Parents of Elite Athletes Breakout Sessions and Schedule
Purpose: To educate parents on how to support their athlete’s dreams with faith, wisdom, and perspective — without crossing boundaries that can hinder growth.
Mission: Parents will learn the ins and outs of the recruiting and development process, discovering how to help their elite athletes reach their full potential through balanced encouragement and informed decision-making. Sessions include open discussions with current and former professional scouts and college recruiters, addressing how certain parental behaviors unintentionally harm opportunities — and how patience and communication can keep a family unified on the path to success.
Event Partners:
Day 1 Schedule
Session 1: Welcome and Introduction: Building a Career with Character (Combined All-Participant)
Day: Day 1
Time: 8:00 AM - 8:30AM
Location: Conference Room #1
Overview:
This session challenges every participant—athletes, coaches, and parents—to redefine success through integrity, discipline, and faith. Dr. David Angeron shares real-world insights from athletics and leadership, emphasizing how true greatness is measured by character, not comparison.
Key Focus Areas:
- Building personal and professional integrity
- Living out faith through action and preparation
- Leadership rooted in humility and service
- Turning obstacles into opportunities for growth
Objective:
Inspire participants to view their athletic and career journey as a calling, using faith and discipline to develop excellence that lasts beyond the field.
Session 2: The Truth About Recruiting – Avoiding Showcase Traps and Understanding Coach Communication
Day: Day 1
Time: 8:45 AM - 9:15 AM
Location: Meeting Room #5
Overview:
This session gives parents the clarity they need to navigate the often confusing recruiting world. Learn the difference between genuine opportunities and marketing gimmicks while understanding how real communication with college coaches works.
Key Focus Areas:
- How the recruiting process truly works
- Identifying unnecessary showcase expenses
- Proper communication etiquette with college coaches
- Understanding recruiting timelines and eligibility rules
Objective:
Empower parents with the knowledge to protect their athlete from costly mistakes and guide them through a strategic, faith-based recruiting journey.
Session 3: NIL & Eligibility Education – Financial and Academic Compliance for Families
Day: Day 1
Time: 9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Location: Meeting Room #5
Overview:
As the NIL era changes college sports, parents play a critical role in ensuring compliance and stewardship. This session breaks down how NIL deals work, how eligibility is maintained, and what families can do to keep athletes financially and academically secure.
Key Focus Areas:
- NCAA and NAIA eligibility requirements
- Understanding NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) rules
- Managing taxes, contracts, and financial aid
- Balancing business opportunities with faith and academics
Objective:
Educate parents on the financial and academic responsibilities of NIL participation while helping them guide their athletes with integrity and accountability
Session 4: Supporting the Mental Game – Helping Athletes Manage Pressure and Expectations
Day: Day 1
Time: 10:15 AM - 10:45 AM
Location: Meeting Room #5
Overview:
Athletic performance is as much mental as physical. This session teaches parents how to recognize the pressures their children face, support them emotionally, and cultivate a healthy, faith-filled perspective on competition.
Key Focus Areas:
- Recognizing signs of stress, burnout, or anxiety
- Encouraging positive mindset and self-talk
- The role of prayer and family encouragement
- Communicating effectively after games and setbacks
Objective:
Equip parents with strategies to help their athletes stay confident, resilient, and grounded—both in sports and in faith.
Session 5: Scholarships & Aid – Understanding Real Costs of Collegiate Athletics
Day: Day 1
Time: 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Location: Meeting Room #5
Overview:
Scholarships can be a blessing—but also a source of confusion. This session explains how athletic, academic, and need-based aid work together, and what families can realistically expect in terms of college costs.
Key Focus Areas:
- The truth about full vs. partial scholarships
- Combining academic and athletic aid
- FAFSA and private aid options
- Budgeting and financial planning for college athletics
Objective:
Provide families with a transparent understanding of financial aid options, empowering them to plan wisely and avoid unnecessary debt.
30 Minute Break:
Day: Day 1
Time: 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Meeting Room #2
Visit Vender Booths, Rest, Socialize, Etc.
