A podcast focused on youth sports and what we can do to improve the experience for our kids. Coach Jim Tarro and Coach Keri Tarro investigate this issue from the perspective of coaches, parents, business owners, and community members.
How to Handle Officials Without Losing Your Mind (Coaches + Parents)- S2E3
Send a text Recent incidents across youth sports — from parents attacking referees to massive on-field brawls — have raised an important question: how should coaches and parents actually handle officials during games? In this episode of In The Fieldhouse, we break down several real incidents from around the country and talk about what they reveal about the current culture of youth sports. More importantly, we share practical advice on how coaches should approach referees and umpires before, d...
14 Jan 2026
Parents Aren’t Crazy: Why Youth Sports Feels So Heavy Right Now
Send us a text In this episode, Coaches Jim and Keri Tarro tackle a hard but necessary truth: the pressure in youth sports isn’t irrational — it’s a rational response to a system that has fundamentally changed. From scholarships and NIL to revenue sharing, recruiting rules, and the professionalization of college athletics, they break down how today’s college sports landscape is pushing pressure further and further down — into high school, middle school, and even elementary-aged athletes. This...
8 Jan 2026
Season 2, Episode 1: We're Back- and Youth Sports Hasn't Slowed Down
Send us a text Season 2 kicks off with an honest conversation about where youth sports is right now—and how we got here. Coaches Jim and Keri Tarro reflect on the past year away from the podcast, their own kids’ sports journeys, and the reality of trying to “do it all.” From early specialization and over-scheduling to burnout, anxiety, and the disappearance of recreational sports, this episode dives into the growing arms race of youth athletics. They explore why parents feel trapped in the sy...
22 Apr 2025
Episode 14- A KID'S PERSPECTIVE- Part 2
Send us a text In this episode, Coach Jim talks with his older daughter, Kylie, about her experience in sports and how it was having parents as coaches. Email: keri@thefieldhouseri.com Web: www.thefieldhouseri.com
1 Mar 2025
Episode 13- A KID'S PERSPECTIVE- Part 1
Send us a text In this episode Coach Jim interviews his 8 year old daughter, Jenny, about her experience playing youth sports, being coached by mom and dad, and her advice for other kids. Email: keri@thefieldhouseri.com Web: www.thefieldhouseri.com
29 Oct 2024
Ep 12- NOW WHAT?- Reflecting on mental health in youth sports
Send us a textIn this episode Coach Keri and Coach Jim reflect on the influential previous episode about suicide prevention and how this will impact they way they coach, parent, and run leagues they are involved in. Email: keri@thefieldhouseri.comWeb: www.thefieldhouseri.com
21 Oct 2024
Ep 11- YOUTH SUICIDES- "Checking in" with guest Rob Thorsen
Send us a textIn this powerful episode Coach Jim and Coach Keri talk with Rob Thorsen of the HT40 Foundation about his experience in the wake of his son's death by suicide, their Shoulder Check initiative, and youth suicide prevention. Email: keri@thefieldhouseri.comWeb: www.thefieldhouseri.com
1 Oct 2024
Ep 10- BURNOUT- Why kids stop playing youth sports
Send us a textIn this episode Coach Jim and Coach Keri talk about burnout in youth sports-- its causes, their own experience, and things we can do to combat it. Email: keri@thefieldhouseri.comWeb: www.thefieldhouseri.com
26 Aug 2024
Ep 9- BEHAVIOR- with guest Kristyn Gontarek
Send us a Text Message.In this episode Coach Jim and Coach Keri sit down with Kristyn Gontarek to talk about social emotional learning, meeting kids where they are, coaching and parenting strategies to maximize engagement, ideas to connect with athletes that are on the spectrum or have behavior disorders, and Kristyn's own experience as a new youth sport parent. Email: keri@thefieldhouseri.comWeb: www.thefieldhouseri.com
20 May 2024
Ep 8- TOXIC ADULTS- A Mismatch of Ideals
In this episode Coach Jim and Coach Keri talk about toxic adults. They talk about the roles adults play in youth sports, traits that make certain roles toxic, a root cause of the toxicity, and what we can do to solve it.
Email: keri@thefieldhouseri.com
Web: www.thefieldhouseri.com
30 Apr 2024
Ep 7- HOT TAKES- Controversial opinions
In this episode Coach Jim and Coach Keri give their hot takes on youth sports and sports in general-- ranging from Caitlin Clark to whether coaching has become to "soft" today.
