A GREAT QUESTION

California Teacher Guy, (See blogroll) asked me a question concerning my post about establishing a positive atmosphere in coaching sports. It was a good question and really got me to thinking about being able to verbalize my thoughts.

I think first it is important to let the players know that mistakes are OK. Every successful athlete and person is not afraid to take risks. Risks sometimes end in mistakes. It seemed to us that the players had been conditioned to be risk averse because a mistake resulted in a negative response from the coaches. Therefore, if taking a risk results in making a mistake, it only makes sense not to risk the negative response to the mistake.

In other words, the natural response is to stay in your comfort zone and continue to do only those things you feel confident will not result in a mistake. I emphasize the response to mistakes because as anyone who has coached/taught teenagers knows, their self-confidence hangs by a thread. Seldom will humans find themselves in a situation where they can fail more publicly than in sports.

Having said all that, coaching/teaching necessarily involves criticism. But I have found that you can convey this criticism in a positive way by emphasizing how the player can improve their play, not that they made a mistake. The player knows she made a mistake. Emphasize the possibility of improvement not that the player made a mistake. This then begins to build trust between players and coaches. Once the player can trust that you will not embarrass them and more importantly that you want them to succeed, they will respond positively. The coaches/teachers set the standard for behavior between player and coaches and just as important, players and players.

You noticed that I haven't talked about wins and losses. I think if the atmosphere is positive, the players will want to be there and they'll want to improve and grow as players and people. They then feel comfortable enough to take risks in their play and consequently improve. The wins and losses are secondary and will take care of themselves.

Lastly, do not fall into the trap of giving false praise. Kids are too wise for that. They will feel you don't respect them enough to give them the truth, therefore they will lose respect for you as a coach. Another component of respect is to communicate high expectations for them. Give them clearly stated goals and hold them accountable. Now will this atmosphere lead to better play? Yes, I think so. Will your team become state champions? That depends alas, on their talent as players. But when it's all said and done, I think this approach will make them better and more confident players and people. Confident that they can achieve great things in their lives, with a good dose of hard work thrown in. That is, after all what this is all about, no?

Thanks for the visit and the question. I hope I have explained myself clearly. Sorry about bloviating, but this is something I strongly believe in and have seen succeed over the course of the last 20 years of coaching.

MUCH WORK TO BE DONE!

The soccer season has begun. I have been really busy trying to straighten out a few problems left over from the previous regime. Necessarily, blogging has taken a backseat lately. I am going to be more active now that I have the ship righted. The assistant coaches and I have spent the first days of conditioning and practice trying to repair the mental state of the returning players. Apparently, the MO of the previous regime was to spend a lot of time giving negative comments to players. We learned this from comments made to us by parents and players during a weekend tournament the team was in. Many parents and players complimented us on our patience and the positive atmoshpere we have established.

I have long thought that you can constructively coach kids and gain much more traction with them. This also allows you to establish some trust. This trust will encourage them to take chances on the field without fear of making a mistake. Success for an athlete will not come by being fearful and unwilling to take chances. Players must be willing to leave their comfort zone.

I told the players that we wanted a team with a positive mindset. I hastened to remind them that being positive doesn't mean we have to be kumbaya. We do not yell at players and they shouldn't be yelling at each other.

Having said all that we have been hard on them in conditioning. We've done more that hold hands and sing songs. They have told us (whined) that they have ran more than they ever have before. I and the other coaches run with them which does cut down on the whining somewhat. I'm big on inspirational sayings and my first to them was "WE CAN NOT BECOME WHAT WE WISH TO BE BY REMAINING WHAT WE ARE."

The season is fast approaching with official tryouts beginning next week. We are making progress and I look forward to what is to come.

REMEMBER WHAT THE HOLIDAY MEANS

Most of we Americans are patriotic and love our country. I say most because there is an element around, who despite their statements to the contrary, do not want the U.S. to succeed in the Middle East. I still can't accept that those who so vehemently criticize America can do so and out the other side of their mouth profess their love for American troops.

An example of being anti-war and doing so in a patriotic manner is Eugene McCarthy from my era. While he was anti-war, he was not anti-American. I adamantly disagreed with him, but I respected his point of view. We can, as Americans, disagree with war but do so as Americans. Those who rejoice at each American setback are despicable creatures indeed.

My question is: Where are the war critics today who take that point of view, but do so as Americans. If you rejoice at the setbacks of your country in war YOU ARE SCUM! Some of our politicians fall into this category and are living and thriving on the backs of the military they have so little respect for. The military are the ones that have given you the gift of freedom of speech that allows you to disagree with government policy. Zell Miller's speech at the 2004 Republican Convention was a great statement of thanks for the American military and its role in securing our freedoms.

On these special days we celebrate please thank your military for all they have done for us. We are truly blessed by their patriotism. Yes, I am a proud veteran.