Dad's job
The Coach
Push them past where they'd stop.
Confidence doesn’t come from being told you’re great. It comes from doing the hard thing one more time than you wanted to. This is the job of setting the bar, showing up for the practice, and believing they’ll clear it before they do.
How The Coach opens in the book
“SPREAD OUT!”
I yelled that from a soccer sideline for about six years, starting with five-year-old girls. Ten kids chasing one ball in a clump the size of a kiddie pool, and there’s me hollering instructions like it’s a championship final. I coached the Vista Dragons, Mia’s team and then Elena’s, and I loved it. The noise, the chaos, the rare Saturday when something we’d practiced on Tuesday actually happened in a game. With Nike HQ around the corner and the USA women’s World Cup team kicking ass, you’d think we were training for international play.
…
From the book
4 true stories in The Coach.
- The Dad of Rusty Toilets
- The Tenth Basket
- The Dome & the Dough
- The Long Exposure
Find out what happened in the book.
Preorder on Amazon →Sh!t we wish we'd known
#19 Don’t Hand Them the Win
A real win requires a real chance to lose. Adjust the challenge when needed, but make them work for the breakthrough.
- #20
- #21
- #22
3 more for The Coach. We're not giving away all 44 on a website. Feb 16, 2027.
Be The Coach this weekend.
Things to try with your kid, from strongerKIDS.org.
Backyard Play Production
Write a script. Cast the cousins. Rehearse for a week. Perform for the family.
Bike No Hands Down The Block
Find a flat road. Build the balance. Let go for one second. Then five.
Butter From Cream
Heavy cream in a jar. Shake fifteen minutes. Eat on bread you also made.
One dad. Eight jobs.
The trick is knowing which one your kid needs right now.
On sale February 16, 2027 ·
Dads Who Give a Sh!t
44 Things We Wish We'd Known While Raising Kids
Drew Klonsky and Brent Hieggelke · Skyhorse Publishing
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