The Coach’s Truth: Be Patient and Players Will Learn
Why should you be patient with your players? No, it’s not about being nice. It’s about success for the players as individuals and the team as a whole. Read more
How to Easily Build Confidence in Your Players
Rather than greeting players with a simple nod or a standard “Hello”, go the extra mile by greeting them by name and letting them know you’re glad to see them. Remember, kids (and adolescents in particular) frequently feel like they don’t belong. Read more
Unlocking the Formula to Team Chemistry
“As a coach, each year I put together a packet for the parents letting them know what I expect from the parents and players. One of my favorite things to include is the definition of “teamwork” from Webster’s Dictionary - The cooperative effort between members of a team or group to reach a common goal. Read more
How to Create Fun and Productive Practices
Athletic contests are most often determined by players’ habitual responses. There isn’t time to think things through. The only way to learn a skill well enough to use it in a pressure situation is to overlearn it through repetition. Effective practices give kids the repetitions they need to make the appropriate response a habit. Read more
Learn the Optimal Amount of Playing Time for Your Players
As part of the All Star Season program, Jim Thompson at Stanford University’s Positive Coaching Alliance discusses the issue of playing time and how much time coaches should allot per player. Here is the short form of his answer: Coaches need to be clear in their communications with parents and players about how much play time to expect. Read more
Success Strategy: Talk About Effort, Not Mistakes
As the coach, your team looks to you for approval – whether it always seems like it or not. When discussing a mistake made during play, be sure to phrase your words carefully. Discuss the effort and not the result. If you focus on the result or outcome, players will equate approval with results and not effort. Read more
Do Right by Yourself and Your Team: Get an Assistant
It might seem selfish but learning to delegate some of your responsibilities is the best thing for your players and team. If another parent is willing to take on some non-coaching duties, take them up on the offer! Read more
A Breakthrough Strategy: Getting Your Players to Think
Most coaches want their players to be highly responsive robots, which hardly prepares them for situations in which there’s no coach to tell them what to do. Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson–he of 9, count ‘em, 9 NBA titles–has long made it a point to not call timeouts during certain rough patches of games during the regular season (actually, he even did it in playoff contests during the Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls days). His notion is that players learn how to work as a unit on the basketball court, overcoming, say, a run by the other team or severe defensive pressure. Read more
The Secret about Setting Goals for Your Team and Players
Do you have goals for your team and players as the season approaches? If yes, be sure those goals are clear and specific. If no, then see the “yes” answer. Read more
A Proven Way to Improve Your Team’s Performance
As part of the superb All Star Season program, Jim Thompson, founder of the Positive Coaching Alliance based at Stanford University, discusses how coaches can use charting to improve team performance. Read more
