5. In my presentation we will go over the importance of coaching, the skills
required to be a coach, bad coaching habits, communication methods
between athletes and coaches, and dealing with parents as a coach.
5
6. Importance of Coaching
Coaches are everywhere in sports and also in life, and they are vital in life and
in sports. They work to encourage players, motivate athletes and inspire them.
Without coaches, players would stay content with their skills and have no
knowledge of how to improve.
More than 20 million children in America compete in youth sports and these
athletes need dedicated coaches to help them be successful in playing a
desired sport.
Gilbert, Wade D; Gilbert, Jenelle N; Trudel, Pierre. "Coaching strategies for
youth sports, part 1: Athletic behavior and athletic performance." Journal of
Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 4(2001):29. eLibrary. Web. 17 May.
2010.
Davis, Kimberly. "Sports and your child: What every parent should know."
Ebony. 01 Jun. 2000: 86. eLibrary. Web. 17 May. 2010.
6
7. This quote describes a little bit about how challenging and involved coaching
is It also describes what desirable characteristics team sports can build in a
child.
Toner, James M. "The Design of a Volunteer Coaches Training Program."
Parks & Recreation. 01 Aug. 2004: 48. eLibrary. Web. 10 May. 2010.
7
8. Think back to the activities and sports that you
played when you were young. I’m sure some of you
have memories about the sports and team activities.
These memories can either be great ones or bad
ones to look back on. Some of the success or failure
of these activities comse from the coaches of these
sports or activities. Having a great coach can make
an enjoyable memory and a fun experience.
8
9. Skills
Being a coach at the youth level requires many skills. Before coaching the
players, coaches have to do many other things as seen in this quote. When
you think back to when you played sports at a younger age and remember
your coach, they were more than just a coach. They motivate you, teach you,
and become your friend. Players need their coaches for many things that they
go through during that age, not just to develop skills in the sport the athlete is
playing.
9
10. This is a picture of the men’s Olympic volleyball coach, Hugh McCutcheon I
see him as one of the most successful coaches because he has lead the
Olympic team to many victories at such a high level. To be a successful youth
coach there is certain knowledge that one should possess. The first is sport
specific knowledge. This is “ techniques and strategies of a particular sport”.
(Martens, 1990)
The second knowledge base needed is general coaching knowledge. General
coaching knowledge is ”Information used to obtain an optimal learning
environment” (Martens,1990)
Martens, R. (1990). Successful coaching (2nd ed.). Champaign, IL: Leisure
Press.
10
11. In youth sports, the actuality is most of the coaches are volunteers. They are
sometimes just people who have just played the sport or parents of one of the
players on the team. Some even have little knowledge of the sport. it is rare
that the coach, when they start out, has extensive knowledge of the sport. To
help them out, youth coaches sometimes observe other successful coaches
such as college coaches and professional team coaches.
11
12. There are many qualities that make coaches successful. These are basic guidelines
and qualities that coaches for any level should possess.
Steve Pavlovic "Ten qualities of a successful coach". Coach and Athletic Director.
FindArticles.com. 29 Apr, 2010. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FIH/is_9_76/
ai_n27214800/
12
13. Patience
Especially with young players a coach must have patience. A coach can’t
expect everyone to learn a skill when its being taught to all players at once,
especially when players are young. It will be a challenge getting the players to
pay attention to you and to catch on to what is being taught. These things take
patience.
http://westislandgazette.com/files/westisland/imagecache/large/images/
coach01.JPG.jpg
13
14. In addition to patience, you must also maintain control of the team, which is
where discipline comes in. You don't want anyone goofing around and
distracting the rest of the team. The main objective of playing a sport is to
learn how to play the game.
For those who are misbehaving, you can add extra drills or talk with their
parents about their behavior. Addressing the situation immediately will let the
players know you take discipline seriously.
Disrespectful behaviors that should be disciplined include; verbal or physical
abuse of others and refusal to cooperate during team events.
