Tag: coaching
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Am I the problem?
As a coach and leader of programming, the thing that I used to complain about the most to my colleagues was that the kids were not engaged. They were not playing the games. They were sitting on the bench. They were distracted. They were on their phones. It was all about them and their behaviors,…
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People, right?
Let’s say I were to come into a large sum of money. If I were using it to start a youth sports program from scratch what would I spend the money on? Of course, I would spend money for the space, equipment, jerseys, and just overall keeping the light on. But to be perfectly honest,…
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You make it fun
Yesterday I wrote about the idea of your co-participation being important to kids actively engaged in sport. But it is because you can make it fun. When you play alongside the kids, you can set the vibes. You can model the rules for safe game play. You can move the energy from this is boring…
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Dreams are sometimes nightmares
You thought you would love it. You got into to coaching because you thought that you could make a difference. But now you find that it has taken up all of your time. You are coaching in an unerresourced area, so quite a bit of your time is spent being player transport and trying to…
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I hate that drill
Most sports have a variation of the drill. Players stand in line for what feels like an eternity as they watch one person perform a movement. In soccer, that is watching as another player takes shots on goal. In basketball, you might be watching someone perfect layups. In football, you sit and watch as the…
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What if recruiting was done a little differently?
Wild idea. You know how athletes go on recruiting visits and send out film to impress coaches? What if we flipped that? What if we consulted with kids to help them spot the signs of the best coach and program for them. We would work through the coach’s claims as the first step. Then we…
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Fixed to a mindset
As a child, I was overly attached the idea that I didn’t have “it.” “It” was the thing the other players had which led them to tryout success and more playing time. That is why those girls made it on the team and not me. I didn’t have the thing. But maybe my time would…
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How much are your coaches worth?
When it comes to youth sport, the focus is of course on the kids. But we do need to take a step back to make sure that coaches have all the support that they need to be great. Yes, you can give them more apps, more training, and mentoring. But it will likely take the…
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So, about coach training
Think back to when you played youth sports and the coaches you had. Chances are that those coaches learned how to coach from the coaches they had. They were simply repeating the behaviors they saw modeled for them. Maybe if you had that one great coach who changed your life for the better. But what…
The Sideline Fix 