Aim Coaches’ Corner: Amanda Stanec Publishes Youth Sports Book

Welcome to the Aim Coaches’ Corner! In this new series, we highlight our coaches and the amazing things they do on and off the field! Our first Coaches’ Corner features Coach Amanda Stanec who is not only our incredible Junior Club program coach, but she is also a leader in youth sports holding a Ph.D. in education with a focus in kinesiology and physical education, owner of Move, Live, Learn, and proud mom to three daughters who all play Aim.

In early November, she published her first book called Protect the Joy: A Positive, Collaborative Approach to Youth Sport. We connected with her to talk about her book, love of coaching and youth sports and more in this Q/A story.

Q: Can you give our Aim Family a quick pitch for what your book is about?

Amanda: With over 25 years of experience researching, teaching and working in the youth sport space, I recognized a need for a book that takes a positive, collaborative approach to ensuring youth stay at the center of the youth sport experience. Rather than shaming and blaming, the book takes a solution-focused approach and shares findings from quality research in education and youth development through storytelling. This book is written for any parent with a child who plays sport, any youth sport coach and any club or program leader.

Q: What do you personally love about coaching youth sports?

Amanda: Relationships. I love coaching because I feel amazing when I help young people feel seen, and I am energized when they learn how good it feels when they do their best. It is a powerful feeling when kids realize how much I care about them as people. I love teaching kids that fun sport environments are ones where they are doing their best, learning something new and competing to their fullest ability. Fun is not slacking off – ever.

Q: What do you love most about Aim as a coach?

Amanda: As a coach, I truly enjoy the Aim athletes I coach, their families, and my fellow coaches. As coaches, we are welcome to share ideas, we communicate kindly and effectively, and we continuously reflect on how we can improve a program. Aim’s leadership is low-ego, inclusive, and approachable; they just want what’s best for kids. Aim coaches and friends I’ve met on the sidelines have been some of the first supporters of the book. These friendships and that support have meant the world to me and speak about the positive relationship-building happening at the club.

Q: What do you love most about Aim as a parent?

Amanda: As a parent, I’m grateful for the many development opportunities provided to all club members such as: club practices, technical sessions, small group trainings, play days, clinics, etc. Aim is always finding new and creative ways to support athletes in achieving their goals. I’m also grateful that my kids feel empowered to ask questions, advocate for themselves, and how they hype their teammates. Often, when I pick them up from my practice, my kids brag about a teammate or comment positively on a teammate’s improvement. This shows me they appropriately respect their peers and the sport. I appreciate that Aim’s programming is structured in a way for members to get involved in leadership capacities, such as coaching and officiating, during their formative teen years. These leadership experiences build on the many life skills that athletes at Aim are acquiring as athletes and help them learn the importance of giving back to sport at a young age.

Q: If you had one message to tell the Aim community about the power and importance of youth sports, what would you tell them?

Amanda: Youth sport is a big investment for families in terms of time, energy, and finances. When done well, it can help kids to believe in themselves, acquire life skills that will benefit them throughout their lives, and empower them to set and attain audacious goals. But, this doesn’t happen magically. Good people (coaches, parents, leaders) need to constantly reflect and continue to hone their skills, policies and programing to ensure that youth sport lives up to its promise of enriching lives.

Congratulations, Amanda, on the successful launch and publication of your book! It is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, local bookstore The Novel Neighbor and on her publisher’s website.