Hi {{first_name}}
Thanks for being part of this community. We're grateful for you! I'm Chad Henry, and as someone who's been in the trenches running youth sports programs, I know this week is chaos. Half your team is traveling, practice is a ghost town, and your group chat won't stop buzzing. But before you stress about attendance, let's talk about what really matters: gratitude. This week we're focusing on why saying "thank you" might be your most underrated coaching move. Please let us know here if you try any of these gratitude plays, and Happy Thanksgiving.
Chad Henry and the Signature Locker Team
🧱 This Week’s Play: Save Money Without Sacrificing Quality
The scene: It's Thanksgiving week. Half your team is MIA. Practice attendance looks like a ghost town. Your group chat is 47 unread messages of "sorry, we'll be at Grandma's."
The reality check: This chaos? It's actually the point.
Youth sports isn't about perfect attendance or championship trophies. It's about building the connections that make families want to gather in the first place. The communities that show up for each other. The kids who learn to say thank you.
But here's what's easy to forget: Gratitude isn't just feel-good fluff—it's a strategic advantage. Programs that build cultures of appreciation have better retention, longer-lasting volunteers, and parents who recruit their friends.
This week's reminder:
The kid who shows up even when they don't want to? Say thanks.
The parent washing jerseys at midnight? Say thanks.
The volunteer who stays late to clean up? Say thanks.
Small moments of gratitude create loyalty, build resilience, and make the hard seasons easier.
The bottom line: Before you stress about Thursday's practice that three kids will show up to, remember why you started coaching. It wasn't for the perfect season. It was for the community.
Katie Clark | Co-Founder & Coach, Rocky Mountain Field Hockey (CO)
📣 Program Spotlight
In Colorado’s Front Range, Katie Clark is proving you can build competitive field hockey teams without importing a cutthroat culture. Her club, Rocky Mountain Field Hockey, gives local athletes a place to learn out loud while building confidence that lasts beyond the field.
Every session blends mindset training, connection, and effort—players literally practice “stomping the ANTs,” or negative thoughts, together. The result is a program where kids play bold, coaches stay grounded, and community comes first. It’s proof that when confidence leads, competition follows.
🎯 THREE GRATITUDE PLAYS YOU CAN RUN THIS WEEK
1️⃣ The 30-Second Appreciation Bomb Before practice ends Thursday (or whenever you're back), gather everyone and say: "Quick shout-out to [parent's name] for organizing the tournament carpool, [volunteer's name] for setting up every single week, and every player who's shown up even on the tough days." Takes 30 seconds. Creates goodwill that lasts all season.
2️⃣ The Specific Text Message Generic "thanks for everything!" = forgettable. "Thanks for staying late to help load equipment last week—it saved me 20 minutes and I actually made it home for dinner" = remembered forever. Send one specific thank-you text to one person who made your job easier this week.
3️⃣ The Practice Culture Flip End your next practice with "appreciation shout-outs" where players recognize each other. "Who made a great pass today?" "Who encouraged a teammate?" It takes two minutes and teaches kids that noticing effort matters as much as scoring goals. Plus, parents eating this stuff up from the sidelines doesn't hurt your program's reputation.
The point? Gratitude costs nothing and builds everything. Pick one, try it this week, and watch what happens.