In this episode, we cover…
(0:00): Kathy introduces her coaching background and explains how youth sports looked much different when she was growing up.
(2:00): She discusses raising a family while coaching lacrosse and eventually transitioning from high school coaching to Division III and Division I college coaching.
(5:00): Kathy explains why many young athletes today are overscheduled and why parents often feel pressure to “keep up” in youth sports.
(8:00): The conversation shifts to competitive parenting, burnout, and why kids need to fall in love with sports before intense development begins.
(10:00): Kathy discusses the benefits of multi-sport athletes and why exposing kids to different sports helps with resilience, health, and development.
(14:00): She explains why athletes should continue playing multiple sports into high school instead of specializing too early.
(18:00): Kathy shares what college coaches actually look for during recruiting, including body language, emotional control, work ethic, and leadership.
(24:00): She tells the story of a former player nicknamed “Rabbit” and explains why gritty, team-first athletes help build successful programs.
(28:00): The conversation shifts to coaching philosophy, leadership, accountability, and why coaching is ultimately about developing people.
(37:00): Kathy closes by discussing how parents can raise resilient kids by allowing them to fail, solve problems independently, and avoid becoming overly dependent on screens and technology.
Kathy Taylor on Building Winning Teams
Youth sports look completely different today than they did when Kathy Taylor was growing up.
Before becoming a longtime lacrosse coach at the high school, Division III, and Division I levels, Kathy remembers childhood sports being much simpler. Most competition happened through backyard games, neighborhood play, pickup sports, and school teams instead of nonstop travel tournaments and private training.
Now, as both a coach at Colgate and grandparent, Kathy has watched youth sports become increasingly intense for families. Kids often juggle multiple teams, constant practices, expensive tournaments, and year-round competition schedules before even reaching high school. According to Kathy, many parents feel pressure to “keep up” with everyone around them because they fear their child might fall behind.
While Kathy understands those intentions usually come from love, she believes many families unintentionally overcomplicate childhood in the process.
Throughout the conversation, she repeatedly emphasized one core idea:
Kids need to fall in love with sports before adults turn sports into work.
Why Kathy Believes Childhood Should Still Feel Like Childhood
One of the strongest points Kathy made was that children today are often overscheduled far too early.
According to Kathy, parents naturally want to provide opportunities for their kids, but too much structure can eventually overwhelm young athletes. She explained that kids still need time to sleep, eat, play outside, spend time with friends, and simply be children.
Kathy believes many athletes burn out because they are pushed into serious competition before they truly develop a love for the game itself. Instead of naturally becoming passionate about sports, some children begin associating athletics with pressure, travel, expectations, and stress.
That pressure becomes even stronger once parents begin investing large amounts of money and time into travel teams, hotels, tournaments, and private training. Kathy explained that children can start feeling responsible for “repaying” those sacrifices through performance.
Over time, sports stop feeling fun.
The Problem With “Competitive Parenting”
Kathy described today’s youth sports environment as a form of “competitive parenting.”
Parents constantly compare:
- Teams
- Training schedules
- Tournaments
- Recruiting paths
- Skill development
- Scholarship opportunities
As a result, many families feel anxious about whether they are doing enough.
Kathy stressed that childhood lasts for a very short period of time compared to adulthood. Her advice to parents is to stop comparing themselves to other families and instead focus on raising resilient, healthy adults.
According to Kathy, parents sometimes forget that sports are supposed to support childhood — not completely consume it.
Why Kathy Strongly Believes in Multi-Sport Athletes
Another major topic throughout the conversation was multi-sport development.
Kathy strongly encourages athletes to play multiple sports while they are young because it helps them develop broader athleticism, different social experiences, and healthier long-term relationships with competition.
She explained that multi-sport athletes often:
- Stay healthier
- Avoid overuse injuries
- Learn adaptability
- Experience different coaching styles
- Build resilience in different environments
Kathy also loves exposing kids to individual sports like swimming, tennis, golf, or track because those experiences teach athletes accountability in ways team sports sometimes cannot.
According to Kathy, athletes learn valuable lessons when they cannot rely on teammates to carry them through competition.
Most importantly, she believes multi-sport athletes stay mentally fresher because they get natural breaks from year-round specialization. Instead of viewing tournaments like repetitive practices, athletes continue feeling excited for games and competition.
What Kathy Looks For When Recruiting Athletes
After decades of coaching and recruiting, Kathy explained that talent alone is never enough.
When evaluating athletes, she pays attention to:
- Body language
- Emotional control
- Leadership
- Team behavior
- Work ethic
- Coachability
- Energy on the sidelines
Kathy explained that coaches notice far more than statistics during recruiting events. She watches how athletes respond after mistakes, how they support teammates, and how they behave when things are not going their way.
One of her favorite examples was a former player nicknamed “Rabbit,” whose toughness, humility, and leadership helped transform an entire lacrosse program. Kathy described her as the type of athlete every coach wants because she consistently prioritized the team, handled feedback well, and brought energy every day.
According to Kathy, gritty athletes who embrace difficult work often become the foundation of successful teams.
Why Coaching Became About More Than Lacrosse
Although Kathy spent decades coaching lacrosse, she explained that coaching eventually became much more about developing people than simply winning games.
At one point, she even returned to school to earn a counseling degree because she loved helping young athletes navigate adversity, confidence, and personal growth.
Kathy believes successful teams are built through relationships, communication, accountability, and leadership. She also stressed that coaches must constantly evaluate themselves instead of blaming players whenever things go wrong.
According to Kathy, coaching is ultimately about helping athletes become stronger people — not just stronger competitors.
Kathy’s Advice for Raising Resilient Kids
Toward the end of the conversation, Kathy shared some of her biggest parenting lessons about resilience.
Her message was simple:
Do not remove every challenge from your child’s life.
She believes resilience develops when children:
- Forget things sometimes
- Make mistakes
- Experience disappointment
- Solve small problems independently
- Learn responsibility over time
Instead of constantly rescuing kids from discomfort, Kathy encourages parents to allow children to work through manageable failures themselves. That includes simple responsibilities like packing their own sports bag, carrying their own equipment, and learning from mistakes.
According to Kathy, those small moments gradually build emotional strength, independence, and confidence.
She also strongly encouraged parents to delay smartphones and reduce screen dependency for as long as possible because she believes excessive technology limits creativity, movement, and real-world interaction.
For Kathy, all of these ideas connect back to one larger goal:
Helping children grow into resilient, confident adults — not just successful athletes.
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