This is exactly the type of rec basketball league we hope uses CoachDeck. But we have to admit that there is no drill in the deck to practice this.
Filed under: Parents and Children | Tagged: game winning shot, rec basketball | Leave a comment »
OnDeck Newsletter goes out tomorrow
Posted on February 25, 2013 by coachdeck
On Tuesday, February 26, our latest edition of OnDeck goes out with terrific articles from Olan Suddeth, John Ellsworth and more. You can subscribe so that you never miss an issue.
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Marketing genius
Posted on February 24, 2013 by coachdeck
Watch this video from the Fargo Force hockey club and see if A) you don’t want to buy season ticket and B) whomever created this promo shouldn’t be making millions creating beer commercials.
Filed under: Sports World | Leave a comment »
Developing a “Team-First” Mentality
Posted on February 23, 2013 by coachdeck
The following is an excerpt from the ultimate guide to coaching youth baseball, Winning Secrets, by Brian Gotta
HOW DID YOU DO?
I remember once when I saw a kid walking off the field after his game. I asked him, “How did you do?” He said, “I threw a one-hitter but they made a bunch of errors and let in some runs. I had a home run though.” I guess he didn’t realize I wasn’t asking how he did personally, but how the team had done. Far too many kids don’t have the team-first attitude. They’d rather go 3 for 3 and lose, than go 0 for 3 and win. This attitude usually starts at home and is not corrected by the coach.
I’m going to go out of my way, from the first moment our team all gets together, to explain our team-first philosophy. This means that anything we do is for the good of the team, not necessarily the good of the individual. I want kids to buy into the fact that when the season is over, even five years down the road, they won’t remember a certain game where they made a great play or hit a home run, but they will remember winning a championship and celebrating on the field with their teammates. They must understand that if everyone is only looking out for themselves, thinking of themselves first and what’s best for them as individuals, we won’t be successful. But if they’re all doing anything they can to make the team better, to help the team win, we’ll be champions. Its a message I learned and preach in business: If we succeed as a group, we’ll prosper as individuals.
PICK ME UP
I’m building a team that wants to win. And in order to win, they have to help each other out – pick each other up. Have you ever heard a ballplayer say, “Pick me up,” after striking out or making an error? Where do you think that phrase came from? My guess is that it originated in the ultimate team setting – during battles in war. I’ll paint the picture to my players about a platoon advancing under heavy fire. A wounded soldier falls and pleads, “Pick me up,” to his fellow platoon-mate. He’ll pick the injured man up and carry him to safety, not because it is what is best for him, (obviously stopping and then carrying a heavy man on his shoulders makes him more vulnerable), but because the only way an army platoon can be successful is if they all look out for each other. There’s no way he’s going to leave his brother behind.
So how does that relate to my baseball team? If a kid strikes out, I want his teammates to “pick him up.” Saying things like, “Hey, good cuts up there,” or “Good try,” or “You’ll get them next time,” give a player much more confidence than the cold-shoulder or negative comments. If I can get kids to buy into the concept that they must put the welfare of the team ahead – way ahead – of their own personal welfare, we have a much better opportunity to be successful.
Brian Gotta is a former professional youth baseball coach and current volunteer Little League coach and board member. He is the President of CoachDeck and also author of four youth sports novels which can be found at www.sportsbooks4kids.com. He is also the author of the ultimate guide to coaching youth baseball, Winning Secrets. He can be reached at brian@coachdeck.com.
Filed under: Working with Players | Leave a comment »
Bench Your Players to Improve Your Team
Posted on February 22, 2013 by coachdeck
By Olan Suddeth
Every league has one or two – superstar players who don’t put in their full effort, or who reserve that effort for games only.
Perhaps you have one of these on your team. As the coach, you were excited to land one of the “top” players in your league. And then, when you started practice, you discovered that your star shortstop doesn’t seem to take practice seriously. He has been told all his life how good of a player that he is – and he has the all star jerseys to prove it.
So he goofs off in the batting cage, since he can hit the ball without even trying. Likewise, during infield practice, he showboats a bit, missing routine plays more than he should, while making up for it with a spectacular throw or backhanded stop. Yes, he might pick up a bad habit or two while doing this, but during actual contests, he has his game face on, and still manages to play at a high level.
So what’s the harm? He can still help you win a championship, right?
If that’s your line of thinking (along with 90% of youth coaches out there), you should seriously rethink what your motivations as a coach really are. Should you want to win? Absolutely. As a coach, you should put the best team on the field that you can. But your first responsibility is to help each and every member of that team to develop into a better player than they were when you met them.
