Tag: NFL

There are NO shortcuts

Posted Glen MulcahyPosted in Athlete, Coach, Parents

I am currently in the process of onboarding a couple of interns for this coming summer who will be working on our various digital platforms, image creation, video and audio editing and back end support for summits, webinars and live streams.

We have now sponsored over 20 university co-op students over the last few years as we have built out our websites to provide content for all youth sports stakeholders and as we onboard new students each time, one of the key teaching points I share with them is the importance of having a strong work ethic and have used a myriad of sports analogies over the 4 months they work with us to ensure they finish the term strong.

This comes from the many years of playing various sports where coaches would remind me and all of my team mates of the importance of work ethic, something that has been lost in part in recent years where many parents, kids have fallen into the early sport specialization trap but not recognizing the importance of practicing the way they will actually play in games.

What separates those that reach the highest levels they aspire vs. those that do not having coached hundreds of different players in different sports and now having interacted with thousands of coaches that have shared similar stories of players they coaches, is the fact that the ones that excel are the ones that have superior work ethics to do vs. those that have a tendency to not run through the finish line.

There are so many analogies I can share as examples of those that reached the elite level, below are three that come top of mind;

Sidney Crosby

When Sid (The Kid which is no longer the case) was coming up the pipeline many felt that he was the next Wayne Gretzky, much like people feel now of Connor McDavid.  What has separated Sid from the rest of the pack and what has made him the player he has become is not the fact that he focused on hockey from a young age like many kids do today, is his commitment to practice like he is going to play every practice.

He even will ask his team mates not to pass “tape to tape” so that he can retrieve pucks that are too far away or caught up in his feet to kick to his blade and doing so at full speed.

He is so committed to working on his skills even now at the age of 31 years old, that the Pittsburgh Penguins, according to a story shared with one of my colleagues who interviewed Mike Johnston, former head coach, built as second practice rink adjacent to their initial rink so that he and other players would not have to wait for the Zamboni to clean the ice for 15 minutes.

Per his current head coach Mike Sullivan

“The quality that allows Crosby to remain atop the league, coaches and teammates say, is his unique work ethic, an ability to specify subtle areas for improvement and work with meticulous precision until they match the other elite elements of his game. … “He’s a generational talent,”

 

Micheal Jordan

Many know the story that he was released from the first high school team that he tried out for, was totally distraught, cried as a result for quite some time after the fact but he made a commitment to be the best he could be, and ultimately became arguably one of the best ever to play in the NBA by working tirelessly to do so.

The same work ethic transferred to when he decided to retire from basketball when he lost his Dad, to pursue a career in professional baseball and although never made it to the MLB White Sox, he honed his craft over a few years in the minors by working tirelessly every day with hitting and other specialty coaches to improve his batting %, stealing bases and so forth.

 

 

Walter Payton (AKA Sweetness)

 

Hi workout routines to this day are still used as examples for those in the NFL to mirror and what many don’t know is he mentored a former high school player to work out with him which he did for years.  In the short clip below he shares the 5 years that he did so with Walter where they became good friends as a result and talks about the infamous hill (AKA Hell) they trained on.

 

 

There are many other examples that I can cite of professional players whose work ethic got them there like Kobe Bryant (sadly who we lost way too early last year), Tom Brady, Muhammad Ali, Pelé, all of which continued to work on their craft while even when they reached the levels they did professionally.

This is the big takeaway that youth coaches must remind their players regardless of the level to ensure that they don’t cheat themselves, and at the same time their team mates, of the importance of working hard during every game, practice … to reach the highest level possible, there are no shortcuts.  Too often over the many years of coaching I would see kids that had great skills but when push came to shove they did not put in the extra effort to hone their craft and as a result they got passed by many of their less “skilled” counterparts.

Those that reach the tip of the pyramid don’t make shortcuts along the way, they recognize that it take YEARS to reach that the highest level they aspire to and continue to work on their crafts even when they do.

