A New Strategy Helps Children Achieve Success in Sports and Life

Hackensack Meridian Health’s Kristine Keane, PsyD, Co-Authors Book with Two-Time U.S. Women’s Soccer World Cup Champion, Christie Pearce Rampone

Sports offer a positive path for children to get healthy, develop self-confidence and become socially engaged. However, that path often is paved with negative parenting behaviors that can derail more than a child’s athletic performance. Be All In: Raising Kids for Success in Sports and Life, a new book by Hackensack Meridian Health’s Kristine Keane, PsyD, and two-time U.S. Women’s Soccer World Cup Champion, Christie Pearce Rampone, offers a new way of parenting young athletes by providing strategies that help alleviate the pressures and anxieties common to families whose children play sports.

“Parents need to know that there is no one way to make it to the top,” says Keane. “Working with children to define what success means to them is integral to their growth and ultimately their success.” The book discusses how parents can help their children fully draw on the benefits of sports, like building focus, teamwork, self-confidence and good health. “Teaching a positive, solution-seeking attitude can help children learn how to get the most out of wins and losses that will carry into adulthood," Keane adds. Understanding both the psychology and physiology after a game can propagate healthy conversations about emotions associated with performance.”

The spirit of “be all in” is about being authentically present in everything you do, on and off the field—a stark contrast to the outdated philosophies of “no pain, no gain.” Through a unique blend of neuroscience, parenting strategies, and wisdom gleaned from the experiences of a world-class athlete, Keane and Rampone explain how parents can create realistic expectations for kids, improve their performance, reduce their stress and help them succeed in all aspects of life.

The two authors met while Dr. Keane was the team neuropsychologist for Sky Blue FC, the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League) team Pearce Rampone was playing for and captain of at the time. They bonded over the challenges involved in raising youth athletes. As two sports moms with five school-aged kids between them, they were interested in helping other sports parents navigate through those challenges while managing to keep balance within their family lives.

As U.S. Olympic Gymnast, Shawn Johnson East says, “Be All In perfectly embodies the importance of helping children find where their passion lies and encourages them to build on it rather than focus on the pressure of winning.”

Be All In: Raising Kids for Success in Sports and Life is scheduled for release on August 18, 2020, published by Grand Central Publishing.

About the Authors

Kristine Keane, PsyD is a clinical and sports neuropsychologist and clinical director at Hackensack Meridian Health System’s Neuroscience Concussion Program, which serves children and adult athletes. She is also an assistant professor in the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. Dr. Keane has been working with professional athletes, physicians, and mental health clinicians for the past twenty years. She is a brain health expert with experience treating a wide range of neurological disorders, learning disabilities, and brain injuries, as well as helping athletes and professionals reach peak performance.

Christie Pearce Rampone is the most decorated American professional soccer player of all time. She is currently an active speaker, coach, and sports broadcaster. Pearce Rampone played in five FIFA Women’s World Cup finals and four Olympics women’s soccer tournaments. She is a 1999 and 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup champion and a three-time Olympic gold medalist, winning championship titles at the 2004 Athens Olympics, 2008 Beijing Olympics, and 2012 London Olympics. Pearce Rampone is the oldest player to have appeared in a FIFA Women’s World Cup game, and she is the second-most “capped” player in US and world history having represented the U.S. in 311 international games.