Upstart Sports
  • Batting Gloves
  • Football Gloves
  • Gear
  • Blog

High school and youth league

7/15/2025

0 Comments

 
We do gloves for both high school and youth football teams. Sometimes, they team up! Make sure you get your orders in soon so we can have them to you by the first kickoff!
0 Comments

Mmm, Mmm, Good

7/14/2025

0 Comments

 
Think your team wouldn't love having their own custom football gloves? Of course you're not thinking that! Get us going now and we'll have them to you before the first kickoff!
0 Comments

Do Youth Sports Need to be Fixed?

7/11/2025

0 Comments

 
By Brian Gotta, President of Upstart Sports
​

An article written in the USA Today entitled, Fixing Kids’ Sports: Why The Fun is Gone & The Players Are Quitting….What You Can Do, brought to light some very interesting pieces of information. Summarized by Richard Brunette, Recreation Supervisor for the City of Costa Mesa Recreation Division, they are:
· The drop out rate from children in youth sports is 70%
· Stress injuries among kids are at an all-time high
· That children are starting in sports way too early, even when experts say this has no correlation to kids becoming “stars” down the road. (In fact, it may have the opposite effect).
· That children are specializing in one sport much too early
· That 20-30% are playing on “elite” teams, even though only 2-5% actually have the skills to do so
· That children may be forced to play the same sport year-round, by the age of 10, for them to have any chance to play high school sports
· That practicing sports to this extent, and playing more of it, will not necessarily equate to a successful athlete or “winning”
· That those kids who participate in a variety of sports – and specialize only after puberty – tend to be better players, have less injuries, and play the sport they choose to specialize in longer
· That many kids are pushed so hard when young, they tire of the sport by high school and quit
· That 44% of parents say their children dropped out of a sport because it made them unhappy
· That 56% of parents said if they could change one thing, they would want their coach to be less focused on winning
Many of us remember fondly playing three or more sports as kids growing up and believe that would be best for our kids too. But when other kids, who are competing with ours, are playing only one sport year-round, how can we not feel that maybe our children are falling behind if they switch from sport to sport? It is a very complicated issue and tough situation for parents of a young athletes. There is no easy answer except that, perhaps, when the parent is more invested and involved than the child, it may be time to take a step back and reassess.
0 Comments

What helped you the most?

7/10/2025

0 Comments

 
By Brian Gotta, President of Upstart Sports

​My first job out of college was with a large sales organization and I was fortunate enough to be working in the same division as a truly remarkable, venerable icon of the company who became a mentor and lifelong friend to me. When he would visit our branch and run sales meetings, he always concluded them by asking various attendees, “What helped you the most?” While to some, this may seem like a tactic to ask for pats on the back, when I moved into management and was running meetings of my own, I realized that this was a fantastic way to reinforce the most important items we’d just covered. The feedback given served as a recap of what we’d gone over and allowed me to reiterate the points I’d made while they were still fresh in everyone’s mind, but do so in a way that was participatory. In other words, the audience was engaged and more attentive than they would have been had I simply subjected them to a verbal summation of everything I’d said.
When I began coaching kids in sports I learned that this technique had the same beneficial effect as it did with adults in the business world. When we’d conclude practice and have all of the kids take a knee, I’d ask a few of them, “What did you learn today?” Usually I’d get responses that would allow me to further extend what we’d just taught, while also ensuring that everyone “got it.”  If you try this out you might find it to be a very useful tool to help the kids help you coach them.
0 Comments

Canadian soccer league says winning by more thAn five means you lose

7/9/2025

0 Comments

 
In an effort to encourage sportsmanship, a Canadian soccer league has come under fire for implementing a rule that causes any team that wins by more than five goals to automatically forfeit their game. Critics of the rule say that there are lessons, even in large blowout losses, and that learning from defeats of this sort is part of life. Is this a good idea, or is this taking the idea of sportsmanship too far?
0 Comments

Baseball team parent checklist

7/8/2025

0 Comments

 
This checklist is modified from one we found on the Morgan Hill Pony website. Some or all may apply to your league.
Prepare Player Roster
Names/phone numbers of players  and parents
Email distribution list of all parents
Assist in Assigning Volunteers
Scorekeeper
Snack Shack shifts
Snack Schedule
Prepare snack schedule for your team
Promote use of the Snack Shack for snacks.
Opening Day Support
Assemble your team for parade
Volunteer hours available
Support League Activities
Hand out fundraiser packets (if applicable)
Phone call/email reminders for your team’s picture day
Communicate
Keep current on league activities and keep parents updated
Take your team’s views to appropriate board members
Encourage parent attendance at open board meetings
Coordinate Team Activities
End of season team party  (if desired)
Order trophies (as needed)
Manager / Coach’s gifts (if desired)
Inform your Parents of Potential Costs (if desired)
Banner
Lettering for shirts and hats
Uniform accessories  (i.e. belts, ¾ sleeve undershirt, socks)
Trophies
End of season party and Manager / Coach appreciation gifts
0 Comments

The importance of volunteers

7/8/2025

0 Comments

 
We just received an email from the President of a Little League who informed us that her league had been dissolved because of lack of volunteers. What a shame for those kids in the community.
Those of you who currently volunteer or have in the past should be proud of yourselves for being the backbone of your youth sports organizations. As you can see, without you, the kids you serve would not have a place to play. If you ever wonder if its worth it, or if your participation is really necessary, think what it would be like if no one was willing to help. Even if you sometimes feel that the parents who don’t spend their time as you do should be more appreciative, you can get all the gratitude you need every time a game is played in your league.
0 Comments

Sports Participation and Success in Life

7/7/2025

0 Comments

 
A follow-up to our earlier post on the correlation to playing sports and success in life, this by our regular contributor, Dean Herbert.

