Sports
Ready. Set. Go!
In episode 121 of Coach Bennett's podcast, titled 'Ready. Set. Go!', the focus is on coaching kids in running and introducing them to the sport in a fun and engaging way. Coach Bennett ...
Ready. Set. Go!
Sports •
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Interactive Transcript
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Music
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Welcome to Coach Bennett's podcast where every run has a purpose, where kindness is hard
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core, where this is about running, and this is not about running.
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Where every starting line is a finish line in disguise, where rambling still gets you
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where you need to be.
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Where pineapple will never ruin your pizza, and the sodas, adult, and not adult kind are
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always cold, and where there is room on the starting line for everybody.
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I'm Coach Bennett.
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Thank you for letting me be a part of your day.
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Let's get started.
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Well, hello everybody, and welcome to episode 121 of Coach Bennett's podcast.
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This one is entitled Ready, Set, Go, and it's going to be a good one.
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For a couple of reasons.
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I mean, the topic, when I get into that, you're going to love it.
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And two, I'm traveling, and we all know that when I travel, and I have to record remotely,
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the episodes, well, they rock.
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They're fantastic.
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They're stone, cold, great, and this one is going to be all those things because we
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get to talk about how to coach kids.
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Now here's the cool thing.
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So many of you have been asking for an episode about this, which makes me so happy because
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when we share the sport, we save the sport.
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And when we share the sport with kids, we are saving the sport forever because they are
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the ones that are going to take the batons from us, and they're going to pass them on
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to the next generation after them.
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That's how we make this a lifelong sport for everyone.
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The key though is that you introduce the sport the right way.
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You make sure that these new athletes, these young athletes experience success.
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They learn how to run the right way, the best way for them.
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They have fun.
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We want to make sure that they play running because this is a sport you can play forever
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so thank you for everyone reaching out and saying, hey, can you do an episode on coaching
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kids, on introducing the sport to kids, on how you can get kids to move, be active, and
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start running?
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So I have all of you to blame for this wonderful episode.
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Now what makes this episode even better is that we're refreshing.
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Where is it going to be version 2.0?
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Maybe it's the remix?
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Anyway, we're coming out again with a brand new, refreshed, remixed version 2.0 of the
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Ready Set Go Guide at Nike.
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Now some of you may remember, this is about 10 years ago, we put together a Ready Set Go
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Guide for parents, coaches, volunteers, people that worked with the youth on how you can
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introduce the sport to kids.
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I had a really great time putting this together and just recently I worked with a group,
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awesome group of people at Nike to reimagine this guide.
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So it's coming out.
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I'm going to put a link in the show notes where you can download the guide.
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They're also going to be making hard copies of it, which is awesome for me.
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I like holding what I'm reading, you know what I mean?
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I don't know if you're like that, but I'm like that.
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I just, I got to hold the book if I'm going to read it.
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And I'm also old school when I used to teach.
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I know this is just the first of many rambles today.
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When I used to teach, I didn't like kids bringing a computer into class.
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Now remember, I taught history, which is storytelling.
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You don't really need your computer.
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You just need to listen.
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And occasionally write down some important points that I will stress probably because I say,
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now that's really important or I get really excited in my voice cracks or something like
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that so the kids knew what was very important.
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But the point is, because I just wanted them to listen, experience it, and then write down
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what was important.
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Now the cool thing here is, since we're coming out with a hard copy of the Ready Set Go
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Run Guide, there's also parts in there that are going to engage the young athlete.
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So not only do they get to experience the run, they get to learn about running, and they
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get to learn about themselves as a runner.
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There are questions in there.
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There's cool little facts in there.
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There's breaking down some of the parts about running that people get wrong, celebrating
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the greatest parts about this sport, and there are opportunities for the young athlete
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to acknowledge and appreciate the progression and the success that they're experiencing in
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their running.
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So it's kind of like a JV version of a running journal without being a running journal.
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And it's super fun.
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The colors are awesome.
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Anyway, it's really, really great.
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And I'm also going to mention this probably a few times throughout this conversation.
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There are kind of like parallel stories being told in this Ready Set Go Guide, which is
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there's a digital version, and like I said, there's a hard copy version, but it's not just
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for the young athlete.
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It's going to also be for that adult that's working with them.
