Bob Bigelow has been one of the country's foremost advocates for youth sports reform.
Former NBA player, Bob Bigelow, has spoken worldwide about youth sports programs, and provides new approaches for positive change in fully meeting the needs of young athletes as the top priority. Bob was an NBA first round draft choice and played four years for the Kansas City Kings, Boston Celtics, and San Diego Clippers. He played collegiately at the University of Pennsylvania for Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Daly. He devoted several thousand hours researching and lecturing about organized youth sports and its effects on children and adults. Since 1993, he conducted over 2500 talks and clinics worldwide. Bob was also selected as one of the "100 Most Influential Sports Educators" by the Institute for International Sport at the University of Rhode Island.
Bob recently passed away unexpectedly, and will be greatly missed by his family, many friends, and the youth sports community. He never gave up on his advocacy for improving youth sports for kids and impacted positively the lives of countless parents, coaches and players over the past 25-plus years. Bob's legacy can continue through his books and DVD videos, which have timeless messages and tips for anyone involved in youth sports. Please take a look below to see how to get hold of these. Thank you for helping keep Bob's legacy alive!
Get Bob's latest e-book,
Youth Sports: Still Failing Our Kids --
How to Really Fix It
VIDEO: Bob talks about his new book in this YouTube video.
Please Consider Donating to the Bob Bigelow Memorial Fund
Bob grew up and played basketball in his youth in Winchester, MA, and devoted countless hours to youth basketball in his community. To honor Bob's memory, a group of current and former Winchester, MA residents has begun a project to make much needed physical improvements to local outdoor basketball courts in the area and to also endow a needs-based college scholarship fund in Bob's name. The updated outdoor courts will help make basketball available to as many local kids as possible. In addition, the fund will also permanently set up a needs-based endowment scholarship in Bob's name for Winchester High School graduates through the Winchester Scholarship Foundation. In total, the Fund's objective is to raise $130,000. Thank you for your help!
For details, please visit https://winchesterbasketball.org/bigelow-memorial.
Bob on How to Fix Youth Sports
Make sports better for our kids.
A Heartfelt Testimonial about Bob:
"Dear Bob,
"About 25 years ago, you came and spoke to a group of youth sports coaches in Needham, MA. My children were infants at the time, years away from competing in youth sports. I wasn't a coach, but a friend of mine suggested I go; he thought I'd be interested. So I went.
"To say that that evening changed my life would be a gross understatement. Your message, your examples, your advice were eye-opening to me. I left there amazed at what I'd heard.
"My kids came of age and began to get involved in sports. My two older sons became hockey players. And, as someone who had played, I soon became involved in coaching. That is when your advice, warnings and observations came back to me. I began to see the different paths a coach and parent could potentially take — with vastly different outcomes. Your guidance kept me on the right path through the next 10 years. All the craziness you had spoken of, I began to see up close.
"As the years went on, your guidance helped me handle many moments like that. The teams I coached had a fair amount of success but more than anything, those teams had fun. I taught them as much about that game as I could but I always tried to make it fun. At the end of one season, a parent came up to me outside the rink and shook my hand. 'Coach, I would rather have my son play on your team and lose every game than play on anyone else's team and win every game.' Greatest compliment I ever received — and I never would have received it had I not heard you speak.
"Recently, one of my sons (who is 27 now) told me that one of his friends had been asking for me. 'Kids from those teams ask about you all the time — you have no idea the effect you had on those kids lives, Dad. They look back on playing for you as the best times they ever had.'
"Many of them played in high school, a few in college, and they all still lace 'em up in various (adult) leagues and pick up sessions. Whatever level of success they achieved, they still think the game is supposed to be fun. A lesson they learned from me.
"A lesson that was taught to me by Bob Bigelow, one night (long ago). You literally changed my life, Bob. And I will never be able to thank you enough.
