What is Tiger Cub Sports and Why am I doing this?

I’m long winded so here’s what I’m trying to build in as short of a synopsis as possible followed by a longer version of the why if you’re interested.

Tiger Cub Sports is a concept created out of necessity. When we moved to Fairfield County we landed in a place, like many, where the information about youth sports, whether we’re talking about the super competitive leagues or the more relaxed versions, was not readily available. And if it was, it was confusing. And if it was confusing and daunting, it was ever-changing. Each year new leagues pop up, many for-profit and expensive, and on top of all that rules seem to be changing all the time (and bent and adjusted). Tryout schedules are confusing, and town versus club and all that is just another layer of I give up. Take all this and top it off with parents who don’t necessarily want to share information. Coaches and organizers impossible to reach and a lot of what some call close to the vest attitudes.

So I thought to myself… wouldn’t it be helpful to gather all the information and put it in one spot. Without sounding too haughty, the goal is to democratize things. Make it accessible to everyone. I call it a youth sports portal.

As of now it’s just my ideas and my opinions with research done ad doc, and limited access to different sports. I’m doing the best I can and welcome user driven content. Contact me and let’s make a plan!

My dream is that everyone shares the information. Leagues and owners supply the what’s most important to them and to their communities in a reasonably easy way to digest. As opposed to digging through websites, TCS would have all the information synopsized and in one spot. Parents and players could weigh in on the often intense, over-professionalized world of youth sports: the good, the bad, the ugly, the smelly, the sweaty and the silly. Folks who have been through it before could pass down sage advice to others. Leagues and owners and players would be held accountable for their actions, accomplishments etc… whether they were seen as doing it right or wrong. And ultimately, we could work towards not completely losing sight of the joy, love, character development, health, wellness, camaraderie, community, and all the wonderful life enhancing wonder that comes with sports too.

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The Background

I’m sort of adulting now, but for as long as I can remember I started every college-type essay or interview with this statement: “I am an athlete. It’s who I am and it’s part of everything I do. It’s in my DNA and it shapes all my decisions. How I work, how I play, how I live…” The latter part I’m not sure I said ever out loud, for the sheer cringey fear of sounding like a complete fake try-hard, but it’s the essence of what I was trying to convey.

It’s not that I was bragging, despite what someone reading this or on the sidelines may beg to differ. All I know is my truth. This is how I felt for as long as I can remember, although it’s dissipating a bit over time. I always just led with this statement because I really felt it in my core. Also, someone told me first and foremost, to be honest in those explain-who-you-are scenarios.

Who I am and how I think and operate is likely a combination of my environment and something that exists innately. I know I owe a large part to my genetics, as my father was a professional athlete. And then I owe a huge chunk to my environment: how I was raised, and what I learned, the attention and what I just got used to at a young age. Of course, there was also an element of loving sports, competition, and the game I played. For me it was tennis. Whatever the source, sports were a huge part of my most formative years. Even to this day, while the interviews are over and my career is shelved while I attempt to raise four kids, youth sports consumes our lives.

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My husband and I made the decision to leave urban life in the fall of 2019. This was a pre-pandemic move; I’ll have you know…. and in the context of youth sports, and probably some other stories, that seems to make a difference these days.

The schedules and commitment were becoming harder and harder for us to manage in the city, while we realistically didn’t think a prepubescent ten-year-old was shaping up to play in the pro sports, we weren’t afraid to admit to ourselves that we wanted to ‘feed the beast,’ so to speak. The kid was, and is, a golden retriever. All he wants to do is play sports, all day, all the time, anywhere he can, and the city was starting to stifle him. And us.

The land of green soccer fields, regulation size goals parked on lawns and lacrosse bouncebacks (that’s the technical name) in every front yard, was a real draw. A huge factor we couldn’t ignore.

As parents, we had the luxury of wonderful, helpful new neighbors, and we owe a ton to their kindness and guidance. We got amazing advice about where to get food and toilet paper, the essentials at the time.

Once the cloud of covid-confusion and pandemic panic was sort of in the rearview mirror, we were able to reengage in the original dream of simply: Sports for our kids: What do we do? Where do we go? The “who, what, when and why” questions one would think would be easy to access, easy to find answers to – but sadly, not so much.

As a family we started to ask about teams, options, organizations, tryouts, schedules, and oh no… a new form of panic set in. We found it not only completely confusing, but also utterly exhausting. There seemed to be an endless menu of daunting decisions and tryouts and rosters and travel teams and town teams and options galore. And I’m just talking about youth lacrosse. I hadn’t even started figuring out where my daughters could play, and what sport even. Underwater basket weaving? Anyone know what season they play in and when the tryouts are?

It wasn’t just that there are so much and so many options. Sadly, we also didn’t realize that information isn’t always readily available and even sadder still, isn’t always shared.

Not to get into a longer discussion about the professionalization of youth sports in our country, and parents being overly competitive and sometimes delusional (sigh… yes it happens), that’s for a later rant. The point is this: information is not readily available and it doesn’t have to be that hard. Youth sports, from high-level competitive teams, down to life on the D-Team, should be shared and available. In a world where things are often so out of control, we want to share what we learned and what we know and take some of the confusion and all of the panic away.

There are a lot of wonderful families, student athletes, coaches and sports-related professionals who want to share their experiences with you as well. There are folks out there who have been through this system, from happy go lucky youth sports initiatives to the super intense we-are-already-training-our-kid-for-the-Olympics types. There are many willing to share their stories, advice, and ultimately break it down, so you can repeat or don’t have to repeat their mistakes, as well as the great choices they made. At the very least, they can explain the difference between town and travel lacrosse. I know I needed someone to walk me though it and thankfully found that one great mom who took my under her wing. Wouldn’t that be a nice item to check off your list?