Lunch: Faith & Focus Luncheon (Combined All-Participant)
Day: Day 1
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location: Main Conference Room #1
Overview:
This interactive luncheon centers around reflection, gratitude, and faith in action. Participants share personal insights and testimonies about how faith fuels focus, discipline, and perseverance.
Key Focus Areas:
- Integrating faith into competition and career goals
- Developing mental clarity and emotional peace through prayer
- Encouraging community and support among peers
- Practicing gratitude and servant leadership
Objective:
Strengthen the spiritual foundation of the event by fostering fellowship and purpose-driven focus among all attendees.
Session 6: Understanding Boundaries & Lines of Communication – Partnering, Not Pressuring
Day: Day 1
Time: 1:15 PM - 1:45 PM
Location: Meet Room #5
Overview:
This session helps parents navigate healthy boundaries when communicating with coaches, scouts, and their own student-athletes. Learn how to stay supportive and involved without crossing lines that can cause confusion, tension, or miscommunication in the recruiting or team process.
Key Focus Areas:
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Establishing respectful communication with coaches and staff
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Encouraging athlete independence and accountability
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Avoiding over-involvement or emotional overreach
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Recognizing when to step in and when to step back
Objective:
Empower parents to communicate effectively and professionally while creating an environment that fosters trust, maturity, and personal growth in their athletes.
Session 7: Discipline and Tough Love – Raising Accountable Athletes
Day: Day 1
Time: 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Location: Meeting Room #5
Overview:
Great athletes are forged through discipline, consistency, and love that holds them accountable. This session guides parents on balancing grace with grit—how to model responsibility and perseverance while showing compassion.
Key Focus Areas:
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Understanding the difference between punishment and discipline
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Setting clear expectations and consequences
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Teaching resilience through accountability
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Balancing encouragement with honesty and truth
Objective:
Equip parents to raise athletes who embrace hard work, respect authority, and develop character rooted in discipline, integrity, and faith.
Session 8: Faith in the Family – Strengthening Spiritual Support Through Sports
Day: Day 1
Time: 2:45 PM - 3:15 PM
Location: Meeting Room #5
Overview:
This breakout reminds parents that athletics can be one of the greatest tools to strengthen a family’s faith. Learn how to turn sports moments into spiritual lessons and lead your family with love, unity, and purpose.
Key Focus Areas:
- Incorporating prayer and devotion into athletic routines
- Modeling humility, gratitude, and grace
- Using sports as ministry and testimony
- Building stronger family bonds through shared experiences
Objective:
Help families use sports as a platform to grow in faith and character, reinforcing that the ultimate goal is glorifying God—not just winning games.
Session 9: Emotional Health for Sports Parents – Managing Stress, Expectations, and Identity
Day: Day 1
Time: 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Location: Meeting Room #5
Overview:
The emotional journey of sports can be intense for parents too. This breakout provides tools to handle the stress of competition, recruiting, and performance pressure without transferring that anxiety to their children.
Key Focus Areas:
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Recognizing emotional triggers and stress patterns
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Managing anxiety and fear of failure
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Supporting athletes during slumps or disappointments
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Finding peace and balance through prayer and perspective
Objective:
Help parents maintain emotional and spiritual health, allowing them to be a calm, encouraging presence who models grace under pressure.
Session 10: Leadership, Legacy, and Life Balance – Becoming the Player Others Follow (All-Participants)
Day: Day 1
Time: 4:15 PM - 4:45 PM
Location: Main Conference Room #1
Overview:
Leadership, family, and faith are deeply connected in sustaining a successful athletic career. This session blends principles of leadership development with personal balance, helping athletes grow in influence while keeping their priorities grounded in faith and relationships.
Key Focus Areas:
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Leading by example through humility and integrity
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Building positive team culture and locker-room influence
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Maintaining strong family and faith foundations
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Managing time, relationships, and accountability on and off the field
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Using leadership as a platform for mentorship and impact
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Objective:
Develop athletes who lead with purpose, manage their personal and professional lives with balance, and inspire others through consistency, compassion, and character.