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That adult that is going to be acting really has a coach for this athlete.
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That person that is going to be introducing this sport to that athlete, because it's really
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important that the introduction is done the right way.
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It's really important that that person that is introducing this sport and guiding this
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athlete through the early stages of getting to know this sport understands what the real
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purpose is with what they're doing.
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Understands how they should be acting with this athlete on this journey, how they can support
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the athlete, how they can celebrate the athlete, because that's what we want.
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We want these young kids to have fun.
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We want them to experience success.
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We want them to feel celebrated.
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We want them to come back to another starting line, excited to go on this journey, because
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this is about running and this is not about running.
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Now I just also want to say this, the way that you introduce the sport to a young athlete
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is the same way you introduce the sport to an adult.
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Now, maybe the language is a little bit different.
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Maybe if you go through the guide, the colors and the characters might be a little bit different
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for an adult.
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I will just say this, adults get over yourself.
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It doesn't need to be different.
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You still love the wild colors, and you still love the crazy characters just be honest.
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There's probably a part of you that understands that the best part of you is still 16 or
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17.
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Right?
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Very optimistic, dreaming, passionate, willing to get on a starting line and enjoying the
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fact that there are butterflies in your life.
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So as it's just a little something to think about as we go through some of the basic
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tenets of the Reddyset Go Guide and how to introduce the sport to a young athlete.
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I just want you to remember if you feel like you're low on inspiration, if you feel like
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you're low on motivation, if you're wondering, do you really want to go for a runner?
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Are you falling out of love with running?
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Is that possible?
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Go back to these basic parts that we talk about, these fundamentals that you're going
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to be going over with a young athlete or a new athlete and realize maybe you need to
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come back to the beginning.
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Come back to that earliest starting line and realize what you need now is what you've
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always needed from the sport.
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Right?
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I mean, let's talk about it.
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I mean, was it two minutes ago?
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I said we want these athletes to experience success.
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I want them to play running.
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I want them to have fun, feel celebrated.
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Well, that's what we need to when we take part in this sport.
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So let's get going.
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Shall we?
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Now, the first thing that we do, which should be no surprise to anyone is we go for a run.
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Now, here's the thing.
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The purpose of that first run with a new athlete is nothing else other than, let's just run.
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Let's just go for a run.
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It's not going to be very long.
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It's not going to go very far.
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We're not going to run even very fast.
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We're just going to go for a run.
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And we're probably going to finish before you even want to finish.
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We're just going to realize that we can go for a run and we can decide when we stop.
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And when we go for a run, it doesn't need to exhaust us.
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It doesn't need to overly fatigue us.
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It doesn't need to be difficult.
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It doesn't need to be hard.
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What we need to do is just run.
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And the difference between a run and a walk, it's not about pace.
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It's not about distance.
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It's not about duration.
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It's about flight.
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It's about leaving the ground, both feet at the same time and coming back down and then taking off again.
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That's it.
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So we're just going to go for a couple of little flights.
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And it's only going to be a couple minutes long.
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And the reason why we're doing this is because oftentimes a young athlete,
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a new athlete to our sport, they can believe they're not good enough.
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Or maybe they've heard from other people.
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Their running is so difficult.
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Running is so hard.
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And this is the first disconnect that we want to fix.
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Because these young athletes, they run.
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They run on the playground.
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They run to the bus stop.
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They run through the hallways.
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They run around the pool.
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They run on the beach.
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They run around their block.
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They run through back yards.
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Now they often hear parents tell them, stop running.
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And then they have to stop running.
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So one of the first things they realize is,
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geez, parents don't like when we run.
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We're going to fix that.
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But the other thing is, they've now disconnected that form of play with the sport of running.
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And they shouldn't.
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We're the only sport that does that.
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We're the only sport that says, hey, you can play basketball on the playground.
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You can play football.
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You can play tennis.
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But then there's this other version of it.
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The sport version of it.
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And it ceases to be play.
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No, you just continue to play tennis.
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You go to your first school practice for basketball.
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You're still playing basketball.
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For some reason in running, we make it serious.
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You go from running around the playground,
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which we just call playing, running around your backyard,
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which we just call playing, running around the beach.
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Oh, look, they're just playing.
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To suddenly going to practice for running,
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and now it's just running, and no longer playing.
