|
|
Positive Coaching Alliance Connector
September 1, 2010
David Jacobson, Editor |
|
|
|
Win a $2,500 Grant for Your School or Organization!
 As a partner in the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports Program powered by Positive Coaching Alliance, PCA hopes you will take advantage of the chance to win $2,500 for your school or youth sports organization!
The current Responsible Sports Community Grant period, now through November 30, awards 20 grants to the schools and youth sports organizations that put the most coaches, parents, friends, family (anyone can help!) through the Responsible Coach guide and Responsible Sports Parents guide. Both online guides are rooted in PCA principles and incorporate exclusive video of coaching and sports parenting tips, so that while you are earning points toward a grant, you also are improving your coaching and sports parenting. Go to ResponsibleSports.com/Grant to see if your school or organization is registered. Then, get as many of your coaches and parents through the guides as possible so that you stand the best chance of winning a grant for use on equipment, field maintenance and even PCA partnerships, workshops or online course seats! |
|
Ask PCA: Should Our Organization Require Mentor Coach Counseling?
Your answers to our most recent "Ask PCA" question about improving officiating centered on developing teens, especially alums of your program, as a low-cost officiating corps, who can continue their education in and through sports while giving back to their communities.
To review that question and PCA's answer, you can continue scrolling through this item, but for now, consider this week's question:
Should Our Organization Require Mentor Coach Counseling?
"We have had problems with a handful of coaches who have taken PCA courses, but who remain resistant to change, aggressive toward kids and maintain their win-at-all-cost approach. Rather than just releasing these coaches, our board has discussed requiring that they undergo one-on-one counseling, at their own expense, perhaps with a mentor coach. What is PCA's view of that approach?"
-- John Fensterwald, San Jose
Following is the previous "Ask PCA" question and PCA's response:
"Officials for our youth sports organization are all volunteer parents and coaches. The league provides a day-long training seminar before each season, but the levels of competence and consistency are as low as you might expect from parents with little or no officiating experience. Any thoughts on how to improve officiating without drastically increasing our registration costs?
PCA Response by Jim Thompson, PCA Founder
Given that your organization is not in a position to pay for professional officials, getting quality officials in your league is going to take leadership and time. First you need to find someone to lead this effort who is on fire about creating great officials and is willing to commit to a multi-year effort to leave a legacy of great officials for your organization.
Once you have a leader (or leaders) committed to improving the quality of your officials, support your leader(s). Provide a budget (it doesn't have to be a large amount of money) to send a handful of officials who will commit to sticking with officiating for the next several years to training so they can help create an outstanding officiating program over the next few years.
These senior officials will then be able to serve as mentors to newer officials, including high school students whom you can recruit to serve as officials. Many high schools encourage or even require every student to do public service projects, so it's worth seeing if your local high schools do this. Assign rookie officials to more senior officials, who will mentor and teach them. In this way you can create a wonderful leadership development experience for teens that will benefit them and your organization.
Read all the Ask PCA blog comments on this question.
|
|
PCA Partners on National TV
Last weekend, PCA partners gained an unprecedented amount of national TV coverage.
Friday night's ESPN RISE High School Football Kickoff featured a PCA partner in each game of a doubleheader: Tampa's Plant High School, the second-ranked team in the nation, which hosted PCA workshops through the Triad Foundation grant for the Hillsborough Schools in Tampa; and Sacramento's Grant High School, the nation's fourth-ranked team. Then, PCA National Partner Little League Baseball on Saturday and Sunday had its final Little League World Series games on ABC.
In some circles, televising such events raises protests over the "professionalization" of youth and high school sports. But these games bore little resemblance to pro sports.
In Plant's loss and Grant's win, there were no ranting, raving coaches and no overly demonstrative player celebrations. And, the Grant vs. Folsom game showed great examples of players Honoring the Game with respectful helmet taps and back slaps after good, hard plays.
The Little League World Series games actually set an example we wish Major League Baseball could emulate. The "mic'd up" managers were paragons of positivity whether questioning calls (as allowed under the replay rules) or Filling Emotional Tanks of struggling pitchers during mound visits.
And while many people fretted over the pressurized atmosphere of televised youth sports, the players from Plant, Grant and in Williamsport all seemed to be having a lot of fun.
-- David Jacobson
|
|
Support PCA
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
