The Principles of Ethical Youth Coaching
By Justin E. Mayer John E. MayerAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2012 Center for Ethical Youth Coaching
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4670-4474-5Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................viiPreface: The Aim of the Ethical Youth Coach....................................................................ixChapter 1: Positive Coaching...................................................................................3Chapter 2: The Ethical Youth Coach.............................................................................9Chapter 3: Practice and Game Plans.............................................................................19Chapter 4: The Five Stages of Player Development: An Overview..................................................27Chapter 5: Stage One: Laying the Foundation (Before First Practice)............................................35Chapter 6: Stage Two: Building the Frame (Practices 1-5).......................................................45Chapter 7: Stage Three: Exterior Finishes......................................................................57Chapter 8: Stage Four: Working on the Interior.................................................................67Chapter 9: Stage Five: Laying the Field........................................................................87Chapter 10: Maximizing Your Effectiveness with Young Athletes: A Developmental Perspective.....................93Chapter 11: Yelling as a Form of Communication.................................................................103Chapter 12: Self-Esteem and the Confidence Factor..............................................................111Chapter 13: Special Situations in Youth Coaching...............................................................115Chapter 14: Dealing With Parents...............................................................................153Appendix A: The Plan in Action.................................................................................165Appendix B: Playing Time Template..............................................................................167Appendix C: Helpful Resources..................................................................................169References.....................................................................................................171
Chapter One
Positive Coaching
Nothing can stop the person with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the person with the wrong mental attitude. -Thomas Jefferson
If you are not committed to following the ideals set forth in this first chapter, there is no reason to read the rest of the book. This may be a bold statement, but the attitude with which you approach your coaching is critical. In this chapter we will discuss the Positive Coaching Model. If you follow these suggestions you will ensure that you are reinforcing positive attitudes in your players and creating an environment that will help your players best absorb the EYC model. The positive coaching model ensures that you are always maintaining a positive mental state and encouraging your players. You must always keep in mind that participation in sports for young athletes is not primarily about winning, but about having fun and developing good habits. The concept of winning and losing should be introduced with an emphasis on the positive aspects of each. When the team wins, highlight the aspects that brought about the victory, i.e. dedication to practice. When the team loses, point out the things that were positive about the team's performance. Discuss with the team how they can improve certain areas of their play and how this will enhance their chances of winning in the future. "Keep it positive" should be your mantra! Later in this book we will discuss specific strategies for dealing with the concept of winning.
All too often coaches focus on the record of their team or on individual stats. This is best highlighted by the stat-driven game of baseball. A Little League coach who constantly focuses on players' batting averages is doing little to foster positive attitudes on his or her team. Of course, players with high batting averages will feel great. However, those with less than stellar averages will feel inferior. While highlighting players' stats can be a great way to motivate players, it should be done in moderation. Your players are not playing for million dollar contracts. Your focus should be on overall improvement and not arbitrary stats. If you are coaching children seven and under it is advised not to include any stats in the information you give your players. The key is moderation. The first words you say to your players should never be stat-oriented.
The following are some general guidelines to keep in mind in order to ensure that you are following the positive coaching model. Always make sure you are using "please" and "thank you." If you need something during practice say "please" and when it is delivered make sure you say "thank you." Make sure all your players are also following your lead and using these two magical words. If you witness a player demanding something of another player immediately address the issue by pointing out that "on this team we say please and thank you." It is very easy to get in the cycle of demanding things on sports teams, particularly when the competitive juices are flowing. Slow down and make please and thank you a habit. It is simple, yet powerful. Thank you.
Always focus on the positive. If a player makes an error, deliver the corrective lesson by leading with what the player did correctly. If you are having difficulty finding something positive to say about a given error focus on the player's attitude or approach, then go on to the problem. All too often coaches only use phrases like "you screwed up" rather than addressing why the player "screwed up." Then the coach makes the player repeat the activity that he or she made the error on. There is no problem-solving or instruction in this scenario. Rather than creating this negative cycle, make sure you problem-solve about what caused the error to happen. This is not to say that you have to stop the whole practice and spend several minutes addressing what may be a minor issue. The key is to make sure you do not repetitively engage a player in an activity that he or she is struggling with until you address why the player is struggling and how the problem is going to be corrected. This can be as simple as saying "follow the ball more" and then hitting him or her the ball.
The following is a list of ways you can be a positive coach. We encourage you to add to this list.
• Compliment a good play.
• Always lead with a positive statement.
• Have a special snack for the players as a reward for all their hard work.
• Smile.
• Emphasize having fun.
• Practice the drills with the players and while doing so emphasize how much fun you are having.
• Use please and thank you.
