|
Ask PCA: Clubs as Feeder Programs for High Schools
Thanks for your answers to our most recent "Ask PCA" question about giving MVP awards to 6th-graders. 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 Club be a Feeder for the Local High School?
"My two young children play in a local non-profit athletic club that has undergone a transition toward becoming a feeder program for the local high school. Many of the high school coaches run the club's meetings, and they want players as young as seven to run the high school 'system.' Most of the kids in our club don't even end up playing high school sports, and I think the high school coaches are overly involved. What do you think?"
-- Jim in New York
Following is the previous "Ask PCA" question and PCA response:
"Coaching 6th-grade basketball, my assistants and I are trying to decide whether to name a team MVP at our end-of-season banquet. Any advice?"
PCA Response by Mike Farley, PCA Trainer, Milwaukee
 The answer is a big "maybe." The reason to do so is to honor a real accomplishment. Striving to be the best you can be is at the heart of what any athlete works toward. Of course, PCA is all about winning and life lessons. One life lesson is the thrill of success; another is the sting of losing out on an award. And, let's face it, a few kids will be disappointed not to win. That's a life lesson, too.
Is the point of your program to build better players? Better teammates? Keep kids participating longer? Consider how naming an MVP may affect your program's ability to achieve those goals. A number of very successful high school teams have gone to not selecting an MVP -- emphasizing an MVT (most valuable teammate) or MIP (most improved player) instead. Or skipping the trophy sessions altogether and focusing all attention on the team's accomplishments.
In the end, it's your call, but simply showering an individual with accolades at an early age can be detrimental to all teammates, unless the foundation of your program is consistent, fair and above all, positive.
(PCA Trainer Mike Farley is a former pro football player and longtime youth sports coach.)
|
|
Responsible Sports Coaching Tip: Symbolic Rewards
Looking for creative ways to praise your players and keep them inspired? Consider giving them symbolic rewards that honor their effort and other aspects of performance while also helping to establish team traditions.
Click the video screen above for more on the topic from Ken Martel, Director of the American Development Model for USA Hockey as part of the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports Program Powered by Positive Coaching Alliance.
|
|
Scores of First-Time Partners Join PCA Movement in 2011
|
|
Highlights of National Youth Sports Awards Dinner and Auction Sponsored By Deloitte
 PCA's biggest annual event, held April 7 at Menlo Park, CA's Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club, was a huge success. PCA thanks everyone who supported the dinner and auction, whose proceeds aid PCA's work in developing winners on and off the playing field. Highlights included:
- Bruce Bochy, Manager of the World Champion San Francisco Giants, accepting the Ronald L. Jensen Award for Lifetime Achievement
- Moving acceptance speeches by San Francisco Bay Area-based recipients of PCA's Double-Goal Coach� Award Presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance, just some of the 20 coaches nationwide honored by the program this year
- Live and silent auction items that included many unique sports experiences, such as a Lambeau Field Pilgrimage with Green Bay Packers President/CEO and PCA National Advisory Board Member Mark Murphy; lunch for four with San Francisco 49ers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh; and a passing lesson with 49ers Hall of Famer and PCA National Advisory Board Member Steve Young.
Click here for more event highlights, photos and media coverage.
|
|
|
|
