Three More National Organizations Join National Conversation on Good Coaching for Case Study #3: "The Limits of Sportsmanship"

Congratulations to PCA National Advisory Board Members
Phil Jackson and Doc Rivers

 

Three More National Organizations Join National Conversation on Good Coaching for Case Study #3: "The Limits of Sportsmanship"

 

This month, we welcome to the National Conversation on Good Coaching three new co-conveners:

These three add tremendous depth and breadth to the lineup of national organizations participating in our effort to get people nationwide talking about what constitutes good (and bad) youth/high school sports coaching.

 

 

 

 

Was Holtman and Wallace's action an example of outstanding sportsmanship or of
a lack of competitiveness? Why?

If you were the CWU pitcher, how might you feel about your teammates enabling
the opponent to score what might have been the winning run?

If this had happened in a high-stakes professional championship, would it be
appropriate for an opposing player to do what Holtman did? Why or why not?

Would you encourage your child to emulate Mallory Holtman? What might you
say to him or her?

What might a comparable act of sportsmanship be in other sports?

You can "converse" about your answers at the Case Studies blog and by printing out this Case Study for discussion at youth sports events and organizational meetings. 

 

 

Phil Jackson and Doc Rivers

 

Congratulations to Doc Rivers on his first NBA Championship and to Phil Jackson for leading his team, as hardly anyone predicted, to the NBA Finals.

 

PCA thanks both coaches for their joint authorship of this op-ed article that ran in the San Jose Mercury News. Thanks to Phil Jackson also for explaining in several media outlets, including USA Today, how Honoring the Game works even at the highest levels of sport.

Some players are very hard on themselves, so fixated on results that they can't even credit themselves for small ways they help their teams. Take a soccer player who's kicking himself for not kicking a goal. You may hear a frustrated, "I contributed absolutely nothing today."

 

Your response? If you can be truthful and specific, it may sound like this: "Do you remember how many times you broke free for crosses in the first half? Not every contribution is a goal. It's a team game.

 

"Every time you broke free, you wore on the player marking you, you drew help from other defenders, and you grated on the goalkeeper's last nerve. You freed your teammates and opened up the field. All that effort contributed to the opponent's physical and mental fatigue until they started making mistakes and couldn't cover and your teammates scored."

 

Too often, coaches overlook these contributions. When recognizing them, coaches must be careful to explain the details, because the nuance behind "Great run" or "Way to get open" is lost on most youth players.
 
Helping players understand and internalize the value of the little things they do right will keep them feeling like they are contributing, which boosts their confidence, which improves their results.