#431 Dionne Koller, Professor of Sport Law, on How Law, Policy, and Politics Shape the American Youth Sports System, and How we Can Fix it

Dionne Koller is Professor of Law and the Director of the Center for Sport and the Law at the University of Baltimore. Professor Koller’s scholarly focus is sports law, particularly in the areas of youth, Olympic and Paralympic, and education-based sports, and she is a frequent media commentator and consultant to state and federal legislatures on issues related to sports and the law. In 2021, Professor Koller was appointed by Sen. Maria Cantwell to co-chair the Commission on the State of U.S. Olympic and Paralympics, which delivered its final report to Congress in 2024. Professor Koller also has served as chair and as a member of the Executive Board for the Sports Law Section of the Association of American Law Schools, is a member of the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s Administrative Review Panel, and is on the editorial board for the INTERNATIONAL SPORTS LAW JOURNAL. Professor Koller earned her MA and JD from the George Washington University and an LLM from Harvard Law School, and she is the author of MORE THAN PLAY: HOW LAW, POLICY, AND POLITICS SHAPE AMERICAN YOUTH SPORT.  Connect with Dionne at www.DionneKoller.com. BOOK A SPEAKER: Interested in having John, Jerry or both come to your school, club or coaching event? We are booking Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 events, please email John@ChangingTheGameProject.com to set up an introductory call. BECOME A PREMIUM MEMBER OF CHANGING THE GAME PROJECT TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST If you or your club/school is looking for all of our best content, from online courses to blog posts to interviews organized for coaches, parents and athletes, then become a premium member of Changing the Game Project today. For over a decade we have been creating materials to help change the game. and it has become a bit overwhelming to find old podcasts, blog posts and more. Now, we have organized it all for you, with areas for coaches, parents and even athletes to find materials to help compete better, and put some more play back in playing ball. Clubs please email John@ChangingTheGameProject.com for pricing.  PUT IN YOUR BULK BOOK ORDERS FOR OUR BESTSELLING BOOKS, AND JOIN 2025 CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS FROM SYRACUSE MENS LAX, UNC AND NAVY WOMENS LAX, AND MCLAREN F1! These are just the most recent championship teams using THE CHAMPION TEAMMATE book with their athletes and support teams. Many of these coaches are also getting THE CHAMPION SPORTS PARENT so their team parents can be part of a successful culture. Schools and clubs are using EVERY MOMENT MATTERS for staff development and book clubs. Are you?  We have been fulfilling numerous bulk orders for some of the top high school and collegiate sports programs in the country, will your team be next? Click here to visit John’s author page on Amazon Click here to visit Jerry’s author page on Amazon Please email John@ChangingTheGameProject.com if you want discounted pricing on 10 or more books on any of our books. Thanks everyone. This week’s podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sprocket Sports.  Sprocket Sports is a new software platform for youth sports clubs.  Yeah, there are a lot of these systems out there, but Sprocket provides the full enchilada. They give you all the cool front-end stuff to make your club look good– like websites and marketing tools – AND all the back-end transactions and services to run your business better so you can focus on what really matters – your players and your teams. Sprocket is built for those clubs looking to thrive, not just survive, in the competitive world of youth sports clubs.  So if you’ve been looking for a true business partner – not just another app – check them out today at https://sprocketsports.me/CTG. Become a Podcast Champion! This weeks podcast is also sponsored by our Patreon Podcast Champions. Help Support the Podcast and get FREE access to our Premium Membership, with well over $1000 of courses and materials. If you love the podcast, we would love for you to become a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions) for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK, its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will be granted a Premium Changing the Game Project Membership, where you will have access to every course, interview and blog post we have created organized by topic from coaches to parents to athletes. Thank you for all your support these past eight years, and a special big thank you to all of you who become part of our inner circle, our patrons, who will enable us to take our podcast to the next level. https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions