As someone who has coached for nearly three decades, I found myself highlighting page after page of this book. Guiding Your Child’s Athletic Journey is filled with thoughtful, well-researched insights that speak directly to the heart of what it means to support young athletes today. After reading it, I know I’ll be a better coach for my college team—but more importantly, I’ll be a better parent to my two daughters currently involved in youth sports. Alex Compton and Kevin Dalafu have done an exceptional job of breaking down the modern youth sports landscape and offering clear, practical guidance for both coaches and parents. I can’t endorse this book highly enough. It’s an absolute must-read for anyone invested in the growth and development of young athletes.

As a father, Coach, and former Athletic Director, I found the book Guiding Your Child’s Athletic Journey to be extremely helpful in providing practical advice to parent and coach your child.
Teaching your future athlete to focus on those elements within their control is essential for success.This book provides the framework to promote healthy relationships between the sports world and the real world!

"This book is the Bible for any parent to assist their child with their athletic journey. This book is the most inspirational, informative and encouraging book. this book gave me tips and tools on how to support my child whether they win or lose when playing games and life lessons that will support their journey not just on the court or on the field, but as they go through life, this book could be their Bible to guide them in every season of their lives.

Navigating the world of youth sports has never felt more daunting than it does today, which makes it hard to imagine a more timely or indispensable parenting book right now than Alex Compton and Kevin Dalafu’s guide to raising young athletes. This latest edition in the Wisest Learners series combines anecdotes from the authors’ careers playing and coaching professional basketball, wisdom gained from their own experiences as parents, behavioral learning strategies backed by research from the nation’s foremost child development experts, and straightforward lists and review questions of parenting best practices to impart countless lessons on fostering values like accountability, servant leadership, and healthy competitive habits. As the title suggests, this engaging and easy-to-read book will help Guide Your Child’s Athletic Journey; but that’s not all—it’ll also help you be the best parent you can be and the best version of yourself.

Guiding Your Child’s Athletic Journey, written by Compton and Dalafu, effectively engages sports-minded families and coaches with purposeful content of practical tips and reflective questions that facilitates the child’s athletic opportunities with character formation and life skills. The reader soon realizes that the book also contains helpful parental advice and applications. Both parents and coaches will benefit immensely in reading this book as they guide children and youth in their athletic journey.

This book has been instrumental in helping me evaluate and enhance my parental skills. Managing a child with ADHD presents unique challenges, and I appreciate that this book addresses not only the sport itself but also the comprehensive aspects of parenting. It emphasizes the importance of instilling good values, spending quality time, and understanding your child. Furthermore, it provides guidance on preparing them for adulthood with a strong emotional quotient (EQ) and adversity quotient (AQ). While skills can be taught, developing character is equally crucial in shaping a great athlete.

I have known Alex for more than thirty years as a dedicated, determined athlete who turned into an inspirational professional coach when his playing days were done. Now I know he is also a fantastic father. And he has blended these three parts of himself to write a guide to help all of us to be better in parenting our children during their athletic endeavors. I wish I had this book twenty years ago when I was starting down the road of growing a family, because with every chapter, I say to myself, ""Oh, that is true! If only I knew that years ago."" He has briefly summarized many of the important lessons that the rest of us otherwise have to learn the hard way, and he surrounds the lessons with great stories from his own career as well as quotes and wisdom from great athletes and coaches. As parents, we should be very thoughtful about our role at athletic events for our children, and this book is an excellent guide for making sure we keep our parent-child relationships as the most important thing as we navigate the ups and downs of athletics. Invest the time to read this book, and you and your family will be very grateful.