Take some time to research articles about coaches and youth sport and you will come across stories of coaches finding creative ways to gain a competitive edge for their athletes and teams, even when they are involved at some recreational levels. Circumventing organizational policies about equal playing time, recruiting players from "outside their areas", hand picking opponents to pad their win - loss statistics, resting certain players in certain games to affect standings... really, take the time and you fill find examples of all these and more.
There are coaches that when faced with certain decisions, which in the bubble of intense competition, appear to them to be in the best interest of our team, which make choices which from the outside seem reckless or having no place in youth sport. It is very possible that In hindsight, it is often very likely that these same coaches would have made a different choice. What makes it much hard to regulate or properly prevent these situations from occurring is that whole these decisions or actions do not violate the letter of the rules, evaluated logically, they would certainly be deemed not in line with the spirit of youth sport, or with what the spirit of youth sport should be. hat is most disconcerting about these types of situations is two fold, firstly, it brings unwarranted scrutiny and judgement for the kids who are involved on teams led by these coaches. Most of the time, they have knowledge that anything is being done wrong. They are just kids out playing sports for the pleasure, which is the way it should be. They are being led a questionable path by those in charge who should know better. Secondly, is simply reflects badly on youth sport on the whole. We should never generalize and just see the negative but the reality is that we do have a serious coaching issue with youth sport. Now I don’t want to throw all coaches under the bus here. No coach should ever be defined by the poorest decision he or she ever made. Most coaches, even some might have drifted into some of the grey areas of the rules have likely made some incredibly positive impacts on young athletes, yet these situations are all perfect examples to all coaches who work with children that every word we say, and every action we take, can have a tremendously positive or negative impact. Coaches don’t get to decide which words stick, and which ones do not, so we must be intentional about everything we say and do! Far too often these days, inadequately trained coaches are making decisions that compromise the integrity of the game in order to “earn” a trophy. This happens when winning becomes more important then playing the game the right way, and outcomes are more important than development. Sometimes this occurs because of the coaches own ego and the sense of validation about self-worth, that winning championships make them a great coach ( and person) , the chance that winning championships at one level might earn he or she the chance to coach at a higher level, and sometimes, coaches get caught up in the frenzy of win at all costs because of the expectations that are placed on the team by the parents. Some are simply not strong enough to stick to their plan and get influenced by parents out of the fear or being replaced. This happens when coaches do not realize the tremendous power they have to influence lives and be positive role models, and results take precedence over coaching and teaching. Far too often, untrained or insufficiently trained coaches are entrusted with the well being of our young athletes. Sadly, the results of poor coaching often go beyond having to forfeit a game if caught breaking rules or a poor win-loss record. There are many parents of kids involved in youth sport that have often identified the quality and behavior of their coaches as a big concern. Poorly trained coaches can be bullies, they can demean kids, and their actions can leave emotional and physical scars that last a lifetime. When we look at youth sports participation numbers in North America, we see a decline in participation rates. Faced with choices, kids are quitting sport, whether simply playing at the park with friends or participating in organizing teams and leagues. While there has been a certain transition to more investment in coaching, the truth is that the majority of kids under the age of 12 or so are still being coached by volunteer coaches. These coaches are the gatekeepers of sports, and often determine whether an experience is a positive one, or a negative one. However well intentioned these coaches may be, the sad fact is many of them are inadequately trained. In other words, we are entrusting our children’s love of sport and participation in a lifetime of activity with well-meaning, but inadequately prepared moms and dads. I certainly do not blame the coaches, for they are doing exactly what is asked of them, and are doing their best with the little help they receive. It keeps the financial costs down, but at what cost in terms of sport participation, and the well being of children? Imagine for a moment that our school system entrusted the teaching of reading, writing and math in elementary school to the moms and dads who volunteered their time. How would that affect children’s ability to read, write, and (gasp) enjoy learning! It is hard to imagine, because we would never do that, as we see these abilities as essential. Yet when we look at the massive benefits of sport participation and active lifestyles, isn’t a positive early sport experience nearly as essential? The biggest fear among youth sports organizations is the fear that they will not attract enough volunteers if they require too much of them. At first glance, this seems to make sense, as these coaches are already donating a ton of time just to be at practices and