The best podcasts & books for sports parents.

Development, mindset and the youth-sports business, in roughly the order we'd start.

1. 1

   Way of Champions

   John O'Sullivan & Dr. Jerry Lynch · Weekly

   Weekly conversations with elite coaches and athletes about culture, values and athlete-centred development — from the Changing the Game Project. 500+ episodes since 2017.

   For sports families: Helps you judge whether the club or coach you are paying for is actually developing your kid.

2. 2

   Raising Athletes

   Kirsten Jones · Active, 190+ episodes

   Sports-parenting interviews on confidence, resilience, comparison and how to behave on the sideline.

   For sports families: Practical words for the car ride home after a tough game.

3. 3

   Youth Inc. with Greg Olsen

   Greg Olsen · Seasonal

   The former NFL tight end on the changing youth-sports landscape: pressure, specialization, identity and injury.

   For sports families: Strong on whether travel teams and private training are worth what they cost.

4. 4

   The Pure Athlete Podcast

   Jeff Francoeur, Britt Lee & Brad Williams · 170+ episodes

   Long-term athlete development and a healthier youth-sports culture, with guests like Project Play’s Tom Farrey.

   For sports families: Covers expensive trends — reclassifying, early specialization — before you sign up for them.

5. 5

   Healthy Sports Parents

   Jonathan Carone · Since 2024

   Using youth sports to raise good people and strengthen families, not just to win.

   For sports families: Asks whether chasing the next team or camp is worth it for your family.

6. 6

   High Performance Mindset

   Dr. Cindra Kamphoff · 750+ episodes

   Short episodes on mental skills — focus, self-talk, handling pressure — from a mental performance coach.

   For sports families: Mental-skills training without paying for a private sport psychologist.

7. 7

   Finding Mastery

   Dr. Michael Gervais · Weekly

   High-performance psychology interviews with elite athletes and thinkers.

   For sports families: Best for older teens who are serious about their sport.

8. 8

   Healthy Youth Sports

   Eric Utterback (ACSM) · Biweekly

   Experts from the American College of Sports Medicine on injury prevention, sleep, nutrition and heat safety.

   For sports families: Medical-grade advice that can head off the most expensive season of all — an injured one.

9. 9

   Youth Sports Positive

   Kelsey & Mark Dennehy

   A father-daughter show on youth and college sports news with a "work hard, have fun" lens.

   For sports families: Explains NIL and transfer-portal changes in plain language.

10. 10

    Champion in Every Corner

    U.S. Center for SafeSport · Archive

    Parent-facing safeguarding: talking with your athlete, warning signs of misconduct, online safety.

    For sports families: Free safeguarding basics before you hand your child to a coach.

Two on the money first — then development, mindset and the athlete's own head.

1. 1

   The Most Expensive Game in Town: The Rising Cost of Youth Sports and the Toll on Today's Families

   Mark Hyman · 2012

   How the youth-sports economy — companies, entrepreneurs, private coaches — drives what families pay.

   For sports families: The most on-topic book there is if you are wondering where the money goes.

2. 2

   Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids' Sports — and Why It Matters

   Linda Flanagan · 2022

   How the industry profits from parents' college anxiety, and what that does to kids, injury rates and access.

   For sports families: Worth reading before the next travel-team check.

3. 3

   Changing the Game

   John O'Sullivan · 2013

   Kids perform best when the sport stays theirs: intrinsic motivation beats parental pressure.

   For sports families: A framework for deciding which programs are worth paying for.

4. 4

   Whose Game Is It, Anyway?

   Richard Ginsburg, Stephen Durant & Amy Baltzell · 2006

   An age-by-age guide to what to expect from your child, yourself and the sports environment.

5. 5

   Game On: The All-American Race to Make Champions of Our Children

   Tom Farrey · 2008

   The founding critique of early elite tracking — and the book that led to the Aspen Institute's Project Play.

6. 6

   Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

   David Epstein · 2019

   The evidence that sampling many sports beats early specialization (a Young Readers edition exists).

   For sports families: A case for not paying for year-round, single-sport training at age ten.

7. 7

   Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

   Carol S. Dweck · 2006, updated 2016

   Growth versus fixed mindset, with a full chapter on the mindset of a champion.

8. 8

   The Matheny Manifesto

   Mike Matheny with Jerry B. Jenkins · 2015

   Grew out of a viral letter to youth-baseball parents: let coaches coach, let kids play.

9. 9

   Raising Empowered Athletes

   Kirsten Jones · 2023

   First sports experiences, club and travel teams, family goal-setting and the move to high school sports.

10. 10

    The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive

    Jim Afremow · 2014

    The mental routines elite athletes use — a good one to hand to the athlete.

Safety training, research and free courses — none of them cost a thing.

1. Aspen Institute Project Play

   Parent checklists, the annual State of Play reports, and the national survey of what families spend on youth sports.

2. Positive Coaching Alliance

   Free articles and videos for sports parents and coaches through its Development Zone.

3. TrueSport (USADA)

   Free lessons and toolkits on sportsmanship, nutrition, clean sport and mental wellness.

4. Changing the Game Project

   Free articles for parents and coaches, plus the Way of Champions podcast.

5. U.S. Center for SafeSport

   Free abuse-prevention training for parents, and guidance on what policies your club must follow.

6. CDC HEADS UP

   Free concussion training and fact sheets for parents and coaches.

7. NFHS Learning Center

   Free courses on concussion, heat illness and sudden cardiac arrest from the high-school federation.

8. The Hidden Opponent

   A nonprofit for student-athlete mental health, with resources for athletes and families.

9. NCAA Eligibility Center

   A free profile page for high-school athletes thinking about college sports — check it before paying a recruiting service for the same thing.