The Power of Positivity
Coaches, both good and bad, matter. At their best they make a lifetime of difference. This begs a question worth considering: what impact will you have on the kids you coach?
 Being positive with players causes them to try hard, rapidly develop new skills, and be flexible and open to new ways to accomplish their goals.
This sounds good, but what evidence is there to validate the idea that individuals who are treated positively solve problems better and more quickly than individuals who are not?
In a landmark paper entitled What Good Are Positive Emotions?, Barbara Fredrickson says, "...positive emotions serve to broaden an individual's momentary thought-action repertoire, which in turn has the effect of building that individual's physical, intellectual, and social resources."
Sports is chock full of situations that require thought-action in a moment. Who doesn't want people on their team with increased physical, intellectual, and social resources!"
adapted from The Power of Double-Goal Coaching by Jim Thompson
To purchase books by PCA Executive Director Jim Thompson, please
visit:
Balance Sports Publishing
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Coach Makes Bad Decisions
Your child's coach plays players in the wrong positions and makes bad strategic decisions. As a supportive parent, what should you do?
Remember, you are not the coach. You are not the athlete. You are a supporting player in this drama, so act your part and move to the background. Following are a suggestion and two tips that will help you keep things in perspective:
 Write your suggestions on a piece of paper...Put it in an envelope. On the outside of the envelope, write, "For when I become the coach." Put it in a safe place. Whatever you do, don't give the suggestions to the coach.
Let your child have her own experience with this coach without you taking over...Having a coach who makes bad strategic or tactical decisions isn't a tragedy. Your child will have talented and untalented supervisors in his life, and learning to deal with both kinds is a great life lesson.
Don't put the player in the middle...Imagine a dinner table conversation in which a child's parents complain in front of her about how poorly her teacher is teaching fractions. How would this impact this student's motivation to work hard to learn fractions? How would it affect her love of mathematics and her relationship with the teacher?
The chances of you improving this situation by making strategic suggestions are very small, while the chances of making things worse for your child or for the team are significantly higher. Do no harm. Stay out of this!
adapted from Positive Sports Parenting by Jim Thompson
To purchase books by PCA Executive Director Jim Thompson, please
visit:
Balance Sports Publishing
|
Triple-Impact Competitor
Making the Game Better
 On August 31, 2008, CC Sabathia, then of the Milwaukee Brewers, just missed pitching a no-hitter in a 7-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The only hit came in the fifth inning when Andy LaRoche hit a soft grounder back toward the mound. Sabathia tried to pick it up bare-handed but dropped it. The official scorer ruled it a hit because he said the runner would have beaten the throw to first even had Sabathia fielded it cleanly.
The Brewers players and fans were irate about the call because an error call might have preserved Sabathia's no-hitter...until the next day when Sabathia put an end to the controversy: "It's time for everyone to chill. There's a pennant to be won."
CC Sabathia, Cy Young Award winner and one of the best pitchers in the Major
Leagues, made the game of baseball better by defusing a volatile situation and
calming his own fans down. |
PCA is 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.
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PCA 2 Minute Drill, August 2010
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