Amar Doman: Coaching Your Kid, Commitment to Community & Fighting the Focus on Phones

Amar Doman didn't make it as a professional athlete, but sport shaped everything about the man, the father, and the business leader he became. In 2021, Amar purchased the BC Lions and has been one of the CFL's most community-invested owners ever since. He's also a husband, a father of three, and a youth football coach who has spent years learning what it really means to develop kids not just players.

In this conversation with host Scott Rintoul, Amar opens up about the lessons sport taught him that carried seamlessly into business, why he believes contact sports like football and rugby build a kind of team camaraderie you simply can't find anywhere else, and what he's learned coaching his own son that changed how he parents all three of his kids.

Amar and Scott also tackle some of the biggest challenges facing youth sport today — from the affordability crisis that is quietly excluding families across Canada, to the smartphone epidemic that's eroding the locker room culture, and game IQ that great athletes are built on. This is a wide-ranging, honest, and deeply practical conversation for any parent who wants to raise a confident, resilient, hard-working young person, whether they're chasing a championship or just learning to love the game.

Chapters

0:00 Opening & Inroduction

3:21 Was owning a pro team always the dream?

4:20 Growing up in Victoria: rugby, basketball & backyard football

6:24 His parents' hands-off approach to sport

7:33 Staying active beyond youth sport

8:30 Coaching his own kids

10:23 What he actually wants his kids to get from sport

11:11 How sport transfers directly into business

12:18 Integrity: the same lessons show up everywhere

13:30 Why sport is a safe place to fail

14:27 Separating "dad" from "coach" on the field

17:04 How he's evolved as a coach year over year

19:44 Managing parents on the sideline

21:25 Listen before you react

22:32 Rotating players and what development really means

25:53 Why he chose football for his boys

27:35 How tackling is taught today vs. a generation ago

29:15 Football & rugby: a place for every body type

31:11 Flag football, the Olympics & BC's growth

32:41 Advice for parents on the sideline

34:10 How coaching made him a better sports parent

35:48 Where does equal play end and earned time begin?

37:02 The affordability crisis & what the Lions are doing about it

41:17 Merit-based sport vs. wealth-based sport

42:02 Can community sport make a comeback?

44:26 Where his values came from

46:11 Navigating social media with three kids

47:56 Should coaches address social media with players?

49:49 Highlight reels vs. full game film

52:37 The biggest issue in youth sports today

55:24 Why Amar chose to be a hands-on owner

56:45 Do sports backgrounds give people a business edge?

Resources:

https://www.bclions.com/amar-doman/

Follow Amar on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/amar.doman/?hl=en