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Rob Crawford

Rob Crawford is a proud hockey dad of five children. He also is director of development at Fay School in Southborough, Mass., vice president of Red Sox Nation and a member of the Yawkey Baseball League of Boston’s Hall of Fame.

Hockey Dad: 5 thoughtful, well-executed approaches for playing time

In response to my last column, where I listed 25 maxims for coaches about “playing time,” several parents wrote to me with…

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Playing Time: 25 essential maxims for hockey coaches

Playing time. Without a doubt, these are the two most charged words in youth sports, generating more positive and negative emotions among…

Making the cut: The harsh realities of tryouts

The end of the hockey season also means the beginning of the next one, as club team tryouts are held the week…

‘Hockey is a great metaphor for personal improvement’

My 16-year-old son, Ben, started playing hockey at age 9. This past year, he played on his high school’s JV hockey team,…

Hot Shots: A different way of developing youth players

Imagine looking forward to hockey practices and games with the same enthusiasm normally reserved for Christmas morning. Imagine standing along the boards,…

A sports childhood worth reflecting on

My 18 year-old son, Robert, caught the "sports bug" in 2004, when he was 5 years old. Since then, he has played…
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Backyard rink pointers: Know before you build

I built my first backyard rink in 2010 when my kids were 11, 8, 6, 4 and 3, and today they would…

Winning’s the goal, but it isn’t the point

Of the 50 to 60 youth sports teams I have coached over the years, a handful made it to the championship game…

Three rules to coach by

Looking back over 27 years of coaching young athletes, the most valuable piece of wisdom I’ve gained is the necessity of setting…

Cheering at youth hockey games: A primer

As hockey parents, we all know that there are as many different styles of cheering at youth hockey games as there are…