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Positive Coaching Alliance Connector
July 22, 2010
David Jacobson, Editor |
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New Database of Double-Goal Coaches�
Sample uses of the database include:
- Leaders of schools or organizations that mandate Double-Goal Coaches searching the database to ensure coach compliance
- Parents searching by city to find Double-Goal Coaches for their children
- Coaches searching by name to find out if a prospective assistant is PCA-certified.
"Launching this database is an important step in the PCA Movement," said PCA Founder and Executive Director Jim Thompson. "We are putting more power into the hands of our grassroots communities, better equipping them to demand the best possible coaching for youth and high school athletes."
Records in the database include any coach who has taken one of PCA's online coaching courses or signed into one of PCA's live, group workshops for coaches since January 1, 2010.
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Coaching Tip: Teaching Players to Respect Officials
An important life lesson that can come from sports is the need to respect people. Youth athletes who learn to respect officials, even when disagreeing with them, can apply that learning throughout their lives in relationships with friends, family, teachers and employers. A great way for coaches to teach players to respect officials is to have players officiate during practice games and scrimmages. Players who experience the difficulty of officiating are much more likely to maintain their composure when faced with a "bad call." They incur fewer technical or misconduct calls and are better able to focus on what they can control - and what is most important in the game - the next play. Click the video screen to visit the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports Program Powered by PCA and watch players officiating in practice under Kris Weems, basketball coach at longtime PCA partner Menlo School and a former player on Stanford University's Final Four team in 1998. 
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Ask PCA: Player Behavior in Practices
Thanks for your responses to our most recent "Ask PCA" question about correcting fans who encourage foul play. To review that question and PCA's answer, along with a special response issued by US Lacrosse, you can continue scrolling, but for now, consider this week's question
How Can I Better Manage Player Behavior in Practices?
"I coach an unruly but likeable group of 4th-grade girls in soccer. We've had problems with behavior in practice, including fistfights and players disappearing for 15 minutes with no adult supervision so the coaches have to go searching for them.
"We've learned to play as a team and win games, so I plan to tackle discipline next, issuing a verbal warning for misbehavior, followed by a yellow card warning with a five minute sit-out, followed by a red card and a phone call to the parents to come pick up their players. I may find ways they can have yellow cards removed, such as when they help make the practice better for everyone. I also want them to win a league sportsmanship citation. (Last season, we collected numerous complaints from coaches and referees about rough play.)
"Mostly I want to teach them to internalize good behavior and sportsmanship. I'm a friendly coach and they like me, but perhaps I've been too permissive. What do you think of these approaches, and how can I weave in some PCA techniques to make it a positive learning experience and less like punishment?"
-- Anonymous
Following is the previous "Ask PCA" question and PCA's response: How Can We Correct Fans Who Encourage Foul Play? "I am a 5th- and 6th-grade lacrosse coach, and slowly but surely, I am noticing what I call the 'gladiatorial' aspect of crowd reaction: approval, rather than disdain for slashes and other unsportsmanlike conduct. I hear, 'Did you see my son upend that kid?' and then laughter from the rest of the crowd! Also, I notice coaches, just like in the Roman arena, playing to the crowd and congratulating players with nods of approval on their way to the penalty box. The type of rabid football parents I remember from childhood are penetrating other sports. Any suggestions?" PCA Response by Eric Eisendrath, Lead Trainer-New York
This seems to be a clash of cultures, and for any culture to be sustained, it must occasionally be defended. At PCA, we talk about Honoring The Game and having Respect for (among other things) rules, opponents, officials, teammates and self.
To counter the behavior of the parents, you should focus your energy on "Targeted Cheering." When you see a great pass, or hear great communication amongst defenders calling slides, praise out loud those more technical aspects of the sport. While I would not shy away from speaking up against unnecessary roughness, helping the "rabid" fans see the game from a new perspective will help them appreciate the richer aspects of lacrosse.
Coaches should lead the effort to shape a culture of Honoring the Game. In a pre-season parent meeting -- and in as much follow-up communication as necessary -- coaches should explain the proper role of contact in lacrosse and specify how they hope fans react. For example, "There are going to be collisions, and it's fine to appreciate a clean, legal check, but we hope you will refrain from cheers that encourage overly physical play."