Sports psychology has some interesting findings about athletes and the effect of participation in sports.

Much of the research supports what is called “gravitational” hypotheses. That is, that a certain personality type will gravitate towards athletic involvement. What exactly have they found? In various studies they have found that athletes are more confident, competitive, objective and outgoing; as well as less anxious than their sedentary counterparts.

What does this mean to parents and coaches? It means that many athletes already possess characteristics that will make them successful in life outside of sports.

However there are other studies that have indicated that involvement in sports in the developmental years prior to maturity can foster some positive developmental effects upon personality (extroversion, stability).

What does this mean to the coach and parent?
Whether a youth athlete currently possesses these “success” characteristics or they can be developed; the advice is the same. All athletic programs for youth should place a premium on the development of self-worth, confidence building and foster independence. Winning should be relegated to secondary importance.

This is of course a tough message for most of us to hear. But there is a critical message and differentiation that has to be made. The primary purpose of youth sports is to foster development of desirable physical and psychosocial characteristics. Youth sports is a microcosm of society in general not of professional sports. The design is to assist youth in learning to cope with realities of life through sport. To that end, if we (parents and coaches) do not create that environment we have failed to serve the best interest of our children.

Some messages that must come through win or lose
·    The boys and girls are loved, accepted and valued regardless of their performance. They are more than the sum of their athletic performances.
·    Coaches and parents should never berate a child for a poor performance. Use these instances for learning opportunities on how to do it better next time.
·    Coaches and parents need to use both winning and losing as opportunities to learn. Life includes winning and losing. Everyone must learn how to cope and be gracious.
·    Teach qualities of persistence, good sportsmanship, emotional self-control, the ability to handle adversity and rebound.
·    Role model the very behaviors you want to see in your athlete. If you are over emotional, over critical, over protective or overly focused on just winning then that is what you will foster in your athlete. If you role model patience, incremental improvement, tolerance of a variety of skill levels, graciousness in all game and practice situations and learning from adversity – that is what your athletes will learn. That is what these youth will bring with them into adulthood. These are lessons that they will carry with them for life.

Dean Hebert M.Ed. MGCP is a certified mental games coach specializing in youth athletes and youth coaches. He has authored several books and hundreds of articles. He works with individuals, teams and coaches in all sports as well as performs guest speaking engagements on mental toughness. His website is www.mindsetforperformance.com.
0 Comments

Happy Independence Day

7/4/2025

0 Comments

 
We hope you enjoy the holiday weekend celebrating our nation's birthday!
0 Comments

A parent talks to their child before their first game

7/3/2025

0 Comments

 
While this is not new, it is a wonderful sentiment and ties in well with some recent posts on children who play sports and life.
This is your first game, my child. I hope you win.
I hope you win for your sake, not mine.
Because winning’s nice.
It’s a good feeling.
Like the whole world is yours.
But, it passes, this feeling.
And what lasts is what you’ve learned.
And what you learn about is life.
That’s what sports is all about. Life.
The whole thing is played out in an afternoon.
The happiness of life.
The miseries.
The joys.
The heartbreaks.
There’s no telling what’ll turn up.
There’s no telling whether they’ll toss you out in the
first five minutes or whether you’ll stay for the long haul.
There’s no telling how you’ll do.
You might be a hero or you might be absolutely nothing.
There’s no telling.
Too munch depends on chance.
On how the ball bounces.
I’m not talking about the game, my child.
I’m talking about life.
But, it’s life that the game is all about.
Just as I said.
Because every game is life.
And life is a game.
A serious game.
Dead serious.
But, that’s what you do with serious things.
You do your best.
You take what comes.
You take what comes
And you run with it.
Winning is fun.
Sure.
But winning is not the point.
Wanting to win is the point.
Not giving up is the point.
Never being satisfied with what you’ve done is the point.
Never letting up is the point.
Never letting anyone down is the point.
Play to win.
Sure.
But lose like a champion.
Because it’s not winning that counts.
What counts is trying.
0 Comments
<<Previous


    Upstart Sports designs  special products to showcase your organization's pride

    Archives

    July 2025
    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015

    Categories

    All
    Baseball
    Football
    Softball

    RSS Feed

About Us            Terms of Service            Privacy Statement            Contact           
  • Batting Gloves
  • Football Gloves
  • Gear
  • Blog