 

 

PS Tagline - Dont be a kids last coach

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the Future – 2020

Posted Glen MulcahyPosted in Athlete, Coach, Parents, Uncategorized

 

About a year and half ago I shared the growth of eSports in This is the Future and this week saw an article in the financial post where the owners of the Canucks Sports and Entertainment, The Aquilini’s, have invested in numerous eSports leagues and teams starting back in August 2018 to build the biggest e-Sports gaming network in North America less that 2 years later.

In 2018 the industry projections of e-Sports were projected to exceed $1 Billion, and now is over $1.5 Billion, a further 50% growth in just over a year with no signs of slowing down, similar to the 400% growth rate of the youth sports sector since 2010 in Canada.

Here are the numbers shared in recent article in the Financial Post;

  • Dota2 Event hosted in Rogers Arena August 2018 had $25 Million in prize money, $11 Million going to the winning team
  • eSports events hosted across the world in the very same arenas that professional sports teams play in (NHL, NBA) are selling out faster than the top musical acts are
  • Ticket prices average $40 for fans of the eSports “athletes” to attend the live events, generating over $600,000 in ticket revenue alone per event
  • According to MarketingHub, a market research firm, 800K people had heard of the growing niche industry in 2015, by 2019 the awareness had grown to 1.57B
  • Revenue has been increasing by more than 30% per annum, in 2016 was $493 M USD, $906 M in 2018 and is projected to exceed $1.6 B USD in 2021
  • eSports is inclusive, regardless of your sex, orientation, nationality etc. if you can play you can play online against any gamers across the globe

What the Aquilinis realized in 2018 like many others in the top 5 professional sports space is eSports is no longer a niche phenomenon but it is growing exponentially and as a means to further grow revenue streams and tap into a new and evolving fan base is to invest in the eSports industry.

Other prominent owners in professional sports have done the same

Jerry Jones – the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, one of the top professional sports franchises in the world, has purchased an esports team, including the purchase of a house in the Dallas area for them to live, eat and to hone their craft who is coached by one of my colleagues, James Leath, founder of Unleash the Athlete.  For insight listen to the podcast of the week HERE when I talked to him.

Prominent athletes and celebs are also investing millions into esports

 

  • Michael Jordan, arguably one of, if not, the Greatest Basketball Player of all time, invested $26 Million in eSports organization Team Liquid

 

  • Canadian Rapper Drake who was shown supporting the Toronto Raptors as they made their amazing run to the NBA championship last year has invested in esports organization 100 thieves with teams that compete in games like Call of Duty and Team of Legends

 

  • Steph Curry and teammate Andre Iquodala invested $37 Million in eSports organization TSM whose teams compete in games League of Legends and Fortnite

 

  • Hall of Fame Quarterback and now NFL commentator Steve Young also tagged into the investment made by Steph and Andre and part of the funding will be to build a 15-20,000 square foot eSports facility in Los Angeles

 

  • Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs along with a group of investors provided just over $30 Million in funding to PlayVS eSports League Based in Los Angeles that allows high school students to represents their schools in eSports competitions and can qualify for the growing number of collegiate scholarships for competitive gamers.

 

  • Former Golden State Warriors Team Mate Kevin Durant invested $38 Million in Vision ESports and esports investment fund and management company

 

Professional Sports Leagues have also jumped onto the bandwagon starting in 2017

 

 

Since this interview in 2017;

 

  • NBA formed a joint venture with Take 2 Interactive to form NBA2K League whose inaugural seasons was in 2018 with 21 teams who are owned by NBA Teams and has partnered with the likes of Champion, AT&T, Snickers as key sponsors

 

  • NHL franchises are also forming leagues, starting with Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) the parent company of the Washington Capitals working closely with EA Sports.

 

  • Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs) also is hosting one on one as well as eSports tournaments based on the same EA Sports iconic video game and several other NHL teams are tipping their toe in the water investing in various eSports tournaments, leagues and teams.

 

  • Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS) and even the largest professional sports in the world, the NFL with over $13 Billion in annual revenues, is jumping on the esports bandwagon starting with the Minnesota owners investing in Activision Blizzard.