Supper: Combined Evening Panel Supper – “From High School Dreams to Professional Reality” (All-Participants)
Day: Day 1
Time: 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Location: Main Conference Room #1
Overview:
Former athletes, scouts, and coaches share their journeys from high school dreams to professional careers. This honest conversation highlights both triumphs and challenges, revealing how faith, perseverance, and preparation bridge the gap between potential and reality.
Key Focus Areas:
- Real-world transitions from amateur to professional athletics
- Mental, physical, and spiritual endurance
- Lessons in humility, faith, and consistency
- The importance of mentorship and guidance
Objective:
Question and Answer Panel to encourage participants to pursue their goals with perseverance and faith while understanding the realities and responsibilities of professional sports.
Day 2 Schedule
Breakfast: Combined Morning Devotional (All Participants Welcome)
Day: Day 2
Time: 7:30 AM - 8:00 AM
Location: Stadium
Overview:
Start the day grounded in faith and focus. This devotional offers a moment of reflection, prayer, and encouragement for all participants before the day’s sessions and evaluations.
Key Focus Areas:
- Centering hearts and minds on Christ
- Building daily discipline through spiritual habits
- Encouraging community and gratitude
- Aligning purpose and performance with God’s plan
Objective:
Set the spiritual tone for the day, reminding participants that success begins with a clear mind and a faithful heart.
Session 11: Preparation for Evaluation Day (All Participants)
Day: Day 2
Time: 8:00 AM - 8:30 AM
Location: Stadium
Overview:
Before stepping onto the field, participants receive practical and motivational guidance for the evaluation process. Coaches, scouts, and leaders provide insight on how to approach the day with professionalism, confidence, and calm.
Key Focus Areas:
- Understanding the structure and expectations of evaluation day
- Managing nerves and mindset under pressure
- Presenting professionalism and sportsmanship
- The role of preparation, attitude, and focus in performance
Objective:
Equip participants to perform at their best—physically, mentally, and spiritually—during evaluation day, emphasizing that preparation and poise reflect true character.
Session 12: Avoiding Scams – Identifying Unethical Recruiters or Agents
Day: Day 2
Time: 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM
Location: Stadium
Overview:
Unfortunately, not every recruiter or agent operates with integrity. This breakout helps parents recognize red flags and protect their athletes from unethical individuals and organizations.
Key Focus Areas:
- Common recruiting scams and false promises
- How to verify credentials and affiliations
- Legal and ethical representation
- The role of discernment and prayer in decision-making
Objective:
Equip parents to be vigilant and informed, safeguarding their athlete’s future from predatory practices while trusting God’s timing and guidance.
Session 13: After the Camp – How to Follow Up with College and Pro Programs
Day: Day 2
Time: 10:00 AM - 10:45 PM
Location: Stadium
Overview:
The recruiting process doesn’t end when the event does. This session helps parents and athletes learn how to follow up professionally and persistently after camps, showcases, or tournaments.
Key Focus Areas:
- How to write post-event emails to coaches and scouts
- Tracking communication and staying organized
- Following up with gratitude and updates
- Maintaining professionalism and patience through the process
Objective:
Give parents a clear plan to support their athlete’s post-event communication, ensuring opportunities don’t go unnoticed.
Lunch: Networking Luncheon (All Participants)
Day: Day 2
Time: 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
Location: Stadium
Overview:
This luncheon encourages intentional relationship-building among athletes, coaches, parents, and professionals. Participants will learn how networking, mentorship, and collaboration can open doors for growth both in and beyond athletics.
Key Focus Areas:
- Building professional connections
- Engaging in meaningful conversations and mentorship
- Developing communication and relationship skills
- Turning contacts into long-term partnerships
Objective:
Create a space for collaboration and fellowship that strengthens community bonds and encourages ongoing professional and spiritual growth.
Resources:
OUR
Books
Here are some of the books and resources written by our sports industry experts, designed to empower athletes, coaches, and parents with the mindset, strategy, and faith-based principles needed for success. From developing championship mental habits and navigating the college recruiting process, to understanding the realities of professional baseball and strengthening spiritual resilience, these works by Coach David Angeron, Drake Angeron, and James L. Gamble provide a roadmap for growth both on and off the field.
Available on Amazon & B&N
Now Let Springboard Your Career!
Now Let's Springboard Your Career!