Bird Brown

But, at 5 years old, should Kyle even be playing an organized sport? When is it too young to start playing team sports?

In any case, most of us have a strong influence in which sport our kids chose to participate.

Looking at our surrounding counties, even counties in the furthest reaches of The Old Line State, and the development of their new facilities equipped with synthetic turf fields for practically every sport imaginable.

Reflecting on a lifetime of involvement helped me understand the valuable life lessons I’ve learned from sports.

Bird Brown column for April 1, 2018

The best athletes and the ones with the passion and drive to do the work on and off the field will always get their opportunities to play at the next level.

Why do we revel so much in the victory of the underdog?

There are many ways in which sports and sports figures can work with the general public to help bring awareness to certain causes that combine the star power of the professional athlete with the resources of hard working volunteers to reach a common goal.

If your kid is one of the “better” players on the team, it’s human nature to wonder why she is sitting on the bench and allowing that “other” player to take her precious playing time.

What about the countless number of sponsors throughout the county that quietly donate money to keep the community’s recreational sports programs afloat?

Sometimes we lose focus on why we put ourselves through this craziness when it’s the things that we do for our kids that give them the life experiences they won’t forget.

No matter your favorite, for the next couple of weeks, we’ll be watching a lot less of our weekly sitcoms and a lot more of the Olympics.

When discussion this week leading up to Super Bowl LII inevitably turns to who was the greatest quarterback of all time, it’s important that you recognize the best of their eras before you can think about who might be the GOAT.

A prospective player is better off steering clear of those recruiting services and create their own list of colleges that interest them based on their own morals, values, goals and objectives, and then attend those school’s ID camps and talk directly to the coaches to see if it’s a good fit.

Unless you make a serious attempt to get the group back together, you may never see the group of friends and their kids in the same setting ever again.

As parents, we all have grand ideas about what we want our kids to be when they grow up. But really it is their choice when it comes down to it.

What will be different as we head in to 2018?

But at what point as a fan do you give in to Mother Nature’s wrath, light up a fire and enjoy the game in the warmth of your home with cheaper beverages and snacks, and with hardly a line in the bathrooms?

Looking back now, I wonder if Sears and Santa shared mailing lists.

Like Adu, Pulisic hit the national stage at a very young age. But the resemblances pretty much end there.

If you have kids at some point in your life you’ve been involved in some sort of fundraising activities whether at church, school, or even in sports.

When fans have their passion stripped from them causing them to cash in their chips, it shows this conflict has gotten out of control.

Make sure academics are a part of your decision-making process.

I often wonder if these tournaments are designed for the enjoyment of the participants or do they represent a chance for a financial windfall for the tournament hosts?

Our history is filled with famous athletes who have forgone part of or all of their athletic careers to serve our county in the armed services.

The hardest role to play in sports, especially in youth sports, is that of referee. It’s no wonder that there is a shortage of officials across the sports landscape.

I can’t tell you how many times my assistant coaches and I have butted heads. If we didn’t have a solid base in our friendship and respect for each other’s opinions, our friendships and potential coaching relationships may have ended a long time ago.

To captivate the American audience, they need to have American idols to look up to that have come through the “farm” systems of NCAA soccer, USL and/or NASL, and ultimately in the MLS.

Here are my first thoughts on the current state of affairs of U.S. men’s soccer

Sports have become extremely competitive and the higher up you go the more important your character becomes.

What I’d like to propose is a new campaign called, “Take a Break.”

What I witnessed in my hour spent on the sidelines enjoying U7 soccer was a refresher course in recreation sports.

Are our kids just so tired from being overextended in everything that they have nothing left to give on game day?

Is there a place for running up the score in recreational sports?

It’s imperative that we all do what we can to help out in this situation.

The visions of mega million-dollar contracts, fast cars, big houses, and celebrity status make it easy for us to think our young superstar has what it takes.

Over the course of my coaching tenure, I have been amazed at the transformation in pretty much all aspects of the recreation sports scene.

About 10 years ago, I announced my retirement from boxing through one of my columns.

One of the most rewarding things I cherish as a high school coach is the contact with former players

This year marked the 55th anniversary of my wife's family taking consecutive vacation trips together.

When the Westminster Wolves were at the height of their successful run, we used a couple of coaches from England to run team camps for every team in our

When we had a little bit of spare time, my wife and I had the pleasure of working with a group at our church that worked with young engaged couples to help

This week the TV in our house has been filled with opening-round games of the Confederations Cup, being played in the same stadiums and cities that will host

It's Father's Day, a day to celebrate the important contributions of fathers throughout the world that take an active role in the parenting of our next

Thousands of high school seniors from across the county will listen to long-winded commencement speakers, accept their diplomas, shake hands, flip their

It is a rare occasion that my wife and I can get out and do anything together, maybe with another couple, unless we are on the sidelines of a sporting event

Memorial Day.

I have reached that stretch in my year where I have a little bit of breathing room between my spring soccer and lacrosse seasons and when summer fitness and

Every year, March Madness seemingly produces some incredible odds-defying, last-second shots that send one team on to the next round or crowns them champions

My maternal grandfather was an avid sports fan and influenced me to be the "Baltimoron" sports fan that I still am to this day.