Coach Resources

Keeping players off of their cell phones before, during, and after practices and games is a good goal for a lot of coaches. First, determine if there are legitimate reasons for players to have access or a need to be on their phones. Location changes, unexpected time changes such as long practices or delayed games, or parental information are all good reasons. Once you know this information, determine your own reasonable limits for their use and set the terms. Explain your reasoning, such as getting them to work better as a team. Encourage them to take personal responsibilty and respect your limits. The ultimate goal is here respect for others and respect for the game. Encouraging team leaders to help you enforce this can also help increase a self-enforcing team culture.

When a player is dealing with grief such as the loss of a close loved one, it can affect the whole team. It is definitely a difficult situation and it’s important to rally around this player and show support. You may want to extend this support to the player’s family as well. Something as simple as dedicating a game to the player’s loss or just taking a moment of silence during a practice can mean a lot. Dealing with tough situations is a part of life, but having support from those around us is what helps us get through those tough situations.

Parents can be an effective part of their child’s youth sports experience. But some parents need a little ‘coaching’ in that regard. One way to get parents to act in their player’s best interest is to include them in your goals and even see what their goals are. Do they want to focus on exercise for their player? Is fun the goal? Are they looking to develop skills? Maybe they just want their child to make some friends or gain some self-confidence. Parents may even choose all of these. Once you know their goals, ask them how they would want spectators in the stands to act if these were their goals instead of their player’s goals. Most parents may claim these goals, but when they are watching, they tend to focus on the win and not the player’s goals. Life lessons for their child in a league setting are great, and winning can definitely be one of them, but it’s important that they act accordingly for them. Here are some tips on howe to get parents on board with good attitudes:

1. Prevention
You want every single person in your organization to understand what is expected of him or her so set the bar. Use communication to let them know how you expect things to be.

2. Enforcement
Creating order lessens chaos. Being a leader ensures that others will notice and will work towards a positive culture. Make sure that parents understand the limits and that crossing the line isn’t acceptable. And as always, if issues arise beyond your control, please contact your Division Manager for assistance.

3. Reinforcement
In youth sports we always commend the players for their performance, but there’s nothing wrong with showing praise for parents that go above and beyond if you choose. Whatever you decide to do for your team, your players, and your parents to maintain your positivity will offer benefits for everyone.

Players with bad attitudes tend to bring others down with them. But regardless of the talent, it’s important to try to maintain a positive culture throughout the team. Age can be a big factor with this one so whether you chat with the parent or the player, trying to find out what is causing the attitude will help you understand how to proceed. Earning trust helps with receiving respect. This can be done in a general level with something as simple as asking how school is going. Reinforce positivity when you see it, showing that it is preferred over the bad attitude. This will help make the connection between praise and attention rather than the opposite. And always be sure to be fair with discipline. Don’t let your bad attitude player get away with things other wouldn’t. Make an effort to treat all players fairly and they will respect and trust you more.