A FIELD GUIDE FOR PARENTS OF YOUTH ATHLETES
Raise a child who plays for life.
Built to Play helps parents of youth athletes apply the science of long-term development — so your child trains smart, recovers properly, and stays in the game.
Built to Play by Marian Pitel · S&C coach, Health & Performance Bratislava
The problem, named
You're not your child's coach. But you're the one making the decisions a coach won't: which club, how much is too much, when to rest, when to worry, when to push.
Nobody hands parents a manual for that. Most of the advice you'll hear comes from someone with something to sell — a programme, a dream.
Built to Play is the other thing: the science, in plain English, with no team to sell you.
What Built to Play is
I'm Marian. I spend my days as a strength and conditioning coach — with professional and Olympic athletes, and with eight-year-olds taking their first proper steps in sport. The principles that protect a professional's career are the same ones that keep your child healthy, improving, and still in love with the game at sixteen. My job here is to translate them for you — whatever sport your child plays, at any age from six to eighteen.
Credibility
- Works daily with elite athletes — professional, Olympic, NHL — at Health & Performance Bratislava
- EXOS Performance Specialist · FMS certified
- Trained directly under Ben Prentiss (NHL strength & conditioning), Tim Gabbett (load management), Jean-Benoit Morin (sprint science), Johan Lahti (hamstring)
- Coaching since 2013 · father of two
⏳ Named athletes pending Marian’s list (D095 follow-up).
The Long Game + the parent tools
The Long Game
The whole journey in one honest field guide: specialisation, load, recovery, talent and your role. Written for the next ten years, not just this season.
Free, by email.Red Flags
Is that ache a niggle or a warning? Spot the five signs worth acting on.
90 seconds.Talent Reality Check
Is my child talented, or just bigger this year? Five honest questions, one plain answer.
Parent-Pressure Check
Am I supporting, or pushing? Ten quiet questions, just for you.
Training Load Self-Check
Is this too much? Three numbers, one traffic-light answer.
How we think
Biological age beats birth year. More is not better. Children are not mini-adults. The child still playing two sports at fourteen has options.
The Coach’s Note
The Coach's Note
Yes, send me the Coach's Note from Built to Play. I can unsubscribe any time, and we never share your email.
No spam. One note a fortnight, and you can leave any time.
Written by me, answered by me — hit reply on any note and I read it.
After you sign up (preview):
Done — check your inbox. While you're here: what's the one question you'd want to ask me?
And you can always just hit reply — I read every one.
⏳ Form wiring coming in a later PR.