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What we want to do is keep those two terms together.
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They should be.
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We're going to play running.
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And I want you to start using that in your vocabulary
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when you talk to your young athlete,
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when you talk to this new runner.
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I want you to say, hey, you want to go play running?
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Because it's just going to change the vibe of what you're doing.
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And sometimes that's all it takes to get someone to do something,
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is change the vibe.
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I'll give you an example here.
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One of my favorite pieces of writing
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ever about coaching, really isn't about coaching.
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It's one of the chapters in the adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.
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Now, Tom gets punished by his aunt,
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and he has to whitewash the fence.
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He has to paint the fence.
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It's a punishment.
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It's not fun.
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I think it's a Saturday too, so it's the day
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that as he puts it, he's free to do whatever he wants to do.
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He doesn't have to go to school.
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Maybe he's going to go down to the pond and swim,
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or he's just going to go get in trouble with some of his buddies.
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But no, not this Saturday.
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He has to paint both sides of the fence.
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So he goes out there and he starts painting the fence.
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And he's not having a good time.
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Next thing you know, one of his buddies starts coming up the road,
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and he gets this idea.
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And his buddy starts making fun of him.
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Oh, look what you need to do.
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You need to paint this fence.
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All that looks terrible.
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And Tom goes, you kid me?
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This is great.
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I wouldn't want to do anything else on a Saturday,
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but paint this fence.
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This is amazing.
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And I get to get the paint on the brush.
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And here I go, oh, look at this.
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I'm putting the paint on the fence.
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This is the best.
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And his buddy starts thinking, you gotta be kidding me.
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Tom's like, no, I don't want to go swimming.
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I don't want to go get in trouble.
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All I want to do is paint this fence.
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This is the best.
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Now, suddenly his friend has intrigued.
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And says, well, let me try.
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And Tom's like, no way.
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I'm not going to let you try.
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This is so much fun.
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Why would I share this fun with you?
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This friend's like, come on.
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Come on, I'll give you a marble.
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Tom's like fine, just for a minute.
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So then the kid starts painting the fence.
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And he's like, yeah, this is great.
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And then another kid comes up.
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And suddenly he's like, why are you making,
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I forget the dude's name, Billy Paint the fence.
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And Billy's like, I don't have to paint the fence.
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This is amazing.
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And Tom's like, yeah, like you got to be get out of here.
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You're not allowed to paint the fence.
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Kids like, why am I not allowed to paint the fence?
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And he's like, well, it's too much fun.
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You're not allowed to paint the fence.
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So suddenly the kid's like, why I want to paint the fence?
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Next thing you know, Tom has kids lined up,
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giving him all sorts of treats and trinkets
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and little goodies for an opportunity just to paint the fence.
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And they're having a blast.
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And they're wiping up and down.
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And they're brushing up and down.
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And you know what, lickety split that fence gets painted.
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Those kids had fun painting the fence.
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Now the act of painting the fence did not change.
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Putting the brush into the white paint, painting the fence up and down,
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stroke after stroke.
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Nothing changed.
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Other than the fact, the vibe changed.
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Tom had changed the lighting a little bit like this was a movie set.
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And suddenly it looked reary.
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He put the lights in a certain angle.
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And now it looks fun.
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That's what you want to do when you introduce the sport to someone.
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Any sport.
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If you want to get great at anything,
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you need to enjoy the process of getting great.
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Because if you don't, you're never going to get as great as you could.
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And that's what we're trying to do with this ready set go guide.
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That's it.
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Can we introduce the sport the right way?
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A better way.
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A fun way.
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A way where you're not just running.
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You're playing running.
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And that's all that first run is.
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We're going to go out there and you really want the athlete to walk away saying,
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that's it.
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Like that's all it takes.
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Because what we're trying to do is introduce to the athlete the reality that they can do this.
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And so many don't think they can.
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And if you have an athlete that knows they can run already enjoys the act of running.
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Well, guess what?
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It's also important to introduce to them that not every time they run,
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they're going to end fatigued, exhausted, tired, wiped out.
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It doesn't always have to lead to that.
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Now, if you're someone who does run, you already know that.
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But it's important to introduce the concept to these kids that when they shift from running
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through the backyard, running around the beach to, hey, we're going to play running
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and take part in it as a sport.
