EP 89: How Do Dads Navigate Youth Sports? with Brian Smith and Ed Uszynski

Many dads love seeing their kids playing sports, and many men like to volunteer with a team, but it can also be challenging. While sports can be a healthy activity that helps kids thrive, it is also an environment that can challenge our Christian values and doesn't bring out the best in us as dads. Our own issues can easily rise to the surface, and we don't always give our kids our best. Former collegiate athletes and current sports ministry leaders Brian Smith and Ed Uszynski have addressed the highly competitive and often secular culture of youth sports. Drawing on over 50 years of combined ministry experience with Athletes in Action, they offer guidance on transforming youth sports into a meaningful platform for discipleship in their new book Away Game: A Christian Parent's Guide to Navigating Youth Sports. Dean, Brian, and Ed have a great conversation around a largely unexplored topic, talking about why sports are so important and helpful for youth, how to navigate this world while holding on to Christian values, how discipleship and great parenting moments can happen through sports, and how dads can lead well in this space without losing what's most important. Copyright © 2025 Impactus. All rights reserved.