Coach Dad helps dads, coaches, and sports families navigating the pressure, politics, emotions, and purpose of youth sports.
From playing time and parent drama to leadership, faith, discipline, and character, we talk about what really happens behind the game - and how dads can lead well through it.
It starts at home.
We want to hear what’s happening in your sports family. Tap the Fan Mail link here and send us your question—or leave us a voice message. We spend a lot of time developing an athlete’s capacity. We train the arm. The swing. The jump. The speed. The strength. We pay for lessons, camps, club teams and recruiting help. But are we developing the character needed to carry the opportunities all that ability may create? Ashley McDonough spent 13 years coaching college volleyball and now works with a...
9 Oct 2026
Why Kids Quit Sports — And What Parents Are Missing
We want to hear what’s happening in your sports family. Tap the Fan Mail link here and send us your question—or leave us a voice message. There comes a moment many sports parents dread. Your kid gets in the car, or sits at the dinner table, or walks in from practice and says: “Dad, I don’t want to play anymore.” Most dads immediately feel the tension. Do we push? Do we let them quit? Are we teaching perseverance, or are we ignoring something deeper? In this episode of Coach Dad, Jim Miller he...
11 Sept 2026
Why Kids Fear the F-word
We want to hear what’s happening in your sports family. Tap the Fan Mail link here and send us your question—or leave us a voice message. What is your child really afraid of when they freeze in a big sports moment? Most adults call it a confidence problem. But a lot of the time, it goes deeper than that. In this episode of CoachDad, Jim Miller explains why fear of failure is often connected to relationship security. Kids may not simply be afraid of missing the shot, striking out, or making th...
28 Aug 2026
Why Coaching Character Makes Better Athletes | Steve Keenum
We want to hear what’s happening in your sports family. Tap the Fan Mail link here and send us your question—or leave us a voice message. How hard should you push your kid in sports? Steve Keenum says there comes a point when the athlete has to own the motivation, desire, and drive for himself. Steve spent decades coaching football, has served extensively with Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and is also the father of longtime NFL quarterback Case Keenum. But some of his most powerful lesson...
14 Aug 2026
Shaping How Your Athlete Sees Themself
We want to hear what’s happening in your sports family. Tap the Fan Mail link here and send us your question—or leave us a voice message. Your kid has a great game, and everything feels good. The hits, the points, the plays, the praise — it all feels like a win. But then they have a bad game, and suddenly the whole world feels different. That is when dads and coaches need to ask an important question: Is this just a kid learning how to handle failure, or is this a kid trying to define themsel...
31 Jul 2026
The Hidden Costs of Youth Sports for Families
We want to hear what’s happening in your sports family. Tap the Fan Mail link here and send us your question—or leave us a voice message. Youth sports cost more than money. Most families know the visible costs: team fees, uniforms, gear, lessons, gas, hotels, tournaments, and meals on the road. But the hidden costs are often harder to count. In this episode of Coach Dad, Jim Miller talks honestly about the full cost of youth sports — financial, emotional, relational, lifestyle, spiritual, and...
25 Jul 2026
From Iowa to UTSA | Kris Reupke on Failure, Grit & Fatherhood
We want to hear what’s happening in your sports family. Tap the Fan Mail link here and send us your question—or leave us a voice message. In Coach Dad’s first guest episode, Jim sits down with Kris Reupke — husband, father, coach, business owner, former Division I pitcher at UTSA, and owner/manager of DBAT New Braunfels. Kris shares his story from small-town Iowa to junior college baseball, UTSA, coaching, business ownership, and fatherhood. Along the way, he talks about mental toughness, fai...
17 Jul 2026
Good Dads Are Accidentally Crushing Their Kid’s Confidence
We want to hear what’s happening in your sports family. Tap the Fan Mail link here and send us your question—or leave us a voice message. Most dads who crush their kid’s confidence are not trying to hurt them, they are trying to help. They see the swing that needs work, the missed free throw, the bad body language, the mistake in the field, or the moment their child should have competed harder. So they correct. Then they correct again. Then they correct again on the ride home. But what feels ...
10 Jul 2026
How to Win Without Losing Your Kid
We want to hear what’s happening in your sports family. Tap the Fan Mail link here and send us your question—or leave us a voice message. What is the win costing? In this episode of Coach Dad, Jim Miller talks about the cost-benefit analysis every sports family needs to make. Winning is not wrong. Competition is not wrong. Excellence is not wrong. But if winning starts costing your child’s character, peace, joy, honesty, or relationship with you, the price may be too high. Jim opens with a si...
3 Jul 2026
Travel Ball is Breaking Families - And Nobody Wants to Say It
We want to hear what’s happening in your sports family. Tap the Fan Mail link here and send us your question—or leave us a voice message. Travel ball is not automatically bad. But every sports family needs to ask a better question: Is this sport serving our family, or has our family started serving the sport? In this episode of Coach Dad, Jim Miller talks about the pressure families feel in youth sports, the cost of travel teams, the hidden sacrifices that come with the schedule, and why dads...
26 Jun 2026
Your Kid Needs a Dad More Than a Coach
We want to hear what’s happening in your sports family. Tap the Fan Mail link here and send us your question—or leave us a voice message. Your child may have several coaches over the years — but they only get one dad. In this episode of Coach Dad, Jim Miller talks about the danger of letting the coaching voice replace the father voice. Many dads are deeply involved in their child’s sports, but involvement is not the same as connection. A kid can have a dad at every game and still feel like he...
21 Jun 2026
It Starts at Home: Why Coach Dad Exists
We want to hear what’s happening in your sports family. Tap the Fan Mail link here and send us your question—or leave us a voice message. Youth sports can be one of the best classrooms for courage, discipline, teamwork, toughness, humility, and character. But for many families, the pressure has gotten louder, the schedules have gotten heavier, the car rides have gotten quieter, and sports has started shaping the home instead of serving it. In this mission trailer episode of Coach Dad, Jim Mil...
21 Jun 2026
How to Survive the Car Ride Home After the Game
We want to hear what’s happening in your sports family. Tap the Fan Mail link here and send us your question—or leave us a voice message. The car ride home after the game can either build your kid’s confidence or quietly break it. In this episode of Coach Dad, Jim talks about why the postgame car ride matters so much for dads, young athletes, coaches, and families navigating youth sports. After a tough game, kids often do not need immediate correction. They need to know they are safe, loved, ...
17 Jun 2026
CoachDad: Coming Soon. . .
We want to hear what’s happening in your sports family. Tap the Fan Mail link here and send us your question—or leave us a voice message. Coach Dad helps dads and coaches lead better in youth sports, fatherhood, faith, character, pressure, identity, and family culture. Launching Father's Day, June 21. It starts at home. 📩 Join the Coach Dad email list for weekly encouragement, practical tools, and honest conversations for sports dads, coaches, and families. Credits: Photo/Video: N...
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