d love to see a story on that…

@BStulberg Thanks for sharing, Brad. I address this and related issues in my recent book: protectthejoybook.com

Also, because so many people on this website are insanely reactionary and angry about everything: 1) To the people saying "What about the Summer Olympics then?" Norway wins 3-times the medals per capita as the US. 2) No, I don't hate America. I'm sorry, but y'all are dumb as rocks if that is your inference from this post. I am simply pointing out that, as a culture. we are pretty crazy about youth sports in many of the wrong ways. 3) Not ALL youth sports in America are terrible. I coach and have been a part of great leagues and not so great leagues.

Norway consistently wins the most medals at the Winter Olympic Games, with a population of just 5.6 million people. A big part of their success is how they treat youth sports—and it’s the opposite of what we do in the US. Here’s what we can learn from Norway: 1. Scorekeeping: In the US: Youth sports tend to be hyper competitive even at early ages. Leagues almost always keep score. In Norway: Scorekeeping isn’t even allowed until age 13. Removing winners and losers keeps the focus on the process not outcomes. It keeps kids engaged longer because it minimizes pressure (and tears) and maximizes fun, learning, and growth. The goal isn’t to win a third grade championship. It’s to love sport and keep playing. 2. Trophies: In the US: If you give everyone a trophy, you’re creating snowflakes who will never gain a competitive edge. In Norway: Whenever trophies are awarded, they are handed out to everyone. If getting a trophy makes young kids feel good, we should give them trophies. Maybe they’ll come back and play again next year!! As for the creation of snowflakes with no competitive edge—Norway’s athletes are tough as nails and all they do is win. 3. Prioritizing Fun: In the US: Far too often, the goal is to win. In Norway: The national philosophy is “joy of sport.” Youth sports in the US are driven by adults, ego, and money. Youth sports in Norway are driven by fun. Only half of kids in the US participate in sports. The number one reason they drop out: because they aren’t having fun anymore. In Norway, 93% of kids participate in youth sports. Fun is the foremost goal. 4. Playing Multiple Sports: In the US: There’s pressure to specialize early and play your best sport year round. In Norway: Try as many sports as you can before specializing as late as college. Norway encourages kids to try all types of sport. This reduces injury and burnout and increases all-around athleticism. It also helps promotes match quality, or finding the sport you are best suited for as your body develops, which is impossible if you commit to a single sport too early. 5. Affordability In the US: There is increasingly a pay-to-play model with high fees for leagues, equipment, and travel. This excludes many kids from playing. In Norway: It’s a national priority to keep youth sports affordable and therefore accessible for all. Kids aren’t priced out, which creates opportunities for everyone to participate (and develop into athletes), regardless of their parents’ income level. We could learn a lot from Norway: In the US, 70% of kids drop out of youth sports by age 13. This not only diminishes an elite-athlete pipeline, but it also destroys an opportunity for healthy habits and all the character lessons kids can learn from sport. In Norway, lifelong participation in sport is the norm. The goal isn’t to have the best 9U team. It’s to develop the best athletes. Those are two very different things. And Norway has the gold medals to prove it.

A reminder that this was my entire investigation — 8 years ago. All this — and more — was reported in the Miami Herald series in 2018.

@doug_gleddie @meaningfulPE @TyRiddick Thanks, Doug!!

Our Valentine's day podcast features @MoveLiveLearn & Richard Way talking about - Protect the Joy - their book on youth sport. Send me a DM by the 14th saying why you listen & an example of how a guest has impacted your practice to enter the book draw! @meaningfulPE @TyRiddick

"Nobody's going to feel sorry for you." With five Olympians out, No. 1 @BadgerWHockey needs other players to step into big roles. Among them is #Badgers freshman goalie Rhyah Stewart, who starts tonight against No. 3 Minnesota. Here's Kirsten Simms and Mark Johnson on Stewart:

That’s my niece!!!!! ❤️❤️😍😍😍

Field Hockey Canada is excited to announce the Canadian U18 Youth Roster bound for Cardiff, Wales from March 29 - April 6. Congratulations to all athletes and coaches selected. View youth rosters: fieldhockey.ca/2026-youth-tou… #GROWHOCKEY #FHCTEAMOFTEAMS

Excited for Kassie to represent the beautiful country where I was blessed enough to grow up. ❤️🇨🇦❤️🇨🇦❤️

These are the people that should get Six figure bonuses

@fitsoccerqueen 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

This needs to be said. Parents of girls ages 11-14 who have late developers: Take the physical portion of the player evaluation from the coach after the season with a grain of salt. Late developers oftentimes get compared to other early developers on the team and in the coach evaluation they say "needs to improve speed." Late developers will always lose a physical battle against their early developing teammates. Focus extra on technical development during this time. Don't get too caught up on speed because usually the coach is comparing to the taller faster kids. Yes, continue speed and strength training under a safe long-term development plan, but please have grace during this time. Compare your daughter to HER own improvements, NOT to an early developer.

Excited for my oldest to get another weekend of learning! Also, congratulations to 3 of her Aim clubmates & JBS school teammates!