Three PCA Partners Receive Honoring the Game Awards
Congratulations to the Honoring the Game Award winners profiled below.
Mustang Soccer, Danville, CA
Now in its seventh year of PCA Partnership, Mustang Soccer "has a lot of people on our sidelines who understand exactly the kind of culture we're establishing here," said Michael Casotti, the organization's PCA Coordinator. Contributing to the unity of purpose at Mustang Soccer fields is a force of than 800 parents who have attended Second-Goal Parent workshops.
Serving nearly 5,000 players, Mustang Soccer has earned PCA's Seal of Commitment for pledging that all of its 300-plus coaches are trained and certified as Double-Goal Coaches. The organization reminds players, coaches, parents and fans to Honor the Game by placing PCA banners on its fields and PCA patches on coaches' jersey sleeves.
Niles North High School, Skokie, IL
Karl Costello, athletic director at the suburban Chicago high school, has expanded the school's three-year PCA Partnership to encompass local middle schools and park-and-rec sports programs that feed into Niles North. "We're building a culture here," Costello said. "That's why we're starting at the youth sports level."
In a culturally diverse community with a scarcity of resources at local middle schools and few centralized youth sports organizations, "PCA has given us a tool to bring all these groups together," Costello said. "We've told parents that this is for the total development of your children, and we are facilitating workshops, paying some extra money, filming workshops and putting spots onto our local cable network to spread word about our partnership and what it means to families."
Northport Cow Harbor United Soccer Club, Long Island, NY
Mandatory monthly coaches meetings serve as the centerpiece of Northport's efforts to create a Positive Coaching culture. At each meeting, the club's 70 coaches discuss a specific PCA concept or tool, said Joe Acosta, head of the organization's PCA Committee.
Serving roughly 700 players, Northport relies heavily on e-mails directing coaches and parents to PCA's online resources and distributing PCA's "2 Minute Drills." Northport is a Seal of Commitment partner that recently signed a three-year partnership agreement, committing to Positive Coaching for the long haul.
For more information on PCA's Honoring the Game Award, please contact PCA's Courtney Pollack.
The Honoring the Game Award is part of the National Youth Sports Awards Program sponsored by Deloitte.
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Ask PCA: Changing My Co-Coaches' Approach
"I am an assistant coach on a football team for 7-to-9-year-olds, the first coaching experience I have had. I am really concerned about the approach of the other four coaches. We have had nearly 30 practices of two hours each and have played two games. In considering players' positions, the other coaches say: 'The best players will play the most. We are here to win.'
"I have not challenged this perspective because I have not understood what is fundamentally wrong with this mantra until recently. I want to offer solutions along with the critical comments I have begun to make to my fellow coaches. Please help me!"
-- Anonymous in Healdsburg
To read all responses to the previous "Ask PCA" question -- "E-Mailing Parents After Practice" -- including PCA's response, click here.
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Sports Parenting Tip: Help Your Youth Athletes Talk To Their Coaches
In the age of "helicopter" parents, who hover around their children waiting to meet their every need, consider how your family handles any issues that arise between player and coach. What a great opportunity for youth athletes to learn life lessons about working with authority figures!
Click here for audio of Ray Lokar, PCA's Lead Trainer-Southern California, sharing the rest of this tip.
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