This article was provided by Coaches Network

Young athletes need to take ownership over their decisions in order to mature and grow into a successful adult. Yet, this can be difficult for athletes who are constantly conditioned to follow instructions and work within a set routine. That is why Highland Park (Texas) High School Head Girl’s Soccer Coach Stewart Brown makes sure that his players are given autonomy.

Brown formerly played for England’s Queens Park Rangers F.C., and, along with being a coach, is also the Director of Coaching for the Highland Park Soccer Academy. Since coaching at the high school level, he has learned the value of giving players greater control over their decision-making. “With a high school girls soccer program, we found it very important to give autonomy to the girls, and give a lot of the program back to the girls,” Brown says in a video produced by the Positive Coaching Alliance.

By getting his players to actively make autonomous choices, Brown hopes that the team will grow closer and that players will develop confidence in one another. “With team bonding, I gave up a day every week from our practice and turned it over to the seniors,” he says.

Calling on seniors to lead a practice can be a great way for a coach to develop positive relationships and strong team chemistry. As players take on the responsibility of leading a practice, they learn to properly communicate with their teammates while also building up their own confidence and leadership skills. This fosters a more holistic learning environment, rather than players simply following the instructions of their coach.

Allowing young athletes to have more independence can actually teach them the value of teamwork. “They do team bonding just to realize that the strength of our program is based completely on the relationships they have,” Brown says. “If they have strong relationships with each other during times when there’s no stress, hopefully that will carry on to times when we’re stressed or we’re struggling during the season.”

On top of allowing seniors on the team to run a weekly practice session, Brown also accepts input from players regarding the balance between the duration and intensity of training. “I also like them to have some control over what our training schedule is,” he says.

This allows his players to take on a major role in setting goals and accepting ownership of their own progression as athletes. “We know what we need to accomplish, and if we can do that in a short, high intensity type of training, rather than having to fill a time allotment, we’ll be even more successful,” he says.

Coaches will find that there are a variety of ways to provide their players with autonomy without sacrificing the progress of the team. Having more mature, responsible young athletes goes a long way both on and off the field. All sport coaches should consider how to empower their athletes and give them the confidence and drive to keep growing. As Brown explains, giving his girls a lot of control in deciding how the team moves forward has helped make their program a success.

These articles were written and contributed by Scott Rosberg

Theme # 3 – Toughness

This post is the third in a series of short posts based on the Team Themes & Quotes in my gift booklet “Senior Salute.” Today’s post is on the theme of “Toughness.” The kind of toughness we are focused on is a mental toughness, one that helps people persevere through tough times and stay positive and focused through all that life throws at them. For more information on the concepts of perseverance, mental toughness, & rituals mentioned in this post, I highly recommend you check out the book 1001 Motivational Messages & Quotes and the booklet “Life Lessons for Athletes” by Bruce Brown of Proactive Coaching.

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to try just one more time.” — Thomas Edison

One of the great things that athletics teaches us is to not be deterred by the “bumps in the road.” People with a toughness about them keep their eyes up and stay focused on visualizing the finished product. They are committed to continuous improvement, and they stay focused on it through any and all adversity that comes their way. As athletes and teams understand, practices and competitions are fraught with difficulties that they must work persevere through to stay focused on victory.

The same perseverance and mental toughness that is required for athletes to handle their competition will help them in other areas of life. All of us will be faced with all kinds of issues, dilemmas, and problems. Our ability to handle all that life throws at us will be affected by how “tough” we are. This mental toughness allows us to stay positive and productive in the face of difficult odds. A truly mentally tough person has a spirit that cannot be broken. No matter how many problems, roadblocks, or setbacks they face, mentally tough people stay the course and fight to the end.

Every day we are tested in various ways. How we handle each test determines our success or failure. But how we handle our failures is directly affected by our mental toughness. Those who are mentally tough bounce back quickly from mistakes and failures. They have created habits and rituals that help them move on from the failure and re-focus on the task at hand. From physical gestures to saying certain words, phrases, or acronyms to oneself, these rituals help bring the people back into a state that allows them to work to achieve their goals.

As we make our way through life, there will be bumps in the road. By preparing for and persevering through those moments, mentally tough people give themselves a greater chance of overcoming the obstacles they face and coming out on top. Their “toughness” helps them to become all that they are capable of becoming.

Theme # 4 – Passion

This post is the fourth in a series of short posts based on the Team Themes & Quotes in my gift booklet “Senior Salute.” Today’s post is on the theme of “Passion.” Of course, passion has all kinds of meanings and connotations, but we are focused here on a passion for whatever you endeavor to do.

“There is no passion to be found playing small—
in settling for a life that is less than the one
you are capable of living.”

