Parents of youth athletes — 5–7 minutes to shape what gets built for you.

We're building something for parents whose kids are serious about sport — anywhere from "they love it" to "they're chasing a scholarship". Before we build more of it, we want to understand the problems you're actually living with. It takes 5–7 minutes. There's no sales pitch and no signup required. Your answers stay anonymous unless you tell us otherwise.

GDPR — your answers are stored anonymously in our research database (Supabase, EU-hosted) and used only for the Built to Play research file. No marketing emails unless you opt in at the end.

Step 1 of 5 · Your athlete

Your athlete

How many youth athletes do you have in your household, and how old are they?Required

Where they sit on the recreational → elite scale:Required

Recreational — they play because they enjoy itCompetitive club — they train regularly, compete sometimesAcademy or selected programme — competition is the pointPro-pathway — being scouted, scholarship in play, or already signed

You are:

MumDadStep-parent / guardianOther / prefer not to say

What's on your mind

Before we show you any options — what's the single biggest thing about your child's sport that's on your mind right now? Whatever first comes to mind, in your own words.Required

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When something to do with your kid's sport is on your mind enough to make you Google it, which of these is it most often?Required

Training load — "Is this too much? Too little?"Injuries & health — "Why does this hurt? What do I do?"Talent & selection — "Are they good enough? Are they progressing?"Psychology & motivation — "They want to quit / they're losing the love for it"Nutrition, sleep, recovery — "Are they eating / sleeping / recovering enough?"Multi-sport vs specialisation — "The club wants more than I'm comfortable with"Pressure & emotional wellbeing — "I think they feel too much pressure"The parent role — "How do I help without making it worse?"Something else — what's on your mind? ___

Select up to 3

Which one would you most want solved?

That one — how settled do you feel about it right now?

I'm on top of itMostly fine, the odd doubtUnresolved — I keep coming back to itIt genuinely keeps me up at night

Do you believe anything could genuinely help with that — or is it just part of youth sport you ride out?

Yes — the right help would make a real differenceMaybe — depends who it's fromProbably not — it's largely out of my controlIt's just part of youth sport — not something to “fix”

Where you turn

When you find a new source you actually trust — a coach, an account, a writer — how did you usually come across them?

A friend or another parent recommended themMy child's coach or club pointed me to themSocial media (IG/TikTok/YouTube)A podcast or articleA Google searchI stumbled on them — can't remember

Select up to 2

Looking back at the past 12 months: what was the single hardest call you've had to make about your child's sport?Required

It could be anything — switching club, pulling them off the team, pushing through an injury, saying yes or no to a tournament, talking to a coach about something difficult.

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You & the coach

What do you most wish you had that your child's coach doesn't give you?

The bigger picture — how today's training fits a long-term planHonest answers a coach won't give (about talent, selection, realism)Help with the home side — sleep, nutrition, motivation, the parent roleA second opinion I can trustSomeone who explains the “why” behind what the coach doesMy coach is good but too busy to askNothing — my coach covers what I needNot applicable — no consistent coach

Select up to 2

If an online expert you'd never met disagreed with something your child's coach said, whose view would you weigh more?

My child's coach — they know my childThe outside expert — if the science was well explainedDepends entirely on the topicI'd want both and decide myselfI wouldn't trust an expert I'd never met

Which of these feels truer for you right now?

"I trust my child's coach. I just want context I can use at home.""I trust my child's coach but I want to verify what they tell me.""I'm not sure I trust their current coach — I'm looking for a second opinion.""There's no consistent coach — I'm trying to figure this out on my own."

When you're searching for help with the one that troubles you most, which best describes how you feel before you start typing?

Curious — I just want to know moreAnxious — I want reassuranceSceptical — I want to verify what someone told meDesperate — I'm out of ideasDefensive — someone challenged me and I want to push backI rarely search; I ask people I trust instead

When your child is going through a really tough patch — burned out, injured, losing — what do you most want from outside advice?

A reason to be patientA clear action planSomeone telling me what I'm doing is fineSomeone telling me what I'm doing isn't fineA specific person to ask — not generic adviceI'd rather not look outside at that point

A few optional extras

Which of these would you actually want? Pick any that appeal.

Red Flags ToolFive-minute check of whether your child's training pattern shows signs to act on now.Talent Reality CheckHonest answer on what your child's current level says about what's possible — and what doesn't.Parent-Pressure CheckQuick self-audit on whether the pressure your child feels is coming from where you think it is.Training Load Self-CheckHow much is too much for their age and sport — answered in under 90 seconds.The Long GameThe parent's essential guide to long-term athlete development — what to look for at every age, what to ignore.

Anything you wish we'd asked, or anything else on your mind about your child's sport?

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Would you like to be invited to a 20-minute follow-up online conversation?

Yes — here's my emailMaybe — depends whenNo, thank you

Would you like to subscribe to our fortnightly email — short, practical, parent-focused?

Yes — new emailNo, thank you