{"podcast":{"title":"It's Only Kids Football","slug":"it-s-only-kids-football-6977406","podcast_index_feed_id":6977406,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/66a361b8d34ffa9141b184b4","website_url":"https://www.itsonlykidsfootball.com/subscribe","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/66a361b8d34ffa9141b184b4/1742163649969-a40db297-77ec-4553-8ec1-0d8a74d049d6.jpeg","author":"Ben Welch and Mike Clark","episode_count":103,"summary":"Ben Welch is figuring out how to be a decent kids football coach and a better Dad. He's joined by coaching experts, ex-pros as well as football industry folk and internet friends to help him navigate the minefield of parenting and grassroots kids football. It's meant to be for fun, but sometimes it's hard to remember - It's Only Kids Football. Links: https://linktr.ee/itsonlykidsfootballpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-29T10:19:08.917817+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-only-kids-football-6977406"},"episode":{"title":"When kids want to quit: Tough love or sympathy?","slug":"when-kids-want-to-quit-tough-love-or-sympathy","published_at":"2026-03-02T05:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-only-kids-football-6977406/when-kids-want-to-quit-tough-love-or-sympathy","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-only-kids-football-6977406","url":"https://linktr.ee/itsonlykidsfootballpodcast","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/66a361b8d34ffa9141b184b4/e/69a34d8847697ac803c8c603/media.mp3","summary":"Ben and Mike deliver an honest reflection on the reality of being a football dad, diving into the difficult balance between coaching a player and raising a son. They explore stoicism, discussing how to handle your emotions and unrealistic expectations. The conversation gets raw as they break down a gut-wrenching defeat played in \"war zone\" conditions, questioning why some losses stay with a coach longer than they do with the players. They challenge every parent to look in the mirror and ask: \"Are you gutted for them, or are you just gutted for you?\" Beyond the mindset, they share practical coaching strategies to keep kids focused, from eliminating downtime during sessions to using 6-4-2 ball mastery to build a child’s skill and confidence. Football DNA is the ultimate platform for coach and player development: https://footballdna.co.uk/sessions/ Get FREE delivery when you spend over £100 at https://www.discountfootballkits.com/ using code IOKFFD — but hurry, it ends at midnight on March 31st, 2026. Power your grassroots team with effortless payments — sign up with GoCardless today at https://gocardless.com/g/payments-sports-clubs/ and spend less time chasing fees, more time developing your players. LoveAdmin takes the admin off your plate so you can spend more time coaching and less time chasing parents: https://loveadmin.com/ Save £200 on the Veo Cam 3 👉 Use Code: iokfveocam3 Save 50% on the Veo Go 👉 Use Code: iokfveogo Arne Slot's sport psychologist on how you can develop your child's mental skills: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/lt/podcast/arne-slots-sport-psychologist-on-how-you-can-develop/id1761618341?i=1000679710829 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2gi0qhWx1DogaXhNaHr8jE?si=WSSO0n2kTJeCJInBkMv96A TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iokfootball Instagram:…","meta_description":"Ben and Mike deliver an honest reflection on the reality of being a football dad, diving into the difficult balance between coaching a player and raising…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4622,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/it-s-only-kids-football-6977406/episodes/when-kids-want-to-quit-tough-love-or-sympathy/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-only-kids-football-6977406/when-kids-want-to-quit-tough-love-or-sympathy.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}