 

It also has gotten the attention of what used to be a focus on amateur sports, the International Olympic Committee, who has shifted their mindset over the years to permit professional athletes from the MLB, FIFA, MLS, NBA, NHL to participate in winter and summer games.

They also entered into discussions with INTEL last summer to continue on the momentum of pre-Olympic showcase event before the Pyeongchang Winter Games for eSports to be an Olympic event in Paris Summer 2024 Olympics.

If you have been coaching youth sports, a former youth or even professional athlete you’re probably shaking your head why the Olympics would even consider why playing video games could even be considered as sport? Some would argue Poker, bowling, darts are games also but do get considerable coverage on ESPN and other sports networks when major sports like NFL,  NHL, NBA, MLB seasons are over.

Here is some insight in terms of the neuroscience what is needed to be a gamer at a high level;

 

 

That the video game industry, thanks to PlayStation and Microsoft 360 as well as PC games is now over a $138 Billion USD industry worldwide, has now gotten the attention of celebrities, professional athletes, teams and the Top 5 Professional sports to create a spin-off industry to generate even further revenues via competitive events for one vs. one and team play.

Youth Sports has also grown exponentially in Canada and the US in terms of revenues since 2010 as more and more families go all in supporting their kids chasing the dream of full-ride scholarships or playing professionally, based on the growth of eSports suspect will see that spin-off as well.

Sadly, as more and more specialize earlier and earlier, more and more are quitting because what started out as a fun activity became work as many games are sharing when they retire from competitive game play.

Like overuse injuries in young youth sports athletes as a result of the early specialization phenomenon, a recent science daily article share insight how esport athletes who participated in a study are also at risk for various physical, psychological disorders;

  • 56% reported eye fatigue
  • 42% report neck and back pain
  • 36% wrist pain
  • 32% hand pain
  • Yet only 2% sought medical treatment
  • 40% get no physical activity per day, and average video game playing time is 10-12 hours/day

 

Although video games have evolved into the competitive eSports industry, youth sports are showing similar trends in terms of physical and physiological health issues including

  • 400% increase in ACL tears
  • Over 60% of current Tommy John Surgeries on 15-18 year old arms
  • Over 200% increase in concussions
  • Increase in mental health issues due to pressure to perform, meet parental expectations for return in investment

Both Multi-Billion Industries are suffering from CHRONIC overuse injuries being sustained by KIDS?

Maybe it’s just me, but Houston, we have a problem … a very big problem as these trends will merely lead to a major impact on the medical system in future that is already pushing its limits due to funding challenges to hire nurses, doctors and other support staff.

More than ever, we have to work together to bring the game back to the kids so kids can play for the sake of playing again, not chasing the almighty dollar at a lifestyle pace that is not sustainable long term.

 

Win (Another) One for Big Red

Posted Glen MulcahyPosted in Athlete, Coach, Organization Executive

 

Below is the blog that I wrote literally a year from today as Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs were heading to their first ever Super Bowl Victory.  A year later, they are returning to the big game and wanted to highlight Andy’s amazing coaching journey and legacy he has left behind with other head and asssistant coaches to date.  He also also one of the most liked coaches not only by his players, but literally everyone in the NFL and on Feb. 6th will be going up against the GOAT, Tom Brady, who will be appearing in his 10th Superbowl game, this time as a player for Tampa but set yet another record as will be the first time the home team will be playing in their home stadium in the Superbowl.

Enjoy the read.

GO CHIEFS !!!

Having been a Notre Dame Football Fan since I was a kid, and Rudy being one my favorite sports movies, the quote “Win one for the gipper” quote has been one that I have spun off in one way or another for many years by coaches (yours truly included).

The quote’s origin goes back to the 1920’s when former Notre Dame player who became coach Knute Rockne asked his team in a pregame talk to go and win the game for the teams best player, George Gipp, who fell ill and with little time left asked Knute ….

