August 19, 2008

Coaching Youth Sports by Ken Kaiserman

Koach Karl brings you this interesting article about coaching…..

Coaching youth sports is a challenge. Most of our kids are really happy to have us step up to the plate and coach and, despite the time we give up, most parents find the experience equally rewarding. However, there are some major things that every coach needs to do and understand before they start the season: 1) coach with the proper attitude; 2) coach with the proper fundamentals; and, 3) learn and teach the difference between the "Dad Hat" and the "Coach Hat".

Coaching the Right Attitude:

We all love our kids and, let's face it; we also love playing sports with our kids. For me, it's the way that I spend most of my free time and it is right up there as one of my favorite things to do. That being said, I also need to realize that statistically, none of the kids that I coach will ever play professional sports, nearly all of them will not play sports in college, and many of them will not even play varsity sports in high school. So, what does this mean for us as a coach? We need to emphasize all the other aspects of sports and the life lessons that make us love playing the game. Mostly, we need to make the experience fun!

In 1988, Robert Fulghum wrote the book "All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten". I've often told people that you can learn everything you need to know by playing sports – especially youth sports. Many of the same lessons apply, but on an even bigger scale where kids learn success and failure, wining and losing, sportsmanship and teamwork, and how to respond in many pressure situations. None of these are easy lessons. Winning with grace is just as hard to teach as losing with dignity. How can you do this and make sure that everybody has a great season? That's the trick.

Check back next week for the rest of this great "Coaching " article.

Filed under Blog by admin