A form of discipline with the athletes is:
Individual meetings
Discuss the incident in private with the athlete
And then get the parents involved
“These individual meetings are very effective because they open a forum for
discussion. They are also a non threatening way of dealing with the athlete
and discussing their behaviors because it is in private. This method
demonstrates the democratic coaching style and it is preferred most by
athletes and parents.” (Martin, Jackson, Richardson, & Weiller, 1999)
Gilbert, Wade D; Gilbert, Jenelle N; Trudel, Pierre. "Coaching strategies for
youth sports, part 1: Athletic behavior and athletic performance." Journal of
Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 4(2001):29. eLibrary. Web. 17 May.
2010. 14
“Baseball, coach talking to young player (6-8), close-up”, Zoran, Millch
15. While trying to discipline a team, some coaches find physical fines appropriate
and effective. Some see it as public humiliation and say that it will only fuel the
athletes bad behavior. Physical fines include sprints, push ups, sit ups, and
other physical activities. Some youth athletes act out because they want extra
attention. Doing a physical fine in front of the athletes teammates might just
make a player upset and cause them to act out more.
The goal of a successful act of discipline is for the coach to maintain a positive
attitude, while addressing the players attitude. Some coaches find it
uncomfortable to discipline the athlete, so they assign an assistant coach as
the disciplinarian.
15
16. Be fair and treat everyone on your team equally. Team rules are meant for
everyone, not just some players. The quickest way to cause problems within a
team is to let one player get away with something, and then punish another
who has done the same thing.
This rule is especially important to coaches who have a child on the team.
They must remember that rules apply to everyone and your child is not
exempt.
http://www.kidpower.org/images/articles/baseball-coach.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qi1vpmmaL6s/So7hRhpVgKI/AAAAAAAABjU/
zkNz99jgEWc/s400/soccer-coach+talking+to+team.jpg
16
17. Being tough but fair
It is really hard for coaches to always be fair and sometime a coach has to
give players bad news and this can be tough. Coaches who are realistic and
honest about what a person can achieve are the kinds of coaches someone
can look up to.
For example if a young athlete doesn’t make the team, a coach should tell the
player what they can do to improve and make the team next year.
http://www.recreation.slco.org/holladaylions/youthSports/images/800px-Youth-
soccer-i.jpg
http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/sports/good_coach.html
17
18. When you decide to become a coach, you are making a commitment to a
team. Your team depends on you and looks at you as its leader and "expert"
on the sport. Since you are making the decisions to become a coach you
should be committed and be at every practice on time or even arrive early.
These pictures are of Alice who was one of the coaches of the 12’s team. She
came to every practice even though she had to bring her 6 year old daughter
Tristan with her. I thought that really showed commitment.
18
19. Being on time to practices and games is a good way to lead by example. Also
athletes pick up on if your always yelling at officials and referees and if they
see it they might start doing this. Leading by example also includes language
used, yelling, and maintaining composure.
19
20. Keep Everyone Involved
Make sure every player is involved in a set activity at one point. When a player
is not involved they might get upset, but this action can also hurt the team. It
hurts the team because if a player gets thrown in the game and gets into a
situation where they weren't involved in the drill, they might not know how to
react.
20
21. Players and parents may criticize a coach especially when the season begins.
It can hurt a coach’s feelings but when someone might doubt your actions just
make sure you are doing what is in the best interest of the team and players. If
you are then don’t worry if people disagree.
Pictures:
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/handle-parents-while-coaching-2.jpg
21
22. Have a practice plan
The last thing that makes a coach successful is practice planning. Sometimes
a coach may feel like their team isn’t getting enough practice time so they
should be very sure that they don’t waste any. Make a plan and write it up
before you practice.
This is a table from a book “Effective Coaching Techniques”.