Rock .. sometime when the team is up against it and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go out there with all they’ve got and just win one for the Gipper.

Ronald Reagan played the part of Gipp in the 1940 film Knute Rockne: All American and was given the nickname as a result, he even used the quote when he was running (and won) for US President.

The quote has been used in pregame coaches in way or another by coaches still to this day as a pregame motivation speech for teams and yet another spin-off now from players of the Kansas City Chiefs who have already won the Lamar Hunt Trophy they had aspired to win on home field last year (lost to the Patriots) to win one for Big Red, the nickname for their head coach Andy Reid.

Ironically, I had the same nickname when playing many sports growing up, was given to me initially by my first football coach and the players gave to me as played for various hockey, other football, rugby teams in particular so I found it was ironic but totally appropriate that the Chiefs have given their head coach the same nickname.

I too am pulling for Andy to remove the monkey off his back, he has now been a head coach in the NFL for 20 seasons after started out as an assistant in college then working under Mike Holmgren in Green Bay as an assistant coach in various roles where I first became a fan of his.

Now after those 20 seasons being a head coach on two different teams, his coaching tree and legacy in itself is an amazing accomplishment aside from numerous winnings seasons, NFC or AFC Championships or making it to the Superbowl his first time 15 seasons back.

Aside from all the other characteristics why he is a great coach including his sense of humour, connection with players, mentoring, development of young players (numerous quarterbacks have thrived under him who struggled on other teams like Alex Smith) his coaching tree now looks like other great coaches including his former mentor Mike Holmgren, Bill Walsh and others.

The video below is a roundtable that he did with 6 former assistant coaches who at the time were head coaches in the NHL

 

The 6 Coaches include;

 

 

 

John Harbaugh – Head Coach of the Baltimore Ravens

2019 rookie QB Lamar Jackson was getting MVP consideration in his first year leading Baltimore to

John also lead the Ravens to their second Super Bowl Win in 2013.

ORCHARD PARK, NY – SEPTEMBER 22: Head coach Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills reacts to a call during the second half against the Cincinnati Bengals at New Era Field on September 22, 2019 in Orchard Park, New York. Buffalo beats Cincinnati 21 to 17. (Photo by Timothy Ludwig/Getty Images)

 

Sean McDermott – Head Coach of the Buffalo Bills:

Sean was hired as head coach of the Bills in January 2017

2017 – 1st Season – 9 – 7 – Lost to Jacksonville in the AFC Wild Card Game

2018 – 2nd Season – 6-10 – Did not make the playoffs

2019 – 3rd Season – 10 – 6 – Lost to Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card Game

Although he did not lead the Bills to playoffs in his second season before he became the head coach they had missed the playoffs for 15 consecutive years and under his leadership has made the playoffs two of the first three years as a coach.

Many NHL insiders have shared that the Bills are back under his watch and will be a playoff contender for the next few years as a result

 

 

Todd Bowles – Head Coach of the New York Jets (2015-2018 seasons)

Todd replaced Rex Ryan as head coach of the Jets in January 2015 and is the only one of 6 aforementioned coaches not to lead his team to the Playoffs BUT came close in his first and last seasons he coached over 4 seasons but as a result contract was not renewed.

As the old cliche goes, close but no cigar.

Matt Nagy – Head Coach of the Chicago Bears:

In Matts first season as the head coach of Chicago last season (2018) he lead DA Bears back to the playoffs with a 12-4 record and was voted coach of the year as a result.

Prior to him becoming head coach the Bears has missed the playoffs for 7 seasons.

 

 

Doug Pederson – Head Coach of the Philadelphia Eagles

Doug was first a player for Andy, then became an assistant coach ironically under Andy when he was the head coach of the very same team before he was fired and soon after became head coach of Kansas City.

Doug lead Philadelphia to their first-ever Superbowl victory in 2018 in the Cinderella season that saw Carson Wentz have an amazing rookie season to lead the team to the playoffs, only to tear his MCL ligament and then backup Nick Boles took over and lead them to the Superbowl victory and was voted the games MVP.