games. On the contrary, it seems clear that we are not attracting and retaining enough volunteers simply because we are not preparing them to have an enjoyable and impactful experience, and providing them with the tools to do so. Different sports have varying degrees of coaching certification requirements for individuals to work with different age groups or within certain competitive levels. Do they all work, does requiring coaches to follow some sort of training and certification eliminate all of the problems listed at the start of this post ? Are there still bad apples and some bad decisions by coaches? Of course. But most importantly, instead of chasing coaches away, it has increased volunteer rates, and provided our kids with better prepared coaches! A prepared coach is a happy coach! A happy coach is a better coach, and is more likely to return year after year and provide a positive experience for kids. It is time that sports organizations not only require coaching education, but make education part of their culture, something that people want to do instead of ‘have to do.” This takes bold decision making, and not simply doing the bare minimum. Sending an outdated pdf of drills no longer cuts it. We must make training accessible on the field, online and at all levels of coaching. There has to be a process of following up with coaches after they might have done some sort of initial certification and see how they are working with their teams. So what does this all mean concretely ? To begin with, coaches have to be reminded and directed to ensure they realize the influence they have over young athletes and to ensure that they focus on the right things. Look at what most parents and athletes would define as a good coach and I sure that all of them would demonstrate the following;
A thorough coaching education program must not simply be a handout of a few drills to run, as clearly that is only a part of what will make the experience a good one, or a negative one. Coaches must be taught age appropriate psychology, the impact and tremendous power of their words to build or destroy self-esteem, and how to create a physically, mentally and emotionally safe place to play. And they must have access to education in person and online. Scheduling a single coaches meeting and hoping everyone shows up no longer cuts it. Not every coach who volunteers at the lower recreational levels will go on to coach elite, high school, university or certainly the pros, having some coaches with stand out and show potential and these should be encouraged to seek out opportunities to improve themselves and take advance coaching certification courses. Great coaches build training sessions that allow for learners of all levels to be challenged, and great sports organizations should do the same for their coaches. We should not have one coaching education night that is the same every year, for every coach. Who would want to see the same stuff year after year? Having run multiple organizations that depended upon volunteers, one thing I learned is that some coaches only have the time and energy to do the bare minimum required, but many of them are passionate about being an excellent coach, and are hungry for more tools. Sadly, in order to better themselves, these coaches are forced to find information and educational opportunities on their own. We need to provide ongoing field sessions for coaches of all ages and stages. We need to provide online learning about safety, psychology, and child development. We need to recommend great books and websites. We need to help coaches realize that the people in front of them are not undersized adults, with similar needs, values and priorities as themselves; they are kids, and they need activities, games, communication and motivation that is developmentally appropriate. Just as kids are leaving youth sport, so are volunteer coaches. Successful organizations are able to retain their best coaches and have the ability to ensure that they are also recruiting new coaches. One of the best ways to get enough coaches for any organization is to retain the ones they have. Reward loyalty by providing them with additional tools and resources. Reward them by offering advanced education for coaches who return, or opportunities for their kids. And as I have written about before, as far as attracting new coaches, the best way to do that is to tap into your biggest underutilized resource: MOMS! Only 25% of all youth coaches are women, so making an effort to attract and train female coaches, perhaps by running special female only training programs for them, is a great way to fill your coaching ranks, not to mention provide positive role models for your players. If we want to stop the decline in youth sports participation, it is incumbent upon us to provide children with a better experience. We can only do that by surrounding them with educated coaches and positive role models who respect them, teach them, and motivate them to live a lifetime of healthy activity. Will some youth sports coaches continue to make poor decisions in the heat of the moment? Of course, that is inevitable. But we can start addressing this issue, and go a long way to creating a better sports environment for our kids, by requiring certification and education for all coaches,. We can help youth sports refocus on developing better athletes and better people, instead of who wins the most games at age 10. We can give coaches the tools to make better decisions for their players, and themselves. It’s time we gave our coaches the training and resources they need to be great! It’s time to train ALL our coaches!
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AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
January 2023
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