Challenges to Your Positive Attitude
Sometimes even the most positive coaches with the most well-planned practice can have a day when the players are not responding and are down on themselves. In these situations it may be best to focus on something that you know the team does well in order to build up the team's confidence. There are also days when the team is having discipline issues, and they are loud, being silly, or not listening. In these instances it may be appropriate to elevate your voice. However, make sure you are keeping your voice under control and not yelling. A great technique to get the team's attention is to stop the practice. In cases where a player's safety is jeopardized it is very important that you act very firmly. You must strongly convey to the team that this type of behavior is not tolerated. Raising your voice may be appropriate when another player's actions are making practice unsafe for other players. Again, stopping practice or removing the misbehaving player from that day's practice is as effective as a raised voice.
Yelling is something that should never enter a coach's tool-kit. The only time we advise raising your voice is to be heard clearly and immediately, such as when the safety of your players is in jeopardy or when extreme disrespect is displayed. For example, if a little league player is wildly swinging a bat near other players it would be appropriate to raise your voice when telling this player to stop. Furthermore, if a player is taunting another player and using physical force it would be appropriate to raise your voice at the aggressive player so they hear you clearly. It is not appropriate to raise your voice at a player because he or she failed to score or made an error or mistake. Use your judgment when it comes to raising your voice, but remember it is never appropriate to use inappropriate language in the presence of your team. Later in this book we will return to the topic of yelling.
Running as a punishment is never acceptable. The obvious dangers of running as a punishment are that it could overexert your players and cause some serious health issues. Furthermore, when you use running as a punishment you are creating a negative correlation with running. No longer will players see running as a fun activity that is critical to developing their cardiovascular system; running will be seen as a punishment. One of the focuses of an EYC coach is to promote a healthy lifestyle. Making running a punishment runs counter to this goal.
Think About Who you are as a Coach
Another important aspect of positive coaching is to make sure you are focused on the practice or game. What does this mean? Keep the use of your cell phone to a minimum. There is no quicker way to show your players that you are not interested in their success than by constantly talking and texting during practice. Young athletes are continually watching your actions. If you act disinterested, they will become exactly that. Many coaches are quite busy and there are times when taking a call or sending an e-mail is unavoidable. This is understandable. Just make sure that anytime you use your cell phone it is for a good reason and not just to see what your friends are up to.
Try your hardest to eat before practice. Coaches are busy people, and youth coaches are particularly busy because they typically have another job. Sometimes eating gets lost in the shuffle. Don't use practice time or game time to catch up on a meal. Coaches who eat meals during practice are distracted. How would you feel if you went to a coaching seminar only to have the teacher eating a sub sandwich the whole time? Some coaches will even eat during games! If you simply do not have time to eat before practice then make sure your eating is discrete and not a distraction. Always make an honest effort to eat before practices and games.
Another distraction to avoid is talking to people outside the team, i.e. with friends. It is not respectful to be distracting the team from practice because you are chatting on the sideline with a friend. Save the socializing for after practice.
While this book does not focus on the sports-specific side of coaching, the important topic of pushing players too hard and too soon will be brought up frequently. An Ethical Youth Coach must be committed to a gradual training plan that progressively builds their players' conditioning and not to have their players practice to the point of exhaustion. As an EYC coach you must put an end to this dangerous practice. An EYC coach knows the limits of his or her players and always operates within those limits.
Finally, a reminder: the attitude you bring to each and every practice is critical for the success of implementing the Ethical Youth Coaching Model. A coach who comes to practice in a sour mood will be unable to successfully utilize the strategies outlined in the forthcoming chapters no matter how noble his or her intentions. It is no fun to learn from a teacher who has a bad attitude. When you are with your team smile and be positive.
Key Words and Concepts:
The Positive Coaching Model Please and Thank You Focus on the Positive Negative Cycle
Questions:
1) List several ways you can be positive during your team's practice.
2) Why should a coach always utilize the positive coaching model?
3) What should a coach focus on when his or her team loses?
4) Why is running as punishment never acceptable in youth sports?
5) Why should a coach not focus on stats?
6) (True or False) It is okay for the first thing you say to a player to be stat-oriented.
7) What should a coach do when his or her team is not responding during a practice?
8) (True or False) It is okay to have yelling in your coaching tool-kit.
9) Why is eating during practice not acceptable?
10) Why is the attitude you bring to practices or games important to the success of implementing the EYC model?
Activities:
1) Create your own list of Positive Coaching characteristics.