Email: keri@thefieldhouseri.com
Web: www.thefieldhouseri.com
15 Apr 2024
Ep 6- NO STRUCTURE- with Guest Scott McDermott
In this episode Coach Jim and Coach Keri sit down with Scott McDermott. Scott has been a youth soccer coach for 15+ years, a board member of a local soccer organization, and is now the recreation director for the statewide agency Soccer Rhode Island. They discuss how youth sports has changed over time, the difference between how the US treats youth athletic development versus the rest of the world, and how a lack of structure leads to learning.
Email: keri@thefieldhouseri.com
Web: www.thefieldhouseri.com
10 Apr 2024
Episode 5- OFFICIATING- with Guest Jess Ruhle
Coach Jim and Coach Keri sit down with Jess Ruhle, a former D1 field hockey player, coach, and official as well as a current sports parent. They discuss the role that officials play in youth sports, what it's like to officiate games, why so many officials are quitting, and what we can do to make things better.
Email: keri@thefieldhouseri.com
Web: www.thefieldhouseri.com
1 Apr 2024
Episode 4- COACHING- Beyond the Xs and Os
In this episode Coach Jim and Coach Keri talk about talk about coaching in youth sports-- basic demographics, ways coaches negatively impact kids, and things we can do, as coaches, to improve ourselves and our kids.
Email: keri@thefieldhouseri.com
Web: www.thefieldhouseri.com
18 Mar 2024
Episode 3- MONEY- Here goes the cold water...
In this episode, Coach Jim and Coach Keri talk about money in youth sports. They talk through typical costs that families face, hidden organizational costs, inequality due to income, and the cold hard facts about college scholarships. They end with some ideas to ease the burden.
Links from episode:
https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/TeamSnap-Project-Play-REPORT-v2.pdf (https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/TeamSnap-Project-Play-REPORT-v2.pdf)
https://blog.massmutual.com/planning/cost-youth-sports (https://blog.massmutual.com/planning/cost-youth-sports)
https://www.ncsasports.org/recruiting/how-to-get-recruited/scholarship-facts (https://www.ncsasports.org/recruiting/how-to-get-recruited/scholarship-facts)
https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college (https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college)
Email: keri@thefieldhouseri.com
Web: www.thefieldhouseri.com
13 Mar 2024
Episode 1- YOUTH SPORTS IS BROKEN- The Problem
In this episode, hosts Coach Jim and Coach Keri outline the problem with youth sports today and its effect on our kids.
Links from the show:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2024/01/22/70-of-kids-drop-out-of-youth-sports-by-13-new-aap-study-reveals-why/72310189007/ (https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2024/01/22/70-of-kids-drop-out-of-youth-sports-by-13-new-aap-study-reveals-why/72310189007/)
https://health.ucdavis.edu/sports-medicine/resources/youth-injury-prevention (https://health.ucdavis.edu/sports-medicine/resources/youth-injury-prevention)
https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=sports-injuries-statistics-90-P01650 (https://health.ucdavis.edu/sports-medicine/resources/youth-injury-prevention)
https://gitnux.org/youth-sports-injury-statistics/ (https://gitnux.org/youth-sports-injury-statistics/)
Email: keri@thefieldhouseri.com
Web: www.thefieldhouseri.com
13 Mar 2024
Episode 2- PARENTS- We are part of the problem
In this episode, Coach Keri and Coach Jim talk about parents in youth sports-- the good, the bad, and the ugly. Most importantly they talk about how they can improve as sports parents to help kids grow.
Links from show:
https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/northwest/3-due-in-court-next-week-for-fight-at-youth-basketball-game/ (https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/northwest/3-due-in-court-next-week-for-fight-at-youth-basketball-game/)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znj1k3L4TBU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znj1k3L4TBU)
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/st-louis-youth-football-coach-shot-multiple-parent-practice-allegedly-rcna121383 (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/st-louis-youth-football-coach-shot-multiple-parent-practice-allegedly-rcna121383)
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-12-24-sp-12156-story.html (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-12-24-sp-12156-story.html)
Email: keri@thefieldhouseri.com
Web: www.thefieldhouseri.com
13 Mar 2024
Episode 0- The Introduction
In this episode, hosts Jim and Keri introduce themselves and the podcast.
Email: keri@thefieldhouseri.com
Web: www.thefieldhouseri.com
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
8 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
13 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 17 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
14
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
51
Host of In the Fieldhouse?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
