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May 31 Application Deadline for Triple-Impact Competitor� Scholarships
 This the final reminder for high school juniors (class of 2012) to apply for PCA's Triple-Impact Competitor Scholarship Program Sponsored by Deloitte and Thrive Foundation for Youth.
If you know athletes who embody the Triple-Impact Competitor model of improving themselves, teammates and the game as a whole, please encourage them to apply for a scholarship.
The program covers the metro areas of Chicago, Houston, New York City, Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, DC.
Depending on location, scholarships are for $1,000 or $2,000. Northern California finalists also are eligible for mentorship by a Deloitte employee. All finalists will receive a copy of PCA Founder Jim Thompson's book for student-athletes, Elevating Your Game.
 
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Responsible Coaching Tip: Handling Failure
As Mike Candrea and his University of Arizona softball team continue to advance in the NCAA Division I softball tournament, we bring you more of his coaching and sports parenting wisdom. Click the video screen for his advice on helping youth athletes handle failure, a feature of the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports Program Powered by Positive Coaching Alliance.
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Ask PCA: My Son Gets So Nervous That He Ends Up Sick
Thanks for your answers to last week's "Ask PCA" question about jealous teammates and accusations of being a "ballhog." To review that question and PCA's answer, you can continue scrolling through this item, but for now, consider this week's question: What Resources Can I Use to Help My Son Over His Nervousness?
"Our 14-year-old son is a good athlete, but for individual sports events he gets so nervous that he actually ends up sick (stomach, headache) for a day or two after big events. We have done all we can think of as parents to help him relax and enjoy sports for the fun of it. We've even been to a neurologist to discuss what the physical triggers might be. Can anyone recommend a sports psychologist, books, or motivational DVDs that might help?"
-- Requests Anonymity
Following is the previous "Ask PCA" question and PCA response:
How Can I Keep Jealousy from Splitting My Team?
"I coach a U-13 boys lacrosse team, but this question could apply to any team sport. We have two natural goal scorers, who also distribute the ball to teammates when they're open, often assisting on goals. Yet some players call these leading scorers 'ball hog' or 'selfish'. I emphasize ball movement, assists and winning ground balls. What else can I can do to keep resentment from the 'non-scorers' from fracturing our team?"
PCA Response by Eric Eisendrath, Lead Trainer, New York and Boston/New England
 Your current emphases have laid the groundwork for improving this situation. You may just need to tweak some of the ways in which you continue to deliver consistent messages about the importance of ball movement and make sure you positively reinforce the behavior you desire.
In terms of tweaking messages, you may need to explicitly explain or remind players that the goal of ball movement is to get the ball into the most advantageous place to score -- and that sometimes a player keeping the ball and driving to the net is the best option. You also should emphasize the need for players who want the ball more to work hard to get open, check back to the ball, cut to the crease, etc.
In terms of positive reinforcement, make sure to reward unselfish play and ball movement. You might use a PCA tool, such as a "targeted symbolic reward" (i.e., a game ball or helmet sticker to the player who makes the best ball movement decisions, including wise choices to advance the ball into proper position on their own). It also will help for players to hear you consistently praising ball movement during game action and between periods.
Perhaps the most important thing to address is notions of respect for one's teammates. Without mentioning names or discussing any players' accusations, explain to the whole team how you expect them to address each other. Stress the importance of respecting teammates as a component of Honoring the Game.
Advise your players on better ways to communicate with their teammates. For example: "If you are upset with a teammate, or feel you are open, express it in a positive way. 'Hey, I know they were coming at you pretty fast, but take a look to your left. My man is really playing off me.'"
You may need private, individual conversations with each of the accusers to reinforce the importance that they communicate well with teammates. In those conversations, resist any temptation to refute any players' claims or to defend the players accused of being "ball hogs."
All these methods, and sharing Jim Thompson's Elevating Your Game, will clear the air within your team, maintain or improve your team's on-field performance and provide important life lessons about respecting teammates that will help your players in their relationships with family, friends and future work colleagues.
(Eric Eisendrath is a former Division One hockey goalie at Brown University, and has coached soccer, lacrosse and hockey at a variety of levels.)
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Pop Warner Double-Goal Coach� Award Winners Announced
 Two Pop Warner Little Scholars coaches -- Angela Potter, cheer coach for Pfafftown Packers Pop Warner (Winston-Salem, NC) and Aaron Skinner, football coach for Saddleback Valley Pop Warner (Lake Forest, CA) -- will receive Pop Warner Double-Goal Coach Awards at this weekend's Pop Warner Scholastic Banquet.
PCA, as part of its its national partnership with Pop Warner, each year honors one cheer coach and one football coach who embody the model of a Double-Goal Coach, whose first goal is winning, and whose second, more-important goal is teaching life lessons through sports. Coaches typically are nominated by their peers or by their players' parents.
"Angela and Aaron are the kind of coaches we are proud to have in Pop Warner," said Pop Warner Executive Director Jon Butler. "Their values and the way they coach are perfect examples of what we would like to provide our youth athletes and their families though our partnership with PCA."
Potter, who cheered for eight years in the organization where she now coaches, took that route because, "The coaching and teaching I received helped me develop into an adult," she said. In her nine years of coaching, Potter has led teams to regionals seven times and to nationals five times.
More importantly, she is so committed to the overall development of her athletes that her family has taken into their home a cheerleader whose mother was facing difficult personal circumstances. "They had enough faith in me, and the girl had spoken positively enough of me to her mother, that she asked me to take her daughter in."
A similar commitment to character development fuels Potter's coaching philosophy: "To be a successful cheerleader, you have to have confidence, so I put self-esteem and character traits first, because you can't win without those, anyway."
You might hear similar words from Aaron Skinner, who also grew up as a Pop Warner athlete. "I love the game of football and want to give back to the game and give kids a positive experience," he said. "If they come back the next year, I know I've done my job."
Leading his team to a 9-2 record and the Orange Empire Conference playoffs, Skinner also mixed in life lessons. "I want players to take away from our program that they should trust their teammates, that they should be disciplined, and that they should take pride in themselves. I tell them to make sure they're looking sharp in their uniforms, just like they would for a date or a job interview."
Skinner, who recalls being "scared" of certain coaches in his youth, makes a point to connect with his players on a personal level. "While we're stretching, I walk through the group, give them knuckles, ask them how they're doing, how's their homework, how are their parents. I get to know them as people."
PCA congratulates Angela Potter and Aaron Skinner, two outstanding Pop Warner Double-Goal Coaches.
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Apply for the National Coaches Institute (July 10-13)
 Sports Challenge Leadership Academy -- founded by several PCA Trainers -- invites applications for its National Coaches Institute, July 10-13 at St. Andrew's Boarding School in Middletown, Del.
Coaches and athletic directors from PCA Partner organizations will receive half-price tuition. Training and activities focus on team culture creation, leadership development and sports psychology tools.
Featured speakers include PCA Director of Training and Evaluation Ruben Nieves, who led the Stanford University Men's Volleyball Team to an NCAA Championship before starting his PCA career, and Jeaney Garcia, PCA Trainer and Athletic Director at Hawaii's Punahou School, which has twice been named by Sports Illustrated as the nation's best high school sports program.
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In the latest sign the PCA Movement is sweeping the nation, PCA Founder and Executive Director Jim Thompson -- along with his latest book, Elevating Your Game -- were featured in last Sunday's edition of The New York Times in 