— Nelson Mandela

Passion is a key ingredient of anyone’s ultimate success. You can have success in some things without passion, but success without passion won’t last for long. The reason is that in order to compete or perform at the highest levels for any length of time, you have to love what you are doing. You also have to love the process and the grind because the process and the grind are necessary for you to continue your success. No matter what you do in life, do it with passion.

Passion fires us up to go out, compete, perform, and give everything we have to whatever we seek to succeed in.  That can be a sport, a class, a job, a family, or any other part of our life that is important to us. People with passion bring so much more to everything they do and everyone with whom they come in contact. When others see their passion, they often pick up on it and start displaying their own passion as well.

Passion is a key ingredient for anyone who has excelled and had success in some endeavor, especially for those whose success has been sustained over a period of time. Where would Bill Gates, Phil Knight, Steve Jobs, or any other successful entrepreneur have gotten to without passion? While they may have all had great ideas, passion drove them to heights they could have only imagined without it.

Life is so much more exciting for people with passion. Put your heart and soul into all you do and let it show to the world around you.  You and the people who you touch in your life will be glad you did.

 

“Senior Salute” is a gift booklet for coaches, parents, or anyone else to give to senior athletes at the end of their season. It covers 7 different team themes that have played and will continue to play a role in athletes’ lives – Character/Integrity, Trust, Toughness, Passion, Accountability, Teamwork, & Success. There are quotes from famous (and not-so-famous) people in support of each theme. Finally, the inside front cover is set up for people to write a personal note to their senior. Individual copies of “Senior Salute” cost $6.00, but a 10-pack is only $50.00. You can also purchase gift envelopes to put them in. To purchase “Senior Salute” or to download the “Introduction and First Chapter Theme & Quotes” for Free, go to the Coach with Character website.

These articles were written and contributed by Scott Rosberg

Theme # 1

Character/Integrity

This post is part of a series of short posts based on the Team Themes & Quotes in my gift booklet “Senior Salute.” Today’s post is on the theme of “Character/Integrity.” We start with the most important one of all because without Character/Integrity, any other behavioral characteristic that you have or claim to have will be doubted. Integrity is the most important of all the traits that one must have to be successful in life.

Being a person of integrity is especially critical for people in leadership positions or those who aspire to become leaders. People will not follow leaders for very long who do not have integrity because they can’t be trusted. The moment bad character and a lack of integrity are exposed, people start “heading for the hills” away from the supposed leader. This is because while the person said that s/he stood for certain things or certain standards, once it is found out that the person really did not live by those standards, s/he can no longer be trusted to be telling the truth.

However, integrity and great character are required of people in all walks and stages of life, not just leaders. No matter what you do in this world, if you interact with others, you must live with integrity if you want people to trust you. Trust is a key building block of any solid relationship, and trust starts with integrity.

Integrity is basically when your actions and your beliefs are in alignment. When you say you have certain standards and values, and then you go out and live by those standards and values, you show yourself to be a person of integrity and character. You are someone who walks your talk. Your word is good. Your signature has value. People know that what you say and what you do will be one and the same.

However, when you claim certain standards, and then when faced with a choice, choose to act in a way that is not accordance with your standards, you are living a lie, and you are showing yourself to be a person who lacks integrity.

For instance, student-athletes are often asked to sign an athletic contract. Their signature on that athletic contract is saying, “I will live by the standards and rules set forth in this document.” However, the person who lacks integrity signs the contract and then goes out and does whatever s/he wants to do without regard to what the standards and rules have set forth as the proper behavior for them to exhibit.

As you make your way through life, choose to walk the path of great character and integrity. As Alan Simpson once stated, “If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.”

Theme # 2 – Trust

This post is the second in a series of short posts based on the Team Themes & Quotes in my gift booklet “Senior Salute.” Today’s post is on the theme of “Trust.” Trust is a key piece to any relationship. In the last post, I discussed how important character/integrity are to the relationships that you have with people. I said that character/integrity are absolutely vital for anyone in a leadership position. Integrity is one of the key ingredients to creating trust in others, and leaders have to have the trust of the people they lead.

However, trust is not critical only for leaders. For any relationship you develop with someone, there must be trust for that relationship to thrive. Trust allows massive growth in the relationship. It allows people to speak openly, honestly, and freely with the other person. This is critical for the relationship to grow and develop and become something deep and meaningful.

The moment trust is broken, the relationship breaks down. Open, honest, and clear communication is stunted or halted completely. When people don’t trust one another, they shut themselves off from the other person. A breach of trust stifles any chance for true growth to occur.

