The Top Two Traits of Excellent Coaches
From the dawn of youth sports, there has been debate over the qualifications an individual should have to coach a team. In a perfect world, a coach with intimate knowledge of a sport would be ideal, however, often this is not the case. The following article outlines the two most important traits a person should have when taking on a coaching role. Read more
The Three Most Important Coaching Roles Every Coach Should Master
Coaches can play many roles – including medic, psychologist, chauffeur, and sometimes equipment manager to name a few. There are three key roles that define the philosophy, practice and impact of a coach. The coaches who confuse these roles can find themselves making serious mistakes. The coaches who manage these roles effectively are the ones who win and change lives. Read more
A Good Coach Believes in Fun at Every Level of Play
One of the key factors to keeping kids in youth sports is the element of fun in the activity. In this article, Executive Editor TK Stohlman and Jim Johnson, founder and director of flexxCoach, discuss how important it is for coaches to include fun in their teaching methods. Read more
The Five “B’s” That Improve Post-Game Conversations
The intensity and emotion of a close competition can easily carry over into post-game discussions. It is often difficult for coaches to stop trying to manage the game after it is over. However, post-game conversations are not a part of the game. After all, nothing that is said after a game can affect its outcome. Conversations after a game have much more impact on the next practice or the next game. With that in mind, here are five suggestions for coaches for post-game conversations with players and parents: Read more
6 Ways Coaches Can Improve Team Performance
Youth coaches sometimes joke that the ideal youth team is a one full of orphans. Though this approach is one solution to problem parents, there are other practical ways for coaches to work with parents. Read more
The Importance of Long Term Planning
The most common problem facing trainers and coaches today regarding developing young athletes over time is the ability to plan long-term. The personal training profession is typically based on a session-to-session consideration – clients pay per session and trainers create training programs one session at a time. The same is true in coaching sports – most coaches script out one practice plan at a time, rather than create a relative flow for an entire month or even season. The following article by Brian Grasso discusses the importance of planning for the long term. Read more
How to Improve Your Coaching by Listening
The Greek philosopher Diogenes once said, “We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less.” While this is an excellent piece of advice, it is not always easy to follow. The following article provides advice on how to be a better listener and ultimately a better coach. Read more
Getting Players to Practice with Intensity
Most coaches have faced the challenge of getting athletes to practice with a purpose. Keeping young players engaged and excited about practice time is part skill and part art. Here are seven great tips to maintain a player’s practice intensity on a consistent basis. Read more
How Coaches Can Help Athletes Take the Lead
Creating players with drive and motivation is not an easy job. There are many things that coaches can do to encourage a youth athlete to become self directed, however, a lot of this determination comes from within the athlete. Here are five characteristics of a self-directed athlete and tips to bringing them out in your players. Read more
Are You Correctly Disciplining Your Players?
Taking on the role of a coach is very similar to that of a parent. Responsibilities as a mentor and guide extend far beyond drills and scrimmages. Sometimes a coach is required to undertake the role of a disciplinarian. Just like in parenting, discipline is needed to teach players valuable lessons. Here are ten tips to incorporate positive punishments into practice time. Read more