"Best regards,"
— Jay Williams, Massachusetts | March, 2020
Eliminate adult misbehavior
Get qualified coaches
Make playing time equitable
Control excess travel sports
Reduce overuse injuries
See Bob's key points on:
"How to Improve Youth Sports."
The book, Just Let The Kids Play, co-authored by Bob, has coaches, parents and administrators throughout the country thinking about how they can give fun back to children in youth sports programs.
Keynote addresses to major organizations (see below).
Over 2500 community talks and clinics in 20+ years.
Bob shares his prescriptions for positive change — critical issues for everyone involved in youth sports organizations and how to get involved.
Featured on CNN, ESPN Radio and WFAN (NYC), and in radio spots, news articles, columns, Sports Illustrated.
Take Bob's Youth Sports Survey now —
Help provide important information for providing a better experience for young athletes.
White Paper: Tips for Improving Youth Sports
Appearances at Major National & International Conferences
- May 18, 2018 … Received Distinguished Service Award from Dearborn Academy, Newton, MA
- November 16-17, 2017 … Keynote speaker and break-outs at "Youth Sports Balance and Perspective" Conference; with basketball clinics hosted and sponsored by Sport Calgary and Calgary West Soccer Club in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
- July 8, 2016 ... Keynote Speaker at the Michigan Amateur Hockey Association's Annual Summer Conference in Bellaire, Michigan
- August 1, 2015 ... Keynote Speaker at the Louisiana Soccer Association’s Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA
- April 10, 2015 ... Featured Speaker at World Peace and Sport Conference at the Massachusetts State House in Boston; a collaboration between American and South African sporting organizations
- March 21, 2015 ... several talks/youth and adult basketball clinics conducted for Foothills Youth Basketball Organization in Glendale, CA
- August 2-5, 2013 ... Featured Speaker and Clinician at the First Annual World Youth Basketball Summit (WYBS); hosted by the Turkish Basketball Federation in Uludag, Turkey
- June 2013 ... Featured Speaker and Clinician at Super Sports/Kid-Centric Sunday in Owensboro, Kentucky
- September 2012 ... Madison School in Monterrey, Mexico
- September, 2011 ... Keynote Speaker at the USA Hockey ADM Conference in Pittsburgh, PA
- April 2011 ... Keynote Speaker at the New Zealand Sport and Recreation’s (SPARC) “Connections” Conference on Youth and Sport Participation; Audience of NZ Sport Sector CEO’s, Administrators and Coaches, Auckland, NZ
- November 2010...Featured Speaker at “Common Ground” Event; a Consortium of 15 Central New Jersey Independent Primary and Secondary Schools; Princeton, NJ
- April 2009 ... Keynote Speaker at San Francisco Friends School, San Francisco, CA<
- February 2009 ... Keynote speaker at the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) and the Professional Tennis Registry’s (PTR) annual Coaching Conferences at Hilton Head Island, SC
- May 2008 ... Keynote Speaker at Provincial/National Youth Soccer Coaches Conference in Kanata, Ontario, Canada
- April 2008 ... The Instituto San Roberto in Monterrey, Mexico<
- January 2008 ... Featured Speaker at the Tennis Australia’s Junior Coaches Conference as part of the Australian Open Tennis Tournament in Melbourne, Australia
- December 2007 ... Keynote Speaker at Regional United States Tennis Association Conference in Overland Park, MO
- November 2007 ... Speaker at the Connecticut Parks and Recreation’s (CPRA) Annual Conference at Mohegan Sun, CT
- May 2007 ... Keynote Speaker at New Zealand Government’s Sport & Recreation Dept. First “Connecting Coaches” Conference in Wellington, New Zealand
- January 2007 ... Keynote Speaker at the Pennsylvania Recreation and Park (PRPS) Coaching Conference in Lancaster, PA
- November 2006 ... Featured Speaker at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield, MA
- May 2006 ... Nike Corporation – Second Annual “State of the Game” Conference at Beaverton, OR