So how do you create trust? Bruce Brown of Proactive Coaching has an outstanding booklet called “The Impact of Trust.” In the booklet and the presentation based on the booklet, Brown discusses what I call the 3 C’s of trust – Competence, Caring and Character. To develop trust with others, you must be competent in your field, you must care about others, and you must be a person of character. I always add another C to the mix – Consistency. To create and develop real trust with others, you must demonstrate your competence, caring, and character consistently over time. (I have just scratched the surface here. To delve deep into these concepts, I highly recommend you pick up “The Impact of Trust” at the Proactive Coaching website – www.proactivecoaching.info.)

Who do you trust? Why? When you think about the people you trust, chances are that the 4 C’s mentioned above are key elements to your level of trust in them. Now the big question becomes this – Who trusts you? Are you doing those same things in your relationships that those people you trust are doing in their relationship with you? If not, it is time to start. This is the best way to develop the trust necessary for you to have a trusting, fruitful, meaningful relationship with those people.

 

“Senior Salute” is a gift booklet for coaches, parents, or anyone else to give to senior athletes at the end of their season. It covers 7 different team themes that have played and will continue to play a role in athletes’ lives – Character/Integrity, Trust, Toughness, Passion, Accountability, Teamwork, & Success. There are quotes from famous (and not-so-famous) people in support of each theme. Finally, the inside front cover is set up for people to write a personal note to their senior. Individual copies of “Senior Salute” cost $6.00, but a 10-pack is only $50.00. You can also purchase gift envelopes to put them in. To purchase “Senior Salute” or to download the “Introduction and First Chapter Theme & Quotes” for Free, go to the Coach with Character website.

This article was provided by Coaches Network

By Dr. David Hoch, CMAA, CIC

When someone mentions communicating with classroom teachers, the first thing that probably comes to mind is grades. Are all of your student-athletes achieving as they should? Are they eligible to play?

Supporting your players’ academic work and checking on their progress is important, but did you realize that there are many other good reasons for coaches and teachers to communicate? Together, you and your players’ teachers can be a powerful team, ensuring the best for kids. Below are some scenarios where connecting with your classroom counterpart can benefit you, the teacher, and most importantly, your student-athletes.

An athlete is acting out. When a student-athlete is causing a disruption in class, his or her teacher may turn to you for help. As a coach, you often have a great deal of influence over your players. Simply taking the athlete aside and making a couple of comments after practice might do the trick. If the problem requires a little more intervention, discuss your expectations with the athlete and also listen to what he or she has to say. Keep the dialogue going and continue to touch base with the teacher.

There is trouble at home. Classroom teachers have about 50 minutes of contact with students each day, but as a coach, you probably have two or three times this amount. Because of this increased interaction, you may be the first to know about a difficult situation at home or a challenge in a player’s personal life that is affecting their behavior in the classroom. When this happens, you can reach out to your student-athletes’ teachers and alert them, allowing all the adults involved to support the student-athlete.

Missed work or tests. When an athlete needs extra help or tutoring, or needs to take a test he or she missed, you and the teacher can put your heads together to come up with a workable plan. While it is important for players to be involved in practices leading up to a game, it is more important that they first take care of their academic responsibilities. This means that you have to be understanding, supportive, and receptive in order to find a suitable solution.

Monitoring grades. And of course, you do want to stay in touch with teachers to monitor the academic progress of your athletes. You should encourage and support your players’ classroom efforts, but be careful. It is never okay to ask a teacher for special treatment of an athlete. This crosses a line from being concerned and involved to being inappropriate.

Making an effort to work more closely with your players’ teachers this year can pay dividends. Keep the following suggestions in mind for the most effective communication.

1. Prioritize academics. The first key to a great relationship with teachers is to understand and respect their role. Academics are the reason schools exist and students attend. Athletics are important, but academics hold the highest priority.

2. Remember your common goal. Both you and your players’ teachers want the same thing—a great outcome for the kids you work with. Make an effort to develop a two-way, open, polite, and sharing relationship, keeping in mind that you have the same end goal. You and the teachers of your players are teammates, and you can best accomplish the goal of helping students and athletes when you work together.

3. Think and plan ahead. As with most aspects of coaching (and teaching), this approach usually yields the best results. Waiting until the night before a player has an exam to explore ideas for extra help will have little value. Identify potential problems early and come up with solutions as soon as possible. And remember that all teachers and coaches are extremely busy, necessitating as much lead time as possible.

4. Student-athletes first. In the heat of a competitive season, it’s easy to start thinking wins and losses are the most important thing. They are not. When needed, remember to step back and ensure that you’re making decisions and plans based upon what is best for the student-athlete.