It was taken from the website http://www.howtoplay.com/coaches-effective-
coaching-techniques.html
22
23. While planning a practice, some coaches experiment with the drills and
practice designs done at practice. Another strategy is to divide practice into
blocks of time to specialize in the objective for the day. After practice the
coaches are open to feedback from the players and assistant coaches.
Gilbert, Wade D; Gilbert, Jenelle N; Trudel, Pierre. "Coaching strategies for youth sports: Part
2: Personal characteristics, parental influence, and team organization." Journal of Physical
Education, Recreation & Dance 5(2001):41. eLibrary. Web. 04 Mar. 2010.
23
24. Practice is important because the player and coaches get to know each other
through the time they spend together at practice. Practice is where players
develop and perfect their skills and where they get to know the coaches, and
their coaching style. It is important for an athlete to have confidence in their
coach and for the coach to have confidence in the athlete.
24
25. These 7 bad habits can make a coach unsuccessful. Doing these things can
hurt the team and the athletes you are coaching.
I’m going to go over a couple of the more important habits.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Coaching-Little-League-Baseball---Bad-Habits-Make-
For-Bad-Coaching&id=2952181
25
26. A coach that overreacts can really hurt a team. Being impatient and
overreacting can make a player upset and can lower the team moral. This can
put additional pressure on the players and make them scared to make
mistakes.
http://images.veer.com/IMG/PIMG/CBP/CBP1000235_P.JPG
http://www.goswim.tv/system/uploads/Image/coach31.jpg
http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/programs/0_61_coach_yelling_320.jpg
26
27. This is another trait of a poor coach. If a coach doesn’t have enough
knowledge of the game, they wont know how to properly teach the players.
The easiest way to fix this is to study the game, study the sport and learn the
correct terminology, fundamentals, and techniques of the game.
27
28. Negative coaches are always expecting the worst of their team. Players will
pick up on a coach that is being negative and they will become negative and
not want to go to practice or play in the games. Players need encouragement
and negative coaches don’t give that.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_IOaEewD4p9w/S70zHFTTO4I/AAAAAAAAAhg/
EryU4yqjfzI/s1600/Head-coach-Al-Skinner-questions-a-call-with-an-official.jpg
28
29. Parents, Players and Playing Time
Players and parents often have problems with the playing time. To avoid this
conflict, coaches can address this issue as well as other issues, through
letters given to each player and parent at the beginning of the year. When the
parents are upset with the coach, they should set up an appointment to
discuss their problems and work out a solution.
29
30. When playing on a team at the youth level team building is very important. It
plays a large role in a team’s success.
(Carrón, Brawley, & Widmeyer, 1998).
30
31. Despite its intuitive appeal, many coaches and athletes are still unclear about
the proper use of team-building activities (Bloom, Stevens, & Wickwire,
2003)
When a team doesn’t blend and accept everyone, the development of cliques
and alienation occurs. This can make players upset who are being excluded
and make them not want to be part of the team. This happens so often in
sports because coaches do not properly blend teams with team building.
31
32. Goals Of Team Building
When doing these activities coaches have goals in mind. The individual goals
are to:
Avoid social cliques
Get to know each team member, especially new ones
Clarify the role of each player
Establish long term goals
Create comfortable environment
The overall goal of the activities is to mend the team into a group that enjoys
each other and is comfortable with each other. Team building is a beneficial
aspect of team development. (Bloom 2003)
Stevens, D. E., St Bloom, G. A. (2003). The effect of a team building program
on cohesion. Avante, 9, 43-54.
32
33. There are six main benefits of team building. It creates leadership, establishes
roles of each member, builds dedication, an energetic environment, efficient
group meetings, and reduces negative team influences.
“Team-building programs have been designed to enhance the perceptions of
cohesiveness through team improvement” (Carron & Hausenblas, 1998)
33
34. Balance Beam- The athletes are instructed to stand on the beam in any order,
with no more than 10 on the beam at a time. They are then instructed to
position themselves on the beam from youngest to oldest. If any person
touches a mat or the legs of the beam, or if anyone in the group uses a put-
down, the entire group must get off the beam and get back in their original
order to start over.
