A coach who is over-competitive makes the season fun for his son or daughter, and perhaps one or two other kids who possess better-than-average ability. But he reduces the fun for the kids who haven’t played much in their lives, or kids who don’t quite have the skills mastered yet. This coach puts the best [...]
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Your job as coach is to make this season a fun one and this should go without saying. However, too many coaches forget why they are coaching youth sports, and fall into negative patterns of behavior. Try to keep the following points in mind: • Your number one priority, above all else, should be that [...]
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The way you say something makes all the difference in the world. A coach might be frustrated with a player who he didn’t think was hustling and say, “You’re always looking for the easy way out!” Something like that can stick with a kid and do long term damage. If the coach would say instead, [...]
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I’ve coached thousands of kids for dozens of years in numerous sports. My teams have won league championships and all-star tournaments. But one of my greatest moments in coaching had nothing to do with winning or losing, but with a youngster who may have been playing his last game. Here’s a link to an article [...]
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The Little League in which my sons have played does not re-draft players each new season in Majors. Players, once “titled” to a team, stay on that team the remainder of their Majors careers. At their recent international congress, Little League International nearly voted to eliminate titled players as an option for leagues to utilize. [...]
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I feel that too many coaches see little mistakes in practice and, rather than address them, just let them slide because they don’t feel they are important enough to stop practice. However, by not addressing these we often miss great opportunities to teach. I believe in pointing out the minute details and letting everyone learn [...]
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As a coach, when making corrections to young players, it is a good idea try to temper any criticism with something else positive. Think of it as dessert after making a child eat their vegetables. For example, if I see a player field a ground ball off to the side when he could have gotten [...]
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