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Well, these concepts are really important because what you're doing is you're introducing
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the concept to not over train, right?
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Now, this isn't as big of a deal for someone who's seven or 10 or 11.
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But it's really important for the parents and the coaches of the seven and the nine and the 10
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year olds.
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Because I'll tell you what, they're the ones that are going to over train the athlete.
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I've seen it.
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I've seen it too many times.
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And what happens is it ceases to become play.
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And now it becomes just slog and drench.
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It's no longer fun when you're so tired and you don't want to go out and do it.
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We want athletes to always want to go out and play running.
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And in order to do that, we have to make sure that they're not being over trained,
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that it's not becoming boring.
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It's not becoming tedious because it shouldn't.
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Not for kids.
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Yes, there are times for young adults and adults when they're training.
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And the training's not easy.
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That's just the reality of it.
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It can be very hard to stay inspired.
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It can be very difficult to be motivated.
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But I'll tell you what, when you're working with young kids,
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that shouldn't be a problem.
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They're not training to set records.
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They're not training.
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So someday they can be in the Olympics.
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Because I'll tell you what, it's not the training that's going to get them to set records later in life.
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It's not the training when you're seven or nine or ten or twelve that's going to get you to the Olympics.
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10, 15, 20 years later.
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It's going to be the fact that you fell in love with the sport.
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That's the key.
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If you want your athlete to have the best opportunity to stay in the sport,
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that gives them the best opportunity to progress in the sport,
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which then gives them the best opportunity to experience more and more success in the sport.
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And you've got to go all the way back to the beginning.
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And make sure they love it.
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Make sure they're having fun.
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Make sure they're enjoying it.
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Make sure they want to come back and play running.
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And one other way of doing that, what you're going to see in the guide,
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is a real diversity in the types of running.
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If you just think about them playing outside,
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and the way they run, we're really just mimicking that.
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There are times when they'll run for long stretches.
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Maybe they're playing a game like a tag or something or hide and seek.
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Or they've got to chase somebody.
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And maybe they have to run for a couple of minutes at a time.
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Okay, that takes some real endurance.
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There are other times when maybe they're just running in the backyard and it's stop and go,
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stop and go, stop and go.
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Well, that's kind of like intervals, isn't it?
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It is.
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And there are other times when they're running around and maybe they're playing, you know,
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tag with lots of people or we used to play running bases.
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My wife, Tammy, coach Ben at the greater,
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was she coached kids for 15 years.
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She had all sorts of games, like sharks and minnows and all sorts of different types of games.
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It would mimic things like a fart like run.
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So we may have fancy terms for what we do as adults,
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but really we're just mimicking types of play we did as kids.
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Yes, it may be more focused, right?
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As we get older.
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But if you lose the focus and you just get back to the spirit,
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you're really just playing.
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So what we want to do is let these kids know that every run isn't just
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for a duration or a distance.
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There's going to be stopping.
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There's going to be going.
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There's going to be different speeds.
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Sometimes it's going to get difficult,
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but not difficult in a way that makes you feel like you're not good enough.
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Difficult in a way that's exciting.
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Like, can I go further?
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How much faster can I go?
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Can I make it all the way to there?
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And regardless of the outcome,
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it's an opportunity to celebrate the effort,
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to celebrate the movement,
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to celebrate the simple act of running.
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Remember, this isn't a test.
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This isn't an exam.
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This isn't a measurement of greatness.
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Whether or not they can achieve a certain type of run.
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Whether or not they can go a certain distance.
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Whether or not they can run a certain speed.
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Them showing up, taking part, having fun,
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and trying their best is a measurement of real greatness.
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Every athlete that shows up and tries their best should be celebrated.
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Now, this concept seems pretty straightforward and pretty obvious,
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but I'll tell you what,
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not every coach understands that.
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Some coaches or parents,
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whoever is guiding the athlete,
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sometimes think everything is about each day we're going to do a little bit more.
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Each day we're going to go a little bit further.
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Each day we should be getting a little bit faster.
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Well, that doesn't work.
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That's not how it operates.
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Even with adults, even with elite athletes.
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That's not how it goes.
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You don't have the top athletes running 500 km runs
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because they've been running for 20 years
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and each day they decided to go a little bit further.
