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A New Year's Resolution for Double-Goal Coaches by Jim Thompson
I am a skeptic about New Year's Resolutions, having been influenced by Good to Great author Jim Collins' idea of a don't-do list. Jim, who will keynote PCA's National Youth Sports Awards dinner at Stanford on April 17, wrote a memorable USA Today column on December 30, 2003, suggesting we would be better off if we stopped doing things that prevent us from doing the more-important things that get shoved aside in our busyness.
 But I am rethinking my skepticism about New Year's Resolutions after reading Our Boys, a wonderful book about Kansas high school football by Joe Drape, a reporter for The New York Times. Drape uprooted his family to Smith Center, Kansas, to follow a season of the Smith Center Redmen, a high school team that had won four state 2A championships in a row with a winning streak of 67 games.
As Drape profiles him, Coach Roger Barta is a prototypical Double-Goal Coach whether or not he is familiar with the term. His mantra is "Let's get a little better every day." One of the few times he gets upset is when a player comments to the media about the winning streak. Redmen don't talk about wins and losses. They -- remember this phrase -- talk about getting a little better every day.
The focus of Barta and his amazing staff on raising good people reminds me of John Wooden's response when asked one season to assess the quality of his team: "Ask me in 30 years." Like Wooden, Barta and associates take the long view: "None of this is really about football. We're going to get scored on eventually, and lose a game, and that doesn't mean anything. What I hope we're doing is sending kids into life who know that every day means something."
Which is not to say Barta doesn't value winning. The book's coverage of the Redmen's potential fifth unbeaten season contains real drama -- even though Drape gives away the ending in his subtitle -- and I felt as though I was experiencing the Redmen's season with them. Reading about the preparation the coaches and players went through to be able to give their best effort every game was inspiring, and more typical of what a great Division 1 college team might do than a small high school program.
 Those who wrongly think Double-Goal Coaching is soft will note that Barta looks for ways to demoralize the Redmen's opponents in the hopes they will emotionally quit in the face of the Redmen's relentless toughness. When his players seem affected by a rival team engaging in some pre-game psychological warfare involving their school banner, Barta counters with: "Guys, I didn't know it was Flag Day. We didn't bring one so let's go get theirs," which brings his players howling to their feet.
In the book's Acknowledgements Drape writes, "Not long ago, I heard Doris Kearns Goodwin say that when she was writing her recent book about President Abraham Lincoln she woke up every day wanting to be a better person." Drape says he felt the same way being around Coach Barta and his team.
Now that is a New Year's resolution I can get behind: get up every morning and try to be a better person. And in the spirit of Roger Barta, I know I don't have to be perfect, I just need to get a little better every day.
Double-Goal Coaches everywhere should read this book and emulate Coach Barta. Let's all just get a little better every day at positively motivating our athletes to be successful in sports, and in life.
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Continental Airlines Takes PCA to New Heights
 Continental Airlines assists PCA's Movement -- quite literally -- by providing transportation for PCA staff and trainers so that we can provide workshops and other services for youth sports communities throughout the U.S. Now, the airlines is putting its mouth where its money is.
If you want to know what Jim's favorite cities and favorite technology are, check it out. You might be surprised!
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Can You Win 170-35 and Still Honor the Game?
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Ask PCA: Awarding Stickers to Players
You all ended 2009 with a bang, providing outstanding answers to parents concerned with their daughter, who wanted to return missed playing with her previous season's basketball club...yelling coaches, and all. Let's start off 2010 with an intriguing question and as many answers as we can get!
Here is this week's question, followed by a link that lets you comment on the "Ask PCA" blog, and beneath that, PCA's answer to last week's question.
Awarding Stickers to Players
A fellow parent in our youth hockey league recently e-mailed the board asking that coaches cease awarding stickers to selected players after each game. What does PCA and your audience think of the following excerpt from that parent's e-mail?
--Thomas Rauker, Nashoba (MA) Youth Hockey League
Prior to the implementation of the sticker program by my son's coach, my son would very rarely mention anything about the game of hockey while we would be driving to the rink. I always found it comforting knowing that he was not dwelling in any way about playing in the game.
With the sticker program in place now my son continually asks me how he might be able to get a sticker for the day. When driving home he now wants to discuss what he "did wrong" in the game that caused him not to get a sticker.
I have seen this sticker program used in the past and was very discouraged to watch kids proudly show their stickers to their parents as they entered the locker room while those that the coach deemed unworthy held their heads low. I don't think kids should be proud that the efforts were validated by the coach and I don't think the other children should be ashamed of their performance either. I am aware that this is not the intention of the sticker program but is the unfortunate result of it.
I strongly believe that a volunteer town league, youth hockey coach should not put him or herself in a position to publicly judge or validate the athletic performance of a seven year old by evaluating their worthiness of a sticker for the day. I implore you to please end this practice.
Thank you for your prompt consideration of this matter,
Parent Name deleted
Following is last week's "Ask PCA" question and PCA's response:
"After my daughter's basketball team (12U) played in the Nationals, several families pulled their daughters from the club because coaches were extremely harsh and loud when they fell behind in a game and then they upped the cost, saying they were now the "Elite Club" in the area. My daughter is now with a club that isn't as competitive, but whose coaching staff embraces PCA and believes in skill development more than win/loss stats. The problem: our daughter wants to return to her old team. She says she didn't mind getting yelled at and she misses her friends. The old club wants her back and says they would waive her player fees. Should we let her return or encourage her to give her new team more time?"
PCA response by Eric Eisendrath, Lead Trainer-New York
I would strongly recommend you trust your gut instincts concerning this
situation. Clearly, the reaction of the previous coaches was disconcerting enough for several families to remove their daughters. As the parents of a 12-year-old, my primary concern would be to place her in an environment that nurtures her love for the game, and allows her to learn and flourish.
Playing in an atmosphere where coaches are "extremely harsh and loud" is not conducive to maintaining a passion for the game or an atmosphere of player development. While your child may initially not be pleased because she continues to miss her former club, research supports your decision. Players coached in a "Mastery Climate" versus a "Win-At-All-Costs" climate perform better, are less anxious, work harder and stick to tasks longer. These are traits that will serve her well, both on and off the court.
Finally, as a parent of a daughter myself, I would be troubled by her comment that she "didn't mind getting yelled at." It is not OK for her to be treated this way. While your daughter may not embrace your decision in the short term, I feel confident that it is certainly the right choice in the long run.
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Thank You for Helping Us Meet Our Annual Fund Match
Positive Coaching Alliance thanks all of you who contributed to our 2009 Annual Fund. Because of your support, we more than fully matched the $100,000 challenge match presented to us by two anonymous family foundations. Your commitment to our mission also enabled us to have our most successful Annual Fund campaign in PCA history.
All of us here at PCA thank everyone who contributed to our Annual Fund as well as the two anonymous family foundations who have enabled so many of your contributions to go twice as far toward transforming youth sports so sports can transform youth.
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