Happy Feet

How to Be a Gold Star Soccer Parent (Everything the Coach, the Ref and Your Kid Want You to Know)

By: Dan Blank

Narrated by: Don Bratschie

Happy Feet is the ultimate resource for soccer parents. Written by best-selling author, Dan Blank, it will give you a better understanding of the game, its rules and terminology. This remarkable book includes links to seven excellent videos that help explain soccer's more mysterious concepts such as offside, the advantage rule and systems of play. By the end of Section 1, parents with no soccer background will have a working vocabulary of this strange sport and an understanding of all its moving pieces.

More importantly, Happy Feet details the most common mistakes parents make in dealing with coaches, referees, and their own children. It is a practical guide to situations that every soccer parent will eventually face.

Happy Feet is not a collection of sideline horror stories. Written by a coach with more than 20 years of experience, Happy Feet offers a wealth of advice presented in a conversational and humorous tone. It is the definitive handbook for parents that want the best possible experience for their soccer playing children.

Happy Feet will help you understand the most effective path for growing your child's love for the game, while also helping you steer clear of the behaviors that cause children to fall out of love with team sports. Discover the easiest way to have a positive relationship with your coach, how to effectively deal with playing-time issues, and learn how to talk with your child before and after a game. Plus much, much more.

Seventy-five percent of youth soccer players quit by the age of thirteen. Happy Feet was written to combat this staggering defection rate by arming parents with everything they need to know to nurture and grow their children’s love for the game, so that soccer fields from coast to coast are alive and well with the sounds of Happy Feet.

©2013 Daniel Blank (P)2021 Daniel Blank

A Must Read/Listen for EVERY Soccer Parent

I know I’m not the best and have always been consciously aware of my actions, and very open to others about it. I separated myself to reduce influence of any chatter (even positive) from other parents. Dan Blank reinforced my efforts of self improvement with knowledge and advice that hadn’t yet occurred to me, even off the field in every day life. I’ve double downed on my efforts and have been recommending the book since I first started listening. Highly recommend.

Strongly recommend

Great book for parent of youth soccer player, even/especially for Coach Dad. Don’t miss The Car Ride Home!

Perfect for parents and coaches

You don't find this advice in many places. I've been a player since 1987, former ref, parent, and youth coach. This advice is spot-on. My most negative soccer memory was from a well-intentioned family member and a teammate's parent before age 13. I experienced the sideline parent as a ref. The book is accurate and informative. Most importantly, it is helping me be a better parent/coach with some practical advice and reminders. It's so worth the quick read.

Great read for any sport patent, but especially a soccer parent

The book offers great insights for parents of athletes. It’s very coach centered, but makes a lot of sense. I started the book to learn more about soccer but ended up learning more about how to parent a soccer player.

Frank and funny

This book is a wonderful resource for parents new and old to soccer. I grew up playing and have been a soccer parent for five years now but listened from end to end and found the author’s perspective to be excellent, particularly in the last section dedicated to players.

Wish I knew before

I wish I knew all this 6 years ago. Glad I know it now. Thank you!!

How to be a Gold Star ANYTHING Parent

This book is fantastic. It is great from beginning until end. And it is really about more than just being a soccer parent. This book can be consumed by parents of athletes in any sports. This book can even be consumed by parents of non-athletes and you can still learn something and become a better parent.

It is simple lessons like listening to your kids and asking them about their game, their days, their anything and staying out of the response. Let them dictate the conversation. Let them think individually and critically and only chime in when they ask. Otherwise just listen.

This applies to soccer parents and parents of athletes of any sports. There are a few soccer specific sentences in this book but beyond that it is incredibly transferable to any sports really and help you make sure that your kids are not loosing the joy in THEIR sports because of you. There are many pitfalls for parents. Many I have done myself. So this book is easily eye opening and puts all these issues into great context. Listen with an open ear and an open heart. Your athlete kids will benefit from it.

But the buck doesn't stop there. Most of the lessons can easily be transferred from interactions with coaches and referees to interactions with other important touchpoints in your kids and your life, like teachers, life coaches, person of authority and many many more.

This book is worth its weight in gold and then some. One of the best listens I had on here in a while. Great content wrapped in engaging story and with entertaining narration. And at just under 4 1/2 hours not too long. If anything I was yearning for more.

Thanks a lot Dan Blank!!!