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That's not how it goes.
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We know the overwhelming majority of your training
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are supposed to be easy runs,
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recovery runs.
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We could just call them fun runs.
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Because in reality, that's what they're supposed to be.
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And if you really want to recover your best in between your hard efforts,
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you should have fun runs.
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We can call them easy runs.
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We can call them recovery runs.
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They should be fun runs.
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I know it's semantics,
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but really it's the vibes.
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If you head into a run and we started calling them fun runs,
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I think we'd probably have more fun.
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I call them easy runs and recovery runs.
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And the reason why I do that is because I want the athlete,
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usually adults or young adults to remember,
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the purpose of the run.
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But every once in a while, I'll sprinkle in there.
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The fact that this is supposed to be a fun run.
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You should be enjoying it.
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It shouldn't be arduous to go out and do an easy run or recovery run.
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Now granted, yes, I understand.
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Sometimes you're tired from your day, right?
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Sometimes life is getting in the way.
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Sometimes the weather, like in the Pacific Northwest,
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it's just rained for 73 straight days in a row.
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It's tough to get motivated when it's dark at 3.30 pm to go out for a run.
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Now, I'm bringing all of this up because so often,
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when we work with kids, we forget they have their lives too.
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We wonder, why don't you want to do this?
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Why isn't this fun for you today?
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Why are you quitting so early?
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Why do you want to give up?
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Well, it's the same reasons you do, old timer.
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That's right.
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Do you think kids don't have their own lives?
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Do you think kids don't have an emotional roller coaster like adults do?
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Do you think kids don't experience stress?
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Do you think kids are always inspired or always motivated?
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They're not.
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Make sure you're giving these young athletes the same amount of grace that you deserve.
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And I'll tell you what, you deserve an awful lot of grace.
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Because life isn't easy.
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It doesn't matter if you're seven years old or 70 years old.
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Life's tough.
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So, make sure these moments like a run, like a fart lick run, like some intervals,
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like an out and back little tempo because we sneak these things in to the ready-set go run guide.
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You should be sneaking these things in to your training.
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Make sure when you're taking on these little runs,
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or big runs, make sure you're having fun.
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Make sure you're remembering the purpose of them.
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Make sure that if the day has been long, the day has been stressful,
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the day has been hard, the day has been tough,
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that this is something you look forward to.
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Or at least it's something that by the end of it, you feel better.
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Maybe in one way, maybe in countless ways.
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That's the same thing we want.
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The athlete that you're working with, that young athlete, that kid,
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to experience in these runs.
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I'll tell you another reason why this is so important,
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and why I'm so excited that we refreshed the ready-set go run guide.
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It's because more than ever,
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now, kids are struggling to get out and move.
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They're struggling to find excuses to go play.
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Their opportunities to do this are diminished,
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compared to just a generation ago,
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and that has ramifications later on.
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If you are introduced to the joy of movement early in life,
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if you're introduced to being on teams,
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if you're introduced to the fun that being a part of a sport can be when you're younger,
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there are such positive ramifications later in life.
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And maybe there are times when you drift away from consistent movement and activity and sport.
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But having that initial relationship with it,
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it's like getting back on a bicycle.
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You can come back to another starting line.
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So remember, you're not just introducing,
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playing running to a kid for just them while they're a kid.
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You're giving them an invitation to a starting line that never expires.
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They will have that invitation to a starting line for the rest of their lives.
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And if that invitation that they accepted as a kid
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led to something fun, something enjoyable,
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something that made them feel better about themselves,
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guess what? That is an invitation they will use again.
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And most importantly, it's an invitation that they know they can use again when they need it most.
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So I'll tell you what, at some point, they're going to need it just like we do.
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So remember, this guide, this introduction to the sport,
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if you're an adult that's doing this, it's a wonderful opportunity for you to go through the
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process again for yourself. But it's also really important that you remember it starts with,
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it's led with, it's in service of the kid.
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Make sure you realize this is for them.
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And it's not just for them right now, it's for them for the rest of their lives.
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And just like a great introduction, a wonderful experience is something that they can hold onto
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and take advantage of for the rest of their lives.
