For parents of middle and high school athletes
Practice the ride home before you start the car.
The full version is $49 a season or $89 a year. See what you get
Aaron Lewis, CMPC
Certified Mental Performance Consultant
I’ve worked within Major League Baseball, Special Operations Forces and college football. The pro players I worked with could get help like mine any day they needed it.
Parents rarely can, even though how a kid learns to handle a bad game usually starts with the talk on the ride home. The Ride Home puts that help in your pocket, so you can practice that talk first, for one price.
The notes come from published sport psychology research, not opinion. You can try a practice ride free and see for yourself.
The ride home
Tough one.
Stares at the dashboard
Yeah.
Leaves some roomSimple, and it leaves room.
You’ll get more minutes next game. Coach will see how hard you work.
Kicks at her bag
Whatever. I’m not even sure that’s true.
Steers herKind, and it’s about the outcome.
Give her room
You give her some room. About 10 seconds pass.
Picks at a scab on her knee
Coach just didn’t put me in.
That sounds really frustrating. What was tonight like for you?
I was on the bench the whole second half. Watched us lose the ball in the middle a bunch of times. I could’ve helped with that.
Opens her upIt names what she seems to feel, without steering her.
The well-meant ones
Sound familiar?
Five things parents say on the ride home. Every one of these comes from a loving place, and they rarely land quite the way they’re meant.
Tap the one you’d say.
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Your verdict first
It encourages him, and it answers for him.
It gives your verdict on his game before he’s sized it up himself. Athletes who assess their own performance first tend to learn more from it.
Your part insteadLet him go first. Ask how he saw it before you add anything.
Based on: sport confidence research and motor learning research on feedback
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Making him feel better
Kind, and it’s about the outcome.
It tells him the result is what you were tracking. Results depend on a lot he can’t control. What he was working on is his.
Your part insteadLet the feeling be there. Then hand him the timing: “Want to talk about it, or not right now?”
Based on: achievement motivation and sport confidence research
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The fix
You’re probably right about it, and he probably already knows.
Players get their own feedback from the play itself, so this soon, yours probably isn’t news to him.
Your part insteadHold the fix until he asks. If he wants help, he can tell you what kind.
Based on: motor learning research on feedback
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Filling the quiet
Natural, and it takes his turn.
Back-to-back questions are one of the pitfalls trained interviewers watch for. Waiting gives him time to answer in his own way, and room to go first.
Your part insteadLet the quiet sit before you fill it. If he doesn’t add anything, that part is his.
Based on: counseling interviewing skills
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Taking over the plan
Generous, and it takes over his plan.
He picked what to work on. This picks the how and the when for him. Kids who feel in control of their own decisions tend to stay more motivated.
Your part insteadLeave the plan his. Ask, “How do you want to work on it?”
Based on: self-determination theory
Why it matters
It’s bigger than the drive.
The first goal is a calmer ride home. Over a season, those rides give your kid practice at things a lot of athletes never learn.
- What’s theirs to controlTheir effort, their routine, how they handle the next play. Results depend on a lot they can’t control, like the call.Based on: achievement motivation and attention research
- Judging their own gameKids who size up their own play before anyone weighs in tend to learn more, and may lean less on someone else’s verdict.Based on: motor learning research on feedback
- Turning a bad day into a planNot all on them, not forever, about today. Then one thing they choose to work on.Based on: attribution theory and goal-setting research
- Playing for their own reasonsKids who choose their sport and enjoy it put in more practice and show more commitment.Based on: self-determination theory
“As a pro, everyone can play and everyone is prepared. The separator is often how well a player digests performance, so it doesn’t snowball. That’s an advanced skill. Learning it can start now, at a young age, on the ride home.”
When parents use it
Not just after the bad games.
- After a tough lossBefore one mistake turns into the whole ride.Practice this
- After a big gameGood nights shape your kid too. Some praise lands better than others.Practice this
- When your kid barely playedBefore playing time becomes the thing you both avoid.Practice this
- Before a hard talkShe got cut, or says she wants to quit. Practice it before you’re in it.Practice this
- After a ride that went badlyPractice what you’ll say when you go back to him about it.Practice this
- For whoever else drives themThe other parent, a grandparent. A second seat comes free.See the full version
- For whoever else drives themThe other parent, a grandparent. Your second seat is free.Save their seat
Why trust it
Built by a mental performance pro, on research, and tested hard.
Built by Aaron Lewis, CMPC
Four seasons helping build a mental performance program in Major League Baseball.
Why I built thisBased on sport psychology research
The notes come from published research, not opinion, and every claim was checked against it.
The research behind itTested before you see it
Hundreds of practice rides, every situation, sons and daughters 12 to 18, each one reviewed for a real-sounding kid and fair notes.
Welcome back.
Your practice rides, the three lessons and the after-game card are all in one place.
The full version
Practice every ride home.
For the next game, and the seasons after. The goal is that you won’t need it for long.
“I was genuinely so impressed (and shocked!) at how it adapted the examples and language based on the specific sport I selected.”
Six hills, each a harder ride
As your rides land well, you move up, and the help steps back.
- Four ideaseach turn
- Two ideaseach turn
- Ideasonly when you ask
- No ideasjust you and him
My practice shows what you’re getting good at and the one to work on. On game day, we email you your part for the real ride home.
- Unlimited practice rides, any night, with your own kid’s details
- More than a dozen common nights for your kid’s sport, or describe your own
- Full notes on every line you try, not just the highlights
- Three short lessons: what to notice at the game, how to ask in the car, and how to leave what’s next to them
- Help that steps back as you get better, so you need it less
Full year
$89
Launch price
The whole year, for less than two seasons. Every sport, every kid.
Get the yearTeam season
$39
per family
For a coach or team parent: one link for the team’s parent chat, for 8+ families.
Get a team passNot helping? Full refund within 30 days on a season or year pass, no questions asked.
One pass covers two of you. Add the other parent, or whoever else drives your kid home, for free, with their own sign-in.
The lessons and hard moments are written for baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, football, hockey, tennis, golf, lacrosse and swimming, not yet for your kid’s sport. Practice rides work for any sport.
Passes end on their own. Nothing to cancel. By buying you agree to the terms.
Questions
What parents ask first
Is it really my kid?
No. It’s an AI that plays a kid shaped by what you tell it: son or daughter, age, their place on the team and how they tend to react. Real kids vary, so treat it as practice, not a prediction.
Do I need to know the sport?
No. Most of what helps is how you listen and what you ask, not what you know about the game.
Is what I type saved?
No. Nothing you type in a practice ride is kept, unless you choose to share a ride with Aaron so he can make the practice better. If you write down how a real ride home went, on My practice, that’s kept for you, and only you see it.
Is this therapy or professional advice?
No. It’s education and practice for parents, built on published sport psychology research. If you’re worried about your kid’s safety or health, talk to someone who can help.
What ages is it for?
Kids 12 to 18, sons and daughters, in any sport. Baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, football, hockey, tennis, golf, lacrosse and swimming are on the list, and for another sport you can describe the night yourself.
Can my team use it?
Yes. A team pass is $39 a family, for 8+ families. You get one link to share in the team’s parent chat, and each family gets their own season. Get a team pass
What happens when my pass ends?
It just ends. Passes don’t renew, so there’s nothing to cancel. When a new season starts, you can get another one.
Free
The after-game card
What the practice teaches, on one screen. Look at it in the parking lot before you start the car.
Baseball
Softball
Basketball
Soccer
Volleyball
Football
Hockey
Tennis
Golf
Lacrosse
Swimming