Morgan Campbell's Fighting Family

• Fatherhood: Fighting Families

• Fitness: Shoulder mobility assessment

• Focus: Unliking the like button

• A book, a quote, a dad joke

Fatherhood: Morgan Campbell's Fighting Family

On the most recent episode of The Dad Strength Podcast, I spoke with award-winning sports journalist, Morgan Campbell, about his new book, different takes on family, and how we learn to forgive — or at least forget.

You can listen here.

Fitness: Shoulder Mobility Test

Want a quick way to check in on your shoulder mobility? One of my go-to assessments is the Wall Angel test. I’m going to tell you how to do it, tell you how you’re going to cheat, and then how to really clarify what you’re working with.

Setup: Stand with your back to the wall and the base of your head in contact with it. Drop into a partial squat until you can get your low-back flush to the wall. I.e. you shouldn’t be able fit your fingers between your back and the wall. From there, your goal is to bring your wrists to the wall — or as close as possible — with your elbows at 90º (see illustration but note that your knees will be more bent).

Correction 1: Your wrists, not your fingers.

Correction 2: Did you lose contact with your low-back? With your head? Start again and go as far as you can without any extra movement.

Note the distance of each wrist from the wall. Knowing what you’re working with is more important than any particular outcome. Also, note that it’s normal for this to be asymmetrical.

Before you press overhead, I’d not only like to see you not only be able to get your wrists into position without compensation but also for you to be able to put a little bit of force backwards into the wall.

Focus: Unliking the like button

Do the people in your life need you to like their stuff on social media? Will they continue to function without it? Will the universe keep on expanding without your explicit support and encouragement?

While I’m not completely off social media, I have stepped completely away from Facebook. The main strategy I’ve used — other than choosing a really boring platform to start with (you can always move the goalposts closer) is to stop pretending that my likes mean anything. I’ll reach out directly to anyone I really want to support. I can love them without liking them. If there is any kind of discipline here it’s simply not to re-entangle myself on the platform. The space I've freed up from being nice in one place has allowed me to be kind elsewhere.

Book

Every Moment Matters

— John O’Sullivan

O’Sullivan collected hundreds of interviews with top sport scientists, coaches, psychologists, and athletes to figure out what kind of coaching works for kids. Tons of wisdom in this book — much of which lives beyond the field.

Check out our book list

Submit your own recommendations here

Quote

“It has been proven time and again that a 5:1 ratio of positive to negative comments provides children with the best education and motivation to be successful. The coach that is constantly pointing out the negative, and never providing praise when it has been earned, is dangerous for your child and will lead to their emotional breakdown.”

— John O’Sullivan

Dad joke

What do you call two friends who like to eat together?

Taste buds.