‪#‎uracoach‬ if you teach fans of your team to respect

‪#‎uracoach‬ if you teach the fans of your team to treat the officials and opposing players & coaches with respect

I hate to put it so bluntly...who am I kidding? No I don't.  It should be blunt.  Maybe blunt is the only way to get the attention of your fans.  Look coach, we want them to be fanatical, I get it.  You can chose to let that turn into ugly, disrespectful behavior - it's your call.  However, in a world where players have unprecedented access to information and spend time unconsciously sorting out the world's hypocrites, don't expect to teach lessons based on character while simultaneously rooting for - or silently allowing - bad fan behavior in the hopes of gaining a home court advantage of some sort.

Be proactive with your parent groups, student sections and community members by talking about their role and your expectations for their behavior.  Each group will have a different set of expectations and you can still encourage intense and enthusiastic support, but they can do that without being nasty and disrespectful.  Help them learn how.

‪#‎uracoach‬ if you teach the parents.....#3

‪#‎uracoach‬ if you teach the parents of your team what their role really is-and help them understand and accept the role their child earned on your team.

Coaching IS recruiting.  Regardless of the level you coach, coaching is absolutely about recruiting the people in your charge to believe in the vision you have for your team and program.  A mistake some coaches make, however, is only taking the time to recruit the players on the roster to believe in and fight for that vision.

If that is you, let this be a nudge to get you to focus on the other influences in your team members' lives.  Every time your players walk out of your practice or away from a contest they are inundated with the opinions and thoughts of their classmates, program fans, other coaches/teachers in the department/school, and the BIGGEST influencer, their parents.  

If you are not taking the time to make sure your players' parents are buying into the vision you have for your team, you are playing a high stakes game of roulette.  Sooner or later you will lose.  You might not get fired, but you'll lose in the way that your team will underperform.  This is especially true in the case of the role player who is working to accept their place on the team, who goes home to the former star athlete mom or dad who just can't understand what you could possibly be thinking.  Or the player whose folks are confident that he or she would be the perfect captain, not because they are the greatest servant to their teammates, but for status....usually their own.  Little Susie or Tommy can have the best intentions in the world, but to overrule the authority of their parents as they compare to you, the coach who spends less than 20 hours a week at most, with them - it's not going to happen.

Sure, there was a time when parents innately understood that even if you didn't agree with a coach, you simply would never let your child know. As a parent they would NEVER, and I mean NEVER, work to undermine the authority of a coach if, for no other reason, they understood that they couldn't possibly have all the required information to give their input - since they are not at practice, in the locker room and privy to the inner workings of the team.  That sadly is not the norm in today's climate.  

Take the time to recruit your athletes to see your vision and believe in it thoroughly.  Teach them that their parents largest window into your program is through their eyes.  Make sure in all cases you help your players advocate for your vision by having preventative conversations with parents about roles, about handling disagreements, and about the sacredness of the team.  In some cases, the player might have to carry the burden of countering parents quick to complain about a coach by not allowing themselves to use their parents as people they vent to.  Unfortunate as it is, some parents just can't handle not acting on the partial information that comes up in conversations like that. 

If you take the time to recruit the groups of people that surround your team, you'll find the sails of your boat always full of wind pushing your program through the roughest of waters.

Happy Coaching!

#uracoach Post #2

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#‎uracoach‬ if you recognize and teach your players and their parents that 'perfectionist' is a dirty word if they're hoping to develop. Failure is a necessary aspect of striving for greatness.

It's often the parent, speaking for their child who says it first.  For me, an avid reader and re-reader of books like The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle and Mindset, by Carol Dweck, it's a cringe worthy moment.  "Little Johnny is such a perfectionist," the parent says beaming with pride or in that excuse tone coaches hear often.  This is the point of the conversation where I found myself doing a silent 10 count to stop myself from screaming before going on to point out that this 'perfectionist' idea you speak of is A.) Not a fixed trait - like he was born with and extra toe and so it' s just a part of who he is, and B.) It is not a mark of greatness.  Quite the opposite in fact. 

A perfectionist mentality suggests that one simply MUST be perfect to be satisfied and/or happy.  Since we know that there is no such thing, let's stop wearing the label like it's a badge of honor.  Those players who tend to be fall under this category do so for one of a few reasons: 

1. They learned early that if they mess up it is bad and so they better show the world that they are disgusted with their mistake to gain the approval of the adult who is teaching them.  Bonus points if they're really hard on themself because then they'll get that same adult to not be so hard on them and their mistake.
2. They were told time and again how talented they were at a certain skill or how naturally it came to them.  If you've read Mindset, you know that this player is now in full out protect mode.  They will avoid taking risks for fear of failing and will do anything they can to protect their naturally talented title lest anyone should find out that maybe they aren't as good as they originally were thought to be.
3. They are simply stuck with the misconception that they are supposed to be perfect.  Again, that is impossible and also unattainable.

These players will all fail to meet their potential.  They will all provide negative distraction to their teams, too.  Tip for you parents, change your language and help your kids overcome this mindset if this is them.  Most coaches on the recruiting trail will see this as a red flag to guard against rather than the selling point you think it is.

Don't forget to register for the Intentional Coaching Workshop by June 17th at www.TreeRootsLLC.com

Happy Coaching!

#uracoach Post #1

Recently I began a campaign called #uracoach in real language-ease that is "You are a Coach".  I'll take some time to further explain the one per day posts to encourage and promote various ideas for coaches of all levels and sports.  If you have questions, suggestions or ideas, please contact me through the Tree Roots webpage contact form: www.TreeRootsLLC.com or leave a comment.  The discussion is very welcomed!

The first installment of #uracