It's more than just a Game.
The Buckeye Valley Basketball programsuccess depends on interested parents and friends such as yourself to ensure that our children get the very best experience possible while playing at or for Buckeye Valley. Please take the time to read over the following material regarding coaching standards that the Buckeye Valley youth program takes great pride in. As a coach of a Buckeye Valley Basketball Team, we are far more interested in your ability to communicate with the children on your team and demonstrate a positive sports experience, than we are in your ability to teach the WIN at ALL COSTS ATTITUDE. It is extremely important that coaches remember that a successful youth coach is defined not in terms of a won-loss record, but in terms of how many kids decide to return to play again next year.
Equal Playing Time
The primary purpose of youth sports should be to teach fundamental sports skills in a non-threatening environment. Children should have the opportunity to learn new skills and improve previously learned skills and have fun doing it. Coaches must create an environment both in practices and games where children are not afraid to make mistakes. Using fear of failure as a motivational technique is unacceptable. Mistakes happen as part of the learning process. Children who hope to become better skilled so they can move on to more advanced levels of competition have to be willing to take risks and experiment with more advanced skill techniques and strategies. They will not do this if they are afraid of making mistakes. All members of any team come to the team expecting equal opportunities. They have the right to expect equal quality and quantity of coaching in practice. They all must be given the same opportunity to try out what they learn in practices in game situations. In fact, games should be considered an extension of practices, another opportunity to learn. An athlete can not learn much by sitting on the bench. Sports involve movement, physical skills. They are best learned by doing, not watching.
Make a BIG deal out of the SMALLEST positives
Promoting a positive self-image in kids while they play sports is essential! Look for positives and then encourage them with animated praise. At practices and games, a good goal is to try and keep a healthy ratio of positives to negatives. The more positives to negatives the better! Additionally, you want to be specific in your praise. “Atta-boy”, while a good effort won’t go quite as far in building up kids as a more specific compliment such as, “I like the way you kept hustling after that play.” Finally, it’s equally important to “make a big deal” out of it, to praise with animation. Kids respond to public accolades, so the more animated as a coach you are when praising, the better. In fact, a good motto is: “Praise in public and criticize in private.” It’s easy to praise the kids who do well in a sport. We also need to praise the youngsters who don’t shine but who stay with a sport day in and day out.
Stay calm, help kids learn from their mistakes
Dealing with a child after a mistake has been made is one of the most critical issues facing youth sports coaches. Ideally, youth sports offer kids great lessons in life: 1) it’s OK to make a mistake, 2) mistakes WILL happen and 3) mistakes are stepping stones for learning. When a youngster makes a mistake in a sport, one of two things can occur: 1) the youngster can learn from the mistake and try to improve the next time; or 2) the youngster can become preoccupied with the fear of making another mistake. The coach is the focal point that will help determine which path the youngster will travel. If a coach stays calm and tries to instruct the child, there’s a chance that the child will see the mistake as an opportunity to learn. If the coach stays calm there’s a chance that the kid will stay calm, focus on the mistake and learn from it. Unfortunately, as human beings, we often tend to have more animation in our reactions to negatives than in our reactions to positives. So it takes an extra effort on our part as coaches to remind ourselves to stay calm when mistakes occur. Negative comments are remembered far more often than positive affirmations.
Have reasonable, realistic, and reachable expectations
Trying to live up to expectations can be a major frustration for kids whether they are their own expectations, or those of adults in their lives. Despite the fact they may not show it, kids have a strong desire for adult approval, the lack of which, can be a major source of low self-esteem. Since a coach often plays a major role in the life of a youngster, it is important to keep expectations reasonable and attainable.
A good coach’s motivation expectations are based on the awareness that there are three levels of motivation for kids in youth sports: 1) some kids, especially the entry-level youngsters, are playing because their parents enrolled them and they want to see what it’s all about, 2) many youngsters are playing because it’s a social event allowing them to be with their friends, 3) a smaller group of youngsters, beginning at about age 11 or 12, are playing because they enjoy the sport.
Treat kids with respect
When a youngster signs up to play sports, he/she deserves to be treated with respect. This means no put-downs, no sarcasm and no ridiculing by the coach, or fellow players. Any youth sports coach who volunteers to take on the job of guiding kids in any given sport needs to be careful of how he/she comes across to the youngsters.
Remember not to take yourself too seriously during the game
Remember, this is a volunteer position; nobody is being paid to pace the sidelines here. You don’t need to make this your “life”, too many times in youth sports, the same person who seems to have it all together away from the field, is a different person as a coach. Kids will respond much more positively to a coach that does not look at mistakes on the court as a poor reflection of his coaching ability and his team’s preparedness. Mistakes can rather be looked at by a coach as another opportunity to give encouraging feedback to a young athlete.
Maintain FUN as #1
The #1 motivator for kids to play sports in the first place?…FUN! If you ask a child his motivation for playing a given sport, you are not likely to hear “to increase my selfconfidence” or “to learn sportsmanship”, or “to better prepare me for life”. Kids enjoy competing, and the fun is the act of competing, the excitement of competing, not just the winning. The effective coach is the coach who learns what fun is. The effective coach knows that fun, laughter, and humor are second nature to kids.
Emphasize teamwork, “WE” instead of “ME.”
Coaches are pivotal in making the “team” concept become a reality. The coach needs to ensure that ALL players are recognized, not just the best players. Parents should be encouraged to praise all the players on the team, not just their own.
Be a role model of good sportsmanship
These days, sportsmanship has taken a distant back seat to the outcome of the game. A lot of players forget that it’s a privilege to be on a team, and there are responsibilities that go along with it. Coaches have a responsibility to promote sportsmanship and; 1) win without gloating, 2) lose without complaining and 3) treat opponents and officials with fairness, generosity and courtesy. A coach should be the first person to demonstrate good sportsmanship!