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The opposite is true too, which is why I wrote sections for the parents, the coaches,
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and that adult in those kids' lives that are going to be working with them,
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with just as much thought, maybe even more thought, than I gave to the sections that are
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directed to the kids. Because I know a terrible experience can keep someone away from a starting
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line for the rest of their lives. So just remember that. Remember what the purpose of this is,
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remember what the focus of this is, remember who you were in service of, that young athlete.
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And I think that's why we originally made this years ago. And I think it's why we've brought it back.
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That idea of powering the future of youth sport. I mean that's one of the visions
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when Nike came and said, let's do this. That was the primary focus. And I was like, okay,
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I can buy into that, right? You know what this vision of just an active, inclusive world,
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you know, that inspires the youth to play and achieve. Like, oh, okay, let's give them an
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opportunity to reach their greatest potential. That was what the, I'm not going to say the marching
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orders were. I think that was like, this is the vision. Can we help with this? And the answer
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was yes. And the way to do it is to make sure that not only did the kids have a fun introduction
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to the sport, it's also making sure that those who are introducing them to the sport know how to
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give them a fun introduction to the sport. So I would recommend all of you, check it out,
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check it out and share it, share it. Like I told you at the very beginning, when we share the sport,
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we save the sport. And if we can share the sport with new runners, with young runners,
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with kids in a better way, a more inclusive way, a more positive way, a more intelligent way,
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and a more fun way, we have an opportunity to really change a generation, a generation right now
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that needs more coaches because this generation needs more athletes. And I'm not talking about
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kids that have to be on a team or have to wear a jersey or have to, you know, be stressed out about
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earning a medal when I say be athletes. I mean be individuals that enjoy movement. Your real
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passion may be the arts. And that's wonderful. I'll tell you what you will thrive in the arts even
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more if you're also physically active. Your passion may be mathematics. It may be the sciences.
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It may be writing. That is great. You may be a gamer. Fantastic. Okay. Support these kids and
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their passions. And one of the ways you can do that is by supporting them moving, staying physically
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active, experiencing success as a body in motion. If you can do that, whatever other passions they
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have in their life, they're going to experience in a more passionate way. There are lessons,
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life lessons you can learn through sport. And they are so valuable. Unbiased, believe me, I know,
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but it doesn't mean I'm wrong. This is an opportunity to introduce physical activity, movement,
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the sport of running. You can introduce the concept of playing running to a kid in your life.
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And they will benefit for the rest of their lives. So make sure you check out the ReadySek Go Run Guide.
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You can check it out at Nike.com slash coaching. I'll put a link on the show notes. I think it
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actually drops on October 1st. So if it's not initially there, just come back and hit the link.
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I will put it up there. You can check it out. And please give me some stories. I want to hear
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about how you use the guide, how you use this podcast to introduce the sport to kids.
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I want to hear about some of the activities that you started with a young runner or a new runner
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or a kid because of this podcast or the ReadySek Go Guide. I want to hear about what you think about.
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Or more importantly, I should say what the kid thinks about. I do care what you think. Believe me,
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you're very important like I said. Maybe the most important coach in this kid's life because you
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may be their first coach. So I do want to hear what you think about the guide and the characters
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in there and the colors and some of the questions that we're asking and some of the facts that we're
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giving and the fun vibe that we've got going on there. I also want to hear what the young athlete
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the kid thinks about it. Did they have fun? Are they asking themselves some of these questions?
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Are they making sure they're having fun? Do they feel more confident, more successful?
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Do they feel like the rock star that they are for having played some running? So let me know,
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keep me updated. All right? And thank you as always for listening to the show. Thank you for being
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a part of the sport. Thank you for sharing the sport. Thank you for saving the sport. Now take care
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of yourself. Take care of each other and I'll meet you on another starting line.
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Thank you so much for listening to Coach Bennett's podcast today. And if you haven't already
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subscribed or set yourself as a follower to the podcast, I really hope you would. And make sure
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you check out the show notes because in those show notes, you're going to find a link to Coach
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Bennett's newsletter and all the social media sites I'm on like Instagram and threads and
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Camille and Blue Sky and nope, not on that one anymore. So all the ones I am on, you're going to
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find it in the show notes to check that out as well. And as always, thank you again for listening
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to Coach Bennett's podcast. Until next time, you keep taking care of yourself and each other.