34
36. Players are encouraged to give ideas for the activities and drills done at
practice. The coach then makes the decision based on the suggestions of the
athletes. The coach still defines what to do and how to do it.
http://www.brianmac.co.uk/styles.htm
36
37. The coach is more of a guide here than a dictator. The coach outlines the
training requirements to the athlete but the coach allows the players to explore
possibilities for drills and they make the decision amongst themselves.
http://www.brianmac.co.uk/styles.htm
37
38. Autocratic coaching is a “do what I say” style of coaching. The coach is the
only person who has a say in what is involved in practice. The athletes aren’t
involved but the athletes are still encouraged to ask questions about the
activities, but they don’t get to decide what activities are being done.
http://www.brianmac.co.uk/styles.htm
38
39. Players learn by creating a motor program for a given activity. This “motor
program” is what allows athletes to perform a skill on demand. A motor
program is created through practicing a skill repetitively. Then the action is
made automatic by repeating this in many practices. Then the athlete should
further refine the skill by using it in game situations.
http://www.howtoplay.com/coaches-effective-coaching-techniques.html
39
40. This quote has to do with communication with athletes at a young age.
Because in youth sports athletes vary in skill level, emotionally, and physical
development coaches have to figure out different ways to communicate with
players. This can be hard because the coach has to observe and figure out
which way will work best to get through to the athlete.
40
41. This is a three step communication system. Many coaches use this during
practices because of the fact that players vary in many different aspects such
as age and learning style. The first step is to verbally communicate what
needs to be done. If that doesn’t work than the coach should graphically
display it, and then demonstrate the act. The medium the coach
communicates through depends on the athletes’ preferences and ability.
For example if an athlete learns better when shown a skill, the coach should
demonstrate it.
Gilbert, Wade D; Gilbert, Jenelle N; Trudel, Pierre. "Coaching strategies for
youth sports: Part 2: Personal characteristics, parental influence, and team
organization." Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 5(2001):41.
eLibrary. Web. 04 Mar. 2010.
41
42. In order to be successful in communicating with their players, the coach
should develop a unique approach for each athlete.
“The appropriateness and effectiveness of a strategy will depend on the age
and gender of the athletes, the level of competition, and individual differences
in the athletes' cognitive and physical development” (Howe, 1993)
Some coaches use the first couple of practices to observe and take notes on
each player to get to know what style works best for them. From their the
coach can make modifications to the communication method and develop a
different approach for each athlete. When teaching and demonstrating skills,
coaches should provide both group and individual instruction.
In this picture coach Conahan is demonstrating to the team as a group. This
might not work for all players, so another coach might take individual players
aside to instruct them.
Gilbert, Wade D; Gilbert, Jenelle N; Trudel, Pierre. "Coaching strategies for
youth sports: Part 2: Personal characteristics, parental influence, and team
organization." Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 5(2001):41.
eLibrary. Web. 04 Mar. 2010.
42
43. Another communication form to get through to youth athletes is collaborative,
It is used if there are multiple people on the coaching staff. Each member can
contribute to communication through their unique expertise, therefore different
roles can be distributed amongst the different coaches. In this form of
communication, coaches can monitor each other so no coach dominates. This
approach can be very effective if done right.
Gilbert, Wade D; Gilbert, Jenelle N; Trudel, Pierre. "Coaching strategies for
youth sports: Part 2: Personal characteristics, parental influence, and team
organization." Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 5(2001):41.
eLibrary. Web. 04 Mar. 2010.
43
44. Parents often disagree with calls made by the umpire or referee in
game situations. They can also grow frustrated with the coach. Some take the
disagreement too far by confronting or even getting in an argument with the
coach.