This article was provided by Coaches Network

By Dr. Richard P. Borkowski

Developing offensive and defensive game plans is old hat for coaches. This article, however, is about a new type of game plan: a defensive strategy to lower the chance of injuries and the likelihood of a coach being blamed for one.

Lowering the risk of injury to your athletes is not a one-time task. It is an ongoing commitment that should take place in-season and out-of-season, on the field and off. In this article, I provide a risk management game plan for coaches to use throughout the year.

 

Pre-Season
To start, carefully re-read your athletic department’s handbook and any school policies that pertain to coaching. Next, make sure your own rules are in agreement with the department’s directives. Finally, meet with your athletic director to review policies and procedures. Get the answers to your safety concerns before problems arise.

Make sure you have met all state association certification regulations. Read and follow the rulebook. Read it every year, even if there haven’t been any changes from the previous year.

Check all your equipment, uniforms, and facilities. When buying new equipment, purchase only from reputable dealers. Follow all manufacturers’ guidelines. Wait until so-called “state-of-the-art” equipment becomes widely accepted before purchasing it, and avoid using any “homemade” equipment.

Hold a parent information meeting to preview the season and outline the risks and benefits of participation. Take time to answer parents’ questions about safety issues. Go over the informed-consent form.

Make sure every player has passed a physical exam. Obtain a completed emergency information card and an informed-consent form for each athlete, and make sure all forms are signed.

In-Season
Review all safety rules with your players. Remind your athletes that they play an important role in their own safety and the safety of others on the playing field.

To avoid injuries, provide your athletes with progressive conditioning and instruction. Do not allow them to attempt a new move or play if you feel they are not ready for it. Always assess their capabilities as you instruct them.

Reinforce safety rules throughout the season. Immediately correct any unsafe situation. If you cannot correct a problem, notify the administration immediately.

Use the word “no.” “No, we won’t use that broken backstop.” “No, we won’t practice on that field.” “No, we won’t play with that equipment.”

Know that proper supervision means having a staff member present at the practice or contest site at all times. Know what general and specific supervision is, as well as the supervisory technique known as “scanning.”

Have “buffer” or safety zones for practices and games. Always try for a “first down” (30 feet) in outdoor situations (including keeping 60 feet between two adjacent playing areas) and five to 10 feet for indoor play. If that is impossible, adjust the situation. That may mean padding the potential hazard, adjusting the playing field, or decreasing the number of participants.

Avoid mismatching your athletes in competition and practice. Look at factors such as age, experience level, maturity, sport, size, strength, skill, and stamina.

If an injury occurs, always follow the directions of qualified medical personnel. Avoid post-injury discussions with anyone except your supervisor. Accident and incident reports should be factual and to the point. An athlete should not return to play after an injury or illness without a completed “return to play” form signed by a qualified medical professional.

Have an emergency plan in place. Review it to make sure it works. Test your plan at every venue you use for practice or competition. Have a plan for away contests.

Understand the importance of athletic safety public relations. Avoid terms such as “blood alley,” “bell ringer,” or “suicide drill.” Yes, words can come back to haunt you.

Walk into every situation and ask yourself, “Have I done all that is reasonable to lower the chance of injury to those in my charge?” and “What can I do to make the setting safer?”

Off-Season
After the season ends, re-examine your program from a risk management point of view. Take a look at all your forms, records, and procedures. Ask yourself, “How can I make it better?” Another idea is to seek outside evaluations of your risk management program from a coach or athletic administrator at another school.

Consider implementing an out-of-season conditioning program for athletes who are not participating in other sports. Make sure any conditioning program is progressive, well taught, and appropriate for your athletes’ age level.

Attend seminars and workshops, and continue your education in all areas of coaching. Join professional groups and subscribe to professional magazines.

Hire qualified assistant coaches. Along with being well-versed in coaching techniques, viable candidates should be caring individuals with your athletes’ welfare as their top priority. Encourage your assistant coaches to continue their professional development.

As you review this game plan, remember these three major points:

1. You are measured by the standard of care for your profession and not by standards of practice. “Lots of other coaches do it that way” is not an excuse for an unsafe practice. The profession’s standard of care and your standard of practice should be the same.

2. Know your legal duties as a coach. You have a duty to properly condition, supervise, give instruction, provide correct equipment and safe facilities, offer emergency care, and warn players of potential injuries.

3. The key to lessening liability is being a competent, caring professional who runs a worthwhile program. This establishes your professional credibility, which goes a long way toward decreasing your chance of being sued.

Using this defensive game plan accomplishes two important things. It decreases the chance of injury to your athletes and establishes you as a caring, vigilant, and credible professional. Both will appreciably decrease the claims against you as a coach.