🏈 Upside chat: A Hard Truth About Youth Sports Technology

From my recent Coaching Youth Hoop interview

Hi everyone,

I recently joined Bill Flitter on the Coaching Youth Hoop podcast, and our conversation went well beyond the latest trends in youth sports technology.

We talked honestly about what’s happening on the ground with young athletes, coaches, and parents—and where things often go off track.

One of the central questions we explored was simple, but uncomfortable:
Are we actually helping kids develop—or just collecting more and more data about them?

During the interview, we unpacked:

• Why youth sports is becoming increasingly obsessed with metrics

• How technologies like hydration monitors, smart insoles, and force plates are often introduced without the context or support needed to use them well

• The growing gap between what technology promises and what youth teams can realistically apply

A key point I shared with Bill is this: data isn’t the problem. Unused or misunderstood data is.

If information doesn’t lead to better decisions, safer environments, or clearer communication, it quickly becomes noise—for coaches, parents, and especially kids.

We also discussed why no technology can replace:

• Basic safety principles

• Coach education

• Sound judgment and common sense

And how, in many cases, the youth sports ecosystem unintentionally fuels parent anxiety—often encouraging families to buy solutions before clearly defining the problem.

🎙️ The full episode is now live, and if you’re involved in coaching, youth development, or sports tech, I think you’ll find the discussion both practical and grounding.

In the episode, you’ll hear:

1️⃣ Which technologies can genuinely support youth teams—and which tend to be more hype than help
2️⃣ Practical, cost-conscious approaches to injury prevention and player protection
3️⃣ How to balance data, experience, and intuition when making coaching decisions

🎧 Listen to the full interview by clicking on the link below (part 1):

In the second part of the interview we also discuss the other following topics:

• How to use tech wisely, even on a budget.

• What data actually matters (and what’s just noise).

• The secret sauce pros use: strong team culture.

🎧 Listen to the full interview by clicking on the link below (part 2):

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