BULLY COACHING
Sport is supposed to teach not only the x’s and o’s, but life lessons. Conflicts and bullying do little to help that education along.
An article published on Psychology Today’s website described bullying behaviors from coaches as intimidation (using yelling and threats to scare), insults (name calling to demean appearance, toughness or worth), ridicule (making fun of bad play or lack of skill), humiliation (singling out a player for public embarrassment or blame), and benching (refusing to let an athlete play).
These actions are a lot more serious than just grinning and bearing playing a season under this particular coach. Psychology Today said that the “impact of these kinds of actions on adolescent age players can be performance anxiety about making mistakes, hesitant play because of unsure decision-making, loss of confidence in one’s capacity to perform, believing mistreatment is deserved; (and) losing enjoyment of the sport one once enjoyed, even quitting the sport to avoid any coaching at all.”
So what is a parent to do?
*Give empathetic support for the hurt he or she is feeling.
*Determine if the athlete is taking too personally treatment that is just part of the coach’s harder operating style.
*If the coach refuses to acknowledge or alter his behavior, perhaps parents should check with each other to see if they share the same concerns.
*If the child wants to quit the sport, the parent “needs to try and strike a bargain” with the athlete. Maybe she can try another team with another coach.
PROMOTE YOUR TEAM
Setting yourself apart from other teams has never been more important. That means you need to get the word out and social media is the way to do it. You can boil it down to two themes — the “what” and “why”.
The What (This is your bread and butter)
*How do I register?
*When do camps and clinics start?
*Where can I get the upcoming tournament schedule?
The Why (Arguably the most important content you’ll share)
*The best coaches and staff.
*The best player development.
*The best player opportunity.
5 Content Ideas
1)Tryouts.
2) Player highlights.
3) Camps and clinics.
4) Coach and staff welcome.
5) Share team wins.
Provided by gipper.
START A MENTORING PROGRAM
Everyone wins when student-athletes act as mentors. They become better leaders. Such programs can be started s early as the elementary school years.
Athletic teams already are suited for mentorship programs because of the social roles of teammates. Older teammates can be paired with freshmen, or high school varsity teams can work with middle school or elementary school teams. Mentors can add these leadership roles to college applications.
Positive Coaching Alliance lists certain characteristics of good mentor candidates: they embrace the coaching philosophy and technical system of the coach, they put the team ahead of self, they will go against peer pressure to do the right thing, they have a strong work ethic and lead by example, and they are coachable and eager to learn and improve.
Coaches need mentors’ help in instilling a winning team culture.
START A MENTORING PROGRAM
RULES FOR MULTI-SPORT ATHLETES
Playing multiple sports has morphed into playing more than one sport at the same time. That’s not recommended by most parents, coaches and health professionals.
If you are the parent of a child who plays more than one sport at the same time, “I Love to Watch You Play” notes your athlete should do the following six things.
*Get 8 or more hours of sleep nightly. Sleep is all about recovery, both mental and physical. Muscle repair and growth happen during sleep.
*Stay hydrated, which is foundational. Divide the body weight in 1/2, drink at least an ounce per pound throughout the day. Drink 16 ounxes of water 2 hours before activity and 8-16 ounces right after. Every 15-20 minutes during exercise, drink at least 4-6 ounces of fluids.
*Take 2 days off completely each week. The body needs time to heal.
*You are what you eat.With a little pre-planning, you can avoid fast food. Instead, have healthy snacks ready for in-between trainings. Examples: pita & hummus, rice crackers & peanut butter, whole grain toast & almond butter, cereal and skim milk, Greek yogurt, berris & granola; protein shake & banana, sweet potatoes, chocolate milk, quinoa, fruit, rice cakes, rice, oatmeal, pasta, dark, leafy green vegetables; avocado, tuna, salmon and cottage cheese.
*Ask questions and pay attention to clues. Talk about burnout and encourage athletes to let others know how they are feeling.