So don’t be afraid to discipline that superstar. Try talking to him first, privately. Let him know that you realize he has great talent and skill. Let him know that you realize he turns it on during the game. But explain that he is letting his team down by not putting forth his best every time that he steps on the field – his teammates look up to him, and if he dogs it, they may, as well. Furthermore, if he does not practice hard, he gives up the chance to improve as much as he could have, resulting in limitations to his game that simply should not exist.
You can try small discipline steps – give the player laps the instant you see him lagging in practice. Make him pick up trash afterwards. Give him push ups.
If he still does not respond, pull him from your infield and play him in right. Or better yet, let him start a game on the bench. Drop him to the bottom of the batting order. Explain why you made this decision, and make it clear that the requirements for every team member are the same – all players should be expected to give 100% all of the time; everyone is expected to earn their position. If your star is exempt, you are a hypocrite.
Ideally, you can identify this issue before the regular season starts, and have the chance to clear up any issues during the preseason. Even if not, know that the life lessons you teach this young man – and everyone on your team – are more important than the victory or two that might be in question because of your move.
Olan Suddeth is a Little League coach in the Birmingham, Alabama area. His website, Youth Baseball Info, offers free articles, drills, and tips for youth baseball coaches, parents and fans.
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The Rift (Part 2)
Posted on February 21, 2013 by coachdeck
by Tony Earp, Senior Director of Programming SuperKick/TeamZone
What is Best for a Player
This is one of the easiest things for a coach and parent to work together on, but it is probably the most common thing a coach and parent dispute. The coach has a good perspective on what is best for a player in regards to their soccer development, and the parent has a good perspective on what is best for their child in regards to their total development.
I will tell parents that it is absurd for me to believe that I know their child better than they do after a couple practices or an entire season. Parents have great insight into their children that a coach can use to help decide what is best for a player on and off the soccer field.
This is an area where coaches MUST rely on information from parents to make informed decisions about how they will coach a child. There are too many things a coach will never know, unless they ask the parent, which can play a significant impact how a child learns and performs on the soccer field. Coaches will often make the costly mistake of making assumptions about a player and making decisions based on those assumptions. Before the season begins, coaches should learn about the kids by having meetings with the parents to learn more about each player. This will make the coach and the parents allies in deciding what is best for a child during the season. Coaches who choose to refuse to engage parents in these types of discussions will miss out on a very important and valuable resource to performing their job.
Communication
Often the difference in expectations between how often a coach communicates and what the coach communicates to the parents can cause conflict. Likewise, how often parents communicate and what the parents communicate to the coach can light a fire as well. Before the season begins, the coach and parents must decide on how, when, and what they will communicate between each other throughout the season.
A coach needs to set up a communication plan with the parents before the season begins. This should include email updates, team meetings, phone calls, and other ways to get information to the parents about team /individual performances and information about team events. The parents should know when the communication will happen and what type of information they will receive. On the other side, the parents need to know the best way to communicate with the coach. When is the best time to reach the coach? Should they call, e-mail, or text the coach?
The parents need to understand the boundaries of communication. What will the coach discuss? When will the coach discuss it? For example, a coach may set the expectation that he or she will never discuss another player with a parent or that a player must communicate an issue with the coach first before the parent addresses it with the coach. Some coaches ask parents to wait 24 hours before talking to them about a game.
The communication plan with the parents needs to keep them informed about what is going on with the team and make it easy to reach the coach when necessary. A communication plan that shuts parents out and limits communication is a recipe for disaster. As long as the expectations are set and clearly understood by everyone, it will keep an open line of communication between the coach and parents throughout the season. Personally, as a coach, I would rather be accused of over communicating versus under communicating during a season.
Tony Earp directs SuperKick/TeamZone Columbus’ Soccer Skills programs. Tony has a Masters in Education from The Ohio State University. Tony was a standout player both academically and athletically at The Ohio State University, earning multiple honors both on the field and in the classroom. He can be reached at tearp@superkickcolumbus.com
Filed under: Parents and Children | Leave a comment »
Two basketball videos you won’t believe
Posted on February 20, 2013 by coachdeck
Want to see the world’s worst free-throw ever? How about an eleven year-old prodigy, Julian Newman, who is already tearing it up in high school?
Filed under: Sports World | Tagged: basketball prodigy, julian newman, worst free throw | Leave a comment »
Snow delay turns into snow play
Posted on February 19, 2013 by coachdeck
It doesn’t happen often in baseball – a snow delay. But when it does and the players are college students well, let’s just say that once they realize they’re surrounded by snowballs a whole new game breaks out.
Filed under: Sports World | Tagged: college baseball snowball fight | Leave a comment »