Ironically similar injury woes happened in 2019 when Carson Doug and Carson lead the Eagles to the playoffs but he suffered a back injury forcing him to miss playoff games so again Nick Boles had to stepup as the “backup” quarterback to take over the reigns as he had in 2018 but were unable to have the same magical run and lost in the division game vs. the Saints.

 

Ron Rivera– Now head coach of Washington Redskins (formerly Carolina Panthers until Dec 2019)

Ron was named linebackers coach by Andy Reid the year he became head coach of the Eagles in 1999 and they went to the NFC Championship 3 consecutive years (losing all three) and then he became defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears in 2004, on to San Diego for same role in 2007 and in 2001 became the head coach of Carolina and had their best season in 2015 with quarterback Cam Newton going 15-1 and was voted coach of the year.

All but Ron  (he was fired at the end of regular season in 2019) still hold their head coaching roles but as the revolving carousel has shown in all professional sports, as Andy Reid found out with all the success he had as a coach, coaches get fired and rehired all the time.

If you watched the roundtable video above, or have followed any recent press, not only do his his current players LOVE Andy Reid as their coach, here is a tweet from Donovan McNabb who was the Eagles Quarterback during the great run the Eagles had earlier in Andy’s career making it to 4 NFC championship games and winning one to advance to the Superbowl in 2005.

 

Donovan and many his other players and various coaches he has mentored I suspect are all pulling for him to lift the Lombardi trophy on Feb. 2nd, 2019.

All of his current players including Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and others have all committed to GO WIN ONE FOR BIG RED.

As I have shared with many grassroots coaches, Andy is just one of many great coaches that parked his ego at the door years ago and the perfect testimonial why he is such a great coach is his infamous post-game call out he normally does in the dressing room but did the AFC Championship Post Game celebration

 

HOW Bout those CHIEEEFFFSSS !

For Andy, it’s not about personal success, its all about the team, his assistant coaches, support staff, the players, the fans which is the main reason why he is such a great coach.

As he shared at the end of the interview, it’s not done.

Only time will tell if Andy will raise the Lombardi Trophy he has come so close to doing over his coaching career, but one thing I do know, his players will leave everything they have on the field so they can WIN ONE FOR BIG RED.

PS Tagline - Dont be a kids last coach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Steelers Way

Posted Glen MulcahyPosted in Athlete, Coach, Organization Executive, Parents

October has evolved to be the business months of the year for us as various fall sports seasons ramp up and does not allow me to follow many professional sports including one of my favorite teams in the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

My interest in the Steelers goes back to my playing days in Tackle football, as the name for our youth football program teams once we got into the Bantam age group (13-14 years of age) was the Steelers and our uniforms were the same black and gold as Pittsburgh Steelers iconic franchise.  How can anyone argue that their 70’s dynasty team was not one of the best EVER as they won four Superbowls under the guidance of the Chuck Noll as head coach, Terry Bradshaw at QB, the iron curtain on defense (Mean Joe Green, LC Greenwood, Ernie Holmes and Dwight White), running back Franco Harris and the infamous Lynn Swan among other Hall of Famers.

This year the Steelers have been served a tough blow losing their QB Ben Roethesberger early in the season for the remainder of the year, and their backup Mason Rudolf who was concussed when he was sandwiched by two Baltimore Ravens players and has been the case with NFL officiating issues there was no penalty called on the play.

The result of the head contact that Mason sustained was something that you never want to see in the game and after the fact, Baltimore player was fined $21,000 for head contact which many argue was the NFL’s attempt to make amends for no penalty being called.

Having suffered 3 major concussions myself, the last I not only was knocked unconscious as Mason was but suffered a memory loss of approximately 2 weeks, I can relate all too well what it’s like to recover from this type of injury.

Although the NFL has made significant improvements in player safety, particularly for the quarterbacks, I don’t think anyone would disagree that they still have their work cut out for them.