On the extreme end of these kinds of incidents is the story of 42 year
old Thomas Junta and his son’s hockey coach, 40 year old Michael Costin.
Junta got angry when his ten-year-old son's nose was almost broken by
another player's elbow. He yelled at Costin, to tone down the roughness. The
two began began to argue when a rink manager made Junta leave. He later
returned and confronted Costin and the two got into an argument and began to
physically fight. He ended up beating Michael Costin to death because he was
much larger then the coach.
Junta was convicted of voluntary manslaughter when he was put on trial in
2002.
http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/news/city_desk_wired/wp-content/uploads/
2009/07/junta.jpg
http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1755000/images/_1755775_junta300ap.jpg
"Parental Rage" in Children's Sports (Special Report)." Encyclopedia.
World News Digest. Facts On File News Services, July 2000. Web. 27 Apr.
2010. <http://www.2facts.com/article/xn03970>.
44
45. In every sport, parents disagree with the decisions of coaches. Some coaches
require parents to sign a contract that goes over the guidelines for parent
behavior. This contract might include a cool down period. A cool down period
is typically the 24 hours after a game and it is when parents can not discuss
disagreements with the coach in hopes that the parent will cool off and think
rationally.
Gilbert, Wade D; Gilbert, Jenelle N; Trudel, Pierre. "Coaching strategies for
youth sports: Part 2: Personal characteristics, parental influence, and team
organization." Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 5(2001):41.
eLibrary. Web. 04 Mar. 2010.
http://www.activerealtysoftware.com/products/newimages/contract.gif
45
46. Parents can play a major positive role in coaching and managing a team.
Parents can help fundraise and they can also be assistant coaches if they
have knowledge about the sport.
A coach should design practice and fundraising strategies that involve parents.
Parents might volunteer to be assistant coaches and to help out with the team
so coaches should always be open to keeping parents involved.
Gilbert, Wade D; Gilbert, Jenelle N; Trudel, Pierre. "Coaching strategies for
youth sports: Part 2: Personal characteristics, parental influence, and team
organization." Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 5(2001):41.
eLibrary. Web. 04 Mar. 2010.
Barth, Kristen; Heinzmann, Gregg S; Casey-Doecke, Johannah; Kahan,
David; Et al. "Is parental involvement a liability in youth sports?." Journal of
Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 3(2003):16. eLibrary. Web. 17 May.
2010.
46
47. At the beginning of the season, coaches should have a meeting with the
parents of the athletes. During the meeting, topics such as playing time and
proper places and times for meetings will be discussed. Coaches sometimes
write letters to the parents outlining their expectations for player and parents
during the season. ”The pre-season letter may include the past history of the
program, expectations, and the upcoming preseason and regular season
schedules.” (Brubaker, Ken)
“The post-season letter may contain the team's accomplishments, a thank you
to the parents for their support, and the future outlook and
expectations.” (Brubaker, Ken)
If parents have disagreements with coaches they can make an appointment to
discuss it. The best time for a meeting is before practice.
Brubaker, Ken. "Coaching & Teaching Our Athletes." Coach and Athletic
Director. 01 Oct. 2007: 30. eLibrary. Web. 05 Apr. 2010.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3144/2630163338_849abcb5c8.jpg
http://www.haldimandcountyhydro.ca/hch/assets/Pictures/Other%20Pics/
contract.bmp
47
48. For my application I went for 10 weeks to Valley Forge’s 12’s team’s practice
on Thursday nights from 6 to 8 pm. I helped them out at practice, helped run
drills and demonstrated skills for the players. I also observed the coaching
styles of the four coaches of the 12’s team and saw how they split the practice
time up into drills.
Show iMovie
Class Activity!!!—team building activity
48
49. In conclusion I have learned the techniques that make a coach successful. I
have also been able to apply some of the techniques and qualities I learned
and observe coaches using them. I have realized how important coaching is to
athletes everywhere, especially at the youth level.
49