Parents and coaches also can raise concerns to league administration, stressing the importance they place on clean play and lacrosse's tradition of sportsmanship. If the league sets guidelines for fan behavior, that can help establish a positive atmosphere and preserve the culture you value.
Response by Erin Smith, Director of Education and Training, US Lacrosse
With lacrosse being a relatively "new" sport to a lot of parents, a good parent education program and solid communication to parents is absolutely essential. Otherwise, we may see much of the culture that has gotten out of control in more established sports seep into lacrosse, a sports that has drawn many families precisely because of its fresh, lower-pressure, more-fun culture.
To that end, US Lacrosse, PCA's first national partner, is dedicated to providing resources to keep the culture and the game all about safety and respect. Especially at the boy's 5th and 6th grade level, there is no excuse for this type of behavior from parents with regard to the physicality of the game. Watch the "big guys" play in the World Games this weekend, or a quality college match and you'll see the role that contact can play in lacrosse in a fair, skillful manner.
A few things all laxers can take advantage of:
2) US Lacrosse offers significant grants to programs to help them fund PCA partnerships, of which one component is the parent workshop, a powerful vehicle for maintaining the culture. Information on the next round of grants will be here soon.
3) Finally, it is imperative that coaches take a leadership role in establishing team culture -- including fan behavior -- as regards physical play. Coaches must follow the US Lacrosse Youth Rules for Boy's Lacrosse, found in the back of the NFHS rulebook, and must use developmentally sound practices for teaching the sport in order to prevent injuries and provide youth (and for that matter, parents) the proper progressions for physical contact.
Check out USL Executive Director Steve Stenersen's blog on this topic and tons of other good resources for learning and teaching the game responsibly through the USL coaching education program. The bottom line here is that coaches must teach players respect for rules, teammates and opponents to keep the game fair and safe. Read all the Ask PCA blog comments on this question.
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Familiar Faces?
We often refer to the PCA Trainers who lead our workshops as the "face" of PCA. For most readers of Connector, a PCA Trainer is the first PCA representative they ever meet.
That's why it's critical that our Trainers stay on top of their games by attending PCA Trainer Institute, where the photo below was taken. Convening dozens of these best and brightest youth and high school sports coaches and sports psychology experts is key to the success of the PCA Movement. Like many great organizations, including yours, we believe "all of us are smarter than any of us."
From July 15-17, PCA Trainers from such disparate areas as Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, and Washington, DC honed their workshop presentations and shared best practices. They also took in a keynote speech by PCA National Advisory Board Member and Mindset author Carol Dweck. ( For Jim Thompson's interview of Professor Dweck, click here.)
"When you combine the organizational ability of PCA Trainer Coordinator Sonja DeWitt and 40 or so of PCA's most talented and articulate trainers, and you let them engage on the topic of positive coaching, which they're all so passionate about, good things happen," said Ruben Nieves, PCA's Director of Training and Evaluation. "When you stir into the mix presentations by Professor Dweck and Chris McLachlin, who helped coach the Stanford Men's Volleyball Team to this year's NCAA Championship, then great things happen. That was this year's Trainer Institute."
The wisdom and experience shared among the group pictured below is staggering. We hope you recognize and remember some of their faces and that you will be seeing them again soon, up close and personal.
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Become a PCA Member
PCA is in the midst of its annual membership drive, which this year offers an exciting new set of benefits, including free access to PCA's new online courses, quarterly members-only webinars with PCA National Advisory Board members, a Nike "Honor the Game" T-shirt, a Shutterfly Photobook and access to a special online video, featuring PCA National Advisory Board Members Phil Jackson and Doc Rivers.
Join before August 31 and receive these special benefits while also helping to make PCA's important work possible.
To strengthen the ever-growing PCA Movement, we hope to double our membership base through this campaign. As a non-profit committed to transforming youth sports so that all athletes through high school age can benefit from the life lessons that are uniquely available through sports, PCA needs your help!
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