Chapter Two
The Ethical Youth Coach
While it is up to each individual coach to develop his or her own style and system there are several qualities and characteristics that all EYC coaches possess. This chapter will talk about the qualities that are critical to your success as an EYC coach. One quality that you will find missing from this list is experience. While experience will certainly make you a better coach, particularly when this experience is directed towards a positive coaching style, it is not essential for being a good youth coach. Many youth coaches are "first timers" and to tell someone they can't be a good coach because they don't have experience would be counter to what The Center for Ethical Youth Coaching promotes. Remember, youth coaching is very different from coaching professional sports. Criticism targeted at inexperienced, first-time professional coaches does not apply to youth coaches.
Here is a list of essential qualities an EYC coach possesses. We call this the EYC Coach Checklist. Whenever you find yourself in doubt go through this checklist to ensure that you are on the right path.
EYC Coach Checklist
-Passionate
-Committed
-Organized
-Knowledgeable about the sport you are coaching (always improving your skills/ always learning)
-Communicates Effectively
-Verbally
-Physically (Body Language)
-Responsible
-Has a Coaching Philosophy
Passionate
Let's be honest, if you do not have a passion for coaching youth sports it will be incredibly difficult to be a good coach. Whether you are a school coach or a volunteer, your passion is the fuel that keeps you going as a coach. Ask yourself this simple question: why am I coaching youth sports? If something along the lines of "Because I love helping children succeed" does not pop into your head then you may want to reconsider coaching. If your motivation is money or winning at all costs you are certainly in the wrong line of work. However, if you have a passion for coaching youth sports and truly want to help children, then you have the most important characteristic of an EYC coach. Whenever coaching gets difficult, look back to the passion that inspired you to coach. Your coaching truly provides a great service to society and you should be proud of what you do.
Committed
While quite often passion is followed up by commitment there are many cases in which this is not true. Some coaches have tremendous passion but lack the commitment necessary to be a good coach, and vice versa. Coaching youth sports requires a lot of time and energy, and if you are not committed it will be impossible to be a good coach. Commitment does not just mean showing up to practice on time and never canceling a practice. A committed coach is one who takes it upon himself or herself to develop the complete player. A committed coach goes out of their way to help players and help youth sports in general. Being a committed coach does not mean you have to spend every waking hour dedicated to coaching. However, if you are not willing to dedicate time to coaching outside of practice and games, then you should reevaluate your commitment to coaching. Most coaches have numerous responsibilities other than coaching; therefore, the next key characteristic of a coach is crucial.
Organized
Chances are that youth coaching is not your primary job. In fact, most youth coaches are volunteers who have a full time job, and a family. By definition, your time is very limited. It would be a shame to waste the limited amount of time you have with the team reorganizing your coaching-related materials because they were haphazardly organized the first time. It is vitally important that you keep your coaching materials well-organized in order to stay on top of your game as a coach. We strongly suggest that you keep coaching folders or files. Start by filling these folders with tips you get from this book. Label each folder individually, and make sure these folders are easy to access, whether they are physical or virtual. In the next chapter we will talk about how to create a practice plan. Make sure you have a folder dedicated to your practice plans, and if your handwriting is not easily legible make sure you type out the practice plan for easy reference. If you are not using a calendar to organize your life, please get one for your coaching and write down all relevant dates. A little bit of organization goes a long way and it is vital to maximizing your effectiveness as a youth coach.
Knowledgeable about Sport Coaching and Athletics
As an EYC coach it is important to have knowledge about the sport you are coaching and understand the basics of athletic training. Further, you should always keep a mindset of continually increasing your knowledge of the sport and the needs of the players. It is important to draw a distinction between knowledge of a sport and mastery of a sport. Someone who has knowledge of a sport understands the basics, i.e. how to swing a bat, what each position does, the rules of the game, etc. Someone who has mastery of a sport understands intricate strategies and advanced concepts, i.e. how airflow affects the path of a soccer ball. To be an EYC coach you must have knowledge of the sport you are coaching, but you do not have to be a master. If you are a first-time coach, see the resources section in Appendix C for where to find important information on the "X's and O's" of the sports you are about to coach. Furthermore, it is important that first time coaches seek the guidance of experienced coaches. If you are unsure in your knowledge of the sport you are coaching look over the materials you have compiled and talk to a fellow coach to gain more insight. If you have been coaching for a while make sure you have not become complacent and always seek to gain more knowledge about the sport you are coaching. Whatever your experience level as a coach, do not be afraid to seek the help of others if you are unsure about something. Moreover, don't teach your players something that you are unsure of simply to avoid admitting you don't actually know it. As a youth coach it is okay if you do not know something; you are not a professional coach who has a contract riding on his or her understanding of all aspects of the game. You actually provide a great model for young people when you admit that you don't know everything, but will try hard to find answers.
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Excerpted from The Principles of Ethical Youth Coachingby Justin E. Mayer John E. Mayer Copyright © 2012 by Center for Ethical Youth Coaching. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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