As a result of Mason following return to play protocol (thankfully he should be able to return to play this season), the Steelers were forced to play their third-string QB Devlin Hodges,  nicknamed duck caller, who started his first game this weekend and lead the Steelers to their second victory of the season (now 2-4) over the LA Chargers (albeit Phillip Rivers et al did come back from 24-3 to almost tying the game in the 4th quarter for a final score of 24-17)

During the broadcast, Chris Collingsworth, colour commentator for Sunday Night Football, spoke about the fact that this was the Steelers Way, they have been known for their strong defense, gritty coaches (i.e. Bill Cower and his infamous scowl) and their tough defensive play since the inception of the franchise in the 60’s.

What many don’t know is that current Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is second in all-time winningest NFL coach who has coached for over 10 years only to Bill Bellichek, the long-time head coach of the New England Patriots dynasty team with Tom Brady at the helm.

Not only are they having to sustain the season-ending injury of Ben this year, they also had to deal with offseason theatrics from two of their former Killer B’s, Antonio Brown and Le’ Veon Bell.

Bell opted to sit out all of last season to hold out for a better contract (is now with the New York Jets), and the antics of AB became so ridiculous that I shook my head in disbelief from his demand for a trade, the LA (soon to be Las Vegas) Raiders taking a chance on him only for him to be let go and outright disappointment by head Coach John (Chucky) Gruden due in part to his whining about having to wear a new helmet, then the very same Patriots committing to a contract after he was released for AB only to reneg on it a few days later because of sexual abuse allegations that have come forth.

Good luck getting any of that $40 Million in guaranteed salary AB you are seeking, you demonstrated to the masses via your selfishness and lack of character why you do not deserve it.

Both players proved to be major distractions last and in the offseason but the Steelers found a way to overcome the adversity as they always have.

James Conner, the new tailback for the Steelers story has been well documented, growing up in Pittsburgh, playing for Pitt in college, suffering an MCL tear in his Junior season and then was diagnosed with Hodgkins in his 3rd year at Pitt.

He immediately underwent chemo with his coach and fellow teammates at his side while he fought his battle while he continued to work out with his team to stay in game shape.

Just 4 months after final chemo treatment he successfully fought cancer and returned to play for his team and was selected as one of the captains in his senior season.

Following that season, in 2017 his dream was realized and he was drafted by the Steelers in the third round and is now their starting running back, replacing Who?

The reason that I can relate to his story of the fight he went thru, I lost my mother to Cancer and remember all too well talking about winning the battles of the day to ultimately win the war, something I learned from my many years of playing and now coaching competitive sports.  Both my inlaws have dealt with Cancer and yet again we recently found out my mother in law has been diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time, in the very same month that the NFL and numerous other organizations are doing awareness campaigns for same.

 

Ironically I watched the Steelers game this past weekend when I was up in the interior to shut down my inlaws trailer and we spent a lot of time with them over the course of the weekend and I was reminded of the importance of fighting thru adversity yet once again by my mother in law.

One of former Steelers player DeAngelo Williams lost his mother to breast cancer and recently committed to pay for 500 Mammograms. Jerome Bettis, AKA The Bus, also received tons of support from his Steelers organization when his mother fought and successfully won her battle with Breast Cancer including a huge hug from Ben last season prior to a home game.

 

 

Like James Conner, my mother, Jerome Bettis’s Mother, my mother in law refuses to go down without a fight and will be undergoing her second surgery and chemo to follow starting Oct. 23rd so like it was the first time the support people provide via fundraising activities for those impacted is really close to home for us.

Per the late great coach that Scott Stuart shares in the video we highlight in this weeks newsletter;

Don’t Give Up.

Don’t EVER give up.

Kudos to the Steelers, the leadership of Mike Tomlin, players like James and all the others that adhering to the Steelers way as a blue-collar team from Pittsburgh whose uniform colours highlight the steel industry in their town, Black and Gold.  The fact that they iconic helmet stickers are based on the original steel mark of the steel industry Pittsburgh is known for and are only placed on  the right side of the helmets as a result of the early success they had in the 60’s when they were testing how the stickers would look.  The Pittsburgh Steelers epitomize the very city they represent where many are employed by various US Steel manufacturers.

The same uniform colours hold true for The Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) and Pirates (MLB) teams as tributes to their hard-working blue collar origins.

Ironically, Penguins former player, captain and now owner Mario Lemieux also dealt with Hodgkins and has been instrumental in rebuilding the Penguins to be one of the NHL’s top franchises thanks to drafting another pretty good player, Sidney Crosby among others.

Kudos to the Steelers for continuing to demonstrate their blue-collar routes, they nor the fans for never giving up and waving their terrible towels no matter what the circumstances of forms of adversity they face.

I suspect whatever other hurdles they face the remainder of this and seasons to come in future will continue to be dealt with “The Steelers Way”.

Don`t be a kids last coach

 

 

What Youth and Professional Sports can learn from the gaming industry

Posted Glen MulcahyPosted in Athlete, Coach, Organization Executive, Parents

 

Last Fall the World Health Organization (WHO) added a section to their International Classification of Diseases (ICD) called “Gaming Disorder” which will officially go into effect in 2022.

The section focuses on the patter of gaming behavior (“digital-gaming” or “video-gaming”) that has an increasing priority over other activities that takes precedence over their personal, social, family or educational life.

No reference to the fact that excessive gaming has been identified by all of the professional sports with the next generation of athletes and one of the questions that is asked at draft combines?

As we have shared for years, as a result of the digital era, many kids today have replaced their former active free time with inactive screen time which not only includes video and mobile device games, but binge-watching Netflix, spending hours on end on social media platforms, watching YouTube so shouldn’t the (WHO) look at either amending the ICD or adding one called “Digital Disorder”?

In a prior post we shared “Why Do Kids Play Video Games” we shared several of the reasons why kids today play video games and some ending up suffering from “gaming disorders” where it does impact their lives on so many fronts in terms of their mental and physical well being.

Last week Jim Benning, GM of the Vancouver Canucks, was interviewed by the Vancouver Sun if it was a concern for the upcoming draft as they continue to go thru their rebuild (5 years in the making to get back to the playoffs and counting) and he commented that is not an issue with NHL prospects as they don’t have the time to play video games excessively due to training on and off-ice, nutrition, and recovery needed for them to make the cut so to speak in the NHL.

This in response to rumours regarding one of their top prospects, Olli Juolevi, having a gaming addiction which his agent has denied and was also one of the reasons why their leadership group on the team (players) banned video game play while they were on the road to promote team chemistry and ensure they adhered to routines for proper rest and recovery and nutrition to play the rigourous 82 game schedule we highlighted in “This is The Future” at the beginning of this season nearing its end with a few games remaining the Stanley Cup Final.

 

Tweet Reply by Jeff Marek in response to an interview he had with a Junior Coach regarding an NHL first-round draft pick who was affected by the “gaming disorder”.

The Junior Coach shared with Jeff in that interview as a result that the player “will never play in the NHL because of a video game addiction”

All that talent, all the time he committed to making it to the NHL, getting drafted in the first round and blowing it all way due to playing video games into the wee hours of the morning night after night?

Imagine how the parents would feel after investing 10’s of thousands (if not 100’s of thousands if their kids were in academies) of dollars chasing the dream of having their son play in the NHL and missing out due to an addiction to video games,  makes you wonder if gaming addiction is added to the list of banned substances for all the professional leagues that lead to suspensions?

Although Jim Benning argued that it was not an issue with the current draft class, I would argue that it has to be on every general manager and scouts radar screen.

We recently shared out another article on our social media that shared further insight on the evolving gaming evolution posted in FORBES

Three Facts the writer shared:

#1 Professional Gamers are making REAL salaries

The highest paid eSports athlete is Kuro Takhasomi from Japan who earned $3.6 Million in one year, the average gamer is making about 60K

 

#2 Spectators for Video Game events is now more than for traditional spectator sports

The average time that young gamers are watching eSport events is approx. 3.5 hours a week, an hour more than they watch traditional sports.

The numbers are probably skewed right now with the millions of Canadians that are glued to their TV’s each night that the Raptors battle with the Golden State Warriors in their quest to win their first ever (and the first ever for a Canadian Franchise) NBA championship to dethrone the Golden State Warriors in their 5 year legacy.

#3 Only 0.1% will have a chance to become a professional gamer

There are currently only 500 professional gamers worldwide vs. millions who play games, see below for number of kids in the US alone that play digital games (PC and mobile)

Other facts

#4 – The Average age of professional gamers is 35 years old AND almost ½ of which are female.

Think about that … unlike traditional sports where the top 5 pro sports in terms of revenue and gate attendance are played by men with a huge disparity for their female counterparts in female only leagues in terms of media attention, spectators and salaries and eSports is all inclusive in terms of gender, race, sexual orientation.

Hmmm .. lack of inclusion that is affecting youth and professional sports is not a barrier to entry

With gamers developing via online (anyone in the world can play across the globe with access to the internet) before they become professional, the only thing that is required for you to be accepted in the gaming community is that you have the ability to PLAY.

#5 – 2019 revenues in eSports events is projected to exceed 1 Billion (USD) and is expected to exceed over $3 Billion by 2022

Compare that to the top 5 Traditional Professional Sports Annual Revenues ($ USD) in 2018

Hmmmm … NHL … pretty soon annual revenues will be trumped by eSports so if I was a general manager, coach, scout in the NHL it would be on my radar screen that prospects may have a gaming disorder and a focal point in the interview process pre-drafts or even when considering trade for prospects.

It is all about balance if they play a few hours a week is one thing, but if they play 20+ hours a week is another thing altogether as it will impact their rest, recovery and ability to adapt to playing at the level they aspired for.

#6 – The numbers

According to NPD Group, 91 % of children between the ages of 2-17 in the US alone play digital games, approximately 61 Million Kids,  up 9% from 2009, attributed to 17% increase in digital game play in the 2-5 year old age group.

REALLY ??

Shouldn’t the preK age group of kids be outside playing, in parks, at beaches, learning how their bodies move in lieu of playing digital games on smartphones, tablets or computer screens?

It’s no wonder that there has been a drastic decline in free play as kids have replaced their former active play time with inactive screen time.

In 2018 (the most recent stat we could find) approximately 2.2 Billion people globally play digital games (29% of the world’s population), 1.2 Billion of those play games on PC’s!

In 2018, the gaming industry was just shy of $140 Billion in revenue, half of which is played on mobile devices (think back a few years ago how Pokemon Go went viral for all age groups, not just kids)

Compare that to the Professional Sports Industry where the annual revenue for the top 5 professional sports last year was $36.3 B and they youth sports segment in the US now exceeding $17B, sports equates to approx. 1/3 that of current gaming revenues worldwide.

As the saying goes, if you can’t beat them, join them.

If traditional youth recreational, competitive and even professional sports organizations have a fighting chance to attract, retain and grow their memberships to curb the momentum of eSports that is growing exponentially before it is too late, STOP doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Look at the gaming Industry best practices by doing your research to understand your avatars (all stakeholders involved) and provide the best quality experience possible so kids love the game more the end of the season than they did at the start.

Encourage them to sample as many games (multiple sports and physical activities) as possible

vs. Working at Pong (one sport) year round

Make it safe to fail for all stakeholders (i.e. kids, coaches, officials)

vs. Adults competing with other adults thru kids.

Let everyone PLAY regardless of their ability so all kids develop

vs. Running short benches focusing on winning at all costs

Develop your coaches to learn how to coach beyond the game

vs. Old school coaching practices focusing on X’s and O’s 

AND

Most importantly ……

Make it Fun.

 

Let’s all work together to bring the game back to the kids… where it belongs.

 

Don`t be a kids last coach

 

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