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Positive Coaching Alliance Connector
October 13, 2010
David Jacobson, Editor |
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Coaching Tip from Dusty Baker
Establishing and maintaining a team culture is no easy task, but PCA National Advisory Board Member and National League Central Division Champion Cincinnati Reds Manager Dusty Baker has a unique take on how to do just that.
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Help Mark Hyman Write His Next Book!
Mark Hyman, author of the brilliant book Until It Hurts, is hard at work on his next book, and he needs your help! Focusing on the business of youth sports, Mark invites you to fill out his brief online survey about your youth sports-related spending and travel.
The survey also includes an option for having Mark contact you for further interview. This is a great chance to sound off and help shape the future direction of youth sports economics.
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Ask PCA: Athlete Does Not Want to Participate in Meets
We received great input on our most recent "Ask PCA" question about keeping and publishing stats in youth sports. The consensus was that it was worthwhile keeping stats to inform strategy and tactics, but that there is more harm than good in publishing the stats. To review that question and PCA's answer, you can continue scrolling through this item, but for now, consider this week's question:
One of My Athletes Does Not Want to Participate in Meets
I coach a middle-school cross country program that participates in meets with other local schools. Except for the championship meet, events are non-scoring and emphasize participation, not place. Our enrollment information states that every child is "required" to participate in at least three meets and the league championship, though exceptions are made, primarily for those with autism, ADHD, etc. One of our stronger athletes does not want to run in meets, because she "doesn't like them," though she competed last season without reservation.
A key value of our program is offering youth competitive experience. Am I too "old school," thinking "life is competitive, you can't duck out on exams at school, because you don't like the exam experience?" Any advice on how to deal with kids who decline to compete, when the requirement was spelled out up front? -- Len Goldman, Oakland, CA Comment on this topic on the "Ask PCA" blog.
Following is the previous "Ask PCA" question and PCA's response:
What is your position on keeping and publishing stats for a league of 8-to-10-year-olds? I'm concerned that doing so may be discouraging to the players who have less-impressive statistics.
PCA Response by Eric Eisendrath, Lead Trainer-New York
While many sports have a long and storied fascination with statistics, publishing statistics for 8-to-10-year-olds is not in the best interest of the players or the youth sports culture PCA hopes to cultivate. The performance of such young players is already public enough simply by virtue of people watching them play. The goal of youth sports, in addition to teaching life lessons, is to let children learn the game in a relatively safe, incubated environment. Publicly listing their "successes" or "failures" undermines the learning process. Also, such attention to individual performance can undermine the focus on team. Adults often treat youth baseball as the lowest rung on the Major League Baseball ladder, but that is not what youth baseball is. Just because statistics are ingrained in the culture of baseball, does not mean it is an appropriate practice for 8-to-10-year-olds.
While I am confident that the publishing of statistics was not done with the intent of embarrassing anyone, I would recommend discontinuing the practice.
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Coaching Tip: If/Then Statements
How many times you have heard, "It's not what you say; it's how you say it?" The reason you keep hearing that is because it's true!
A tiny nuance in communication can make a world of difference, especially when coaching youth athletes. The "if/then" statement is a powerful way to help your players correct minor flaws in technique and teach them the life lesson of taking responsibility for the cause-and-effect and action-and-reaction in their lives away from sport.
Click on the screen image above for video from the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports Program Powered by Positive Coaching Alliance, featuring the use of if/then statements by Kim Oden, a 2003 recipient of PCA's national Double-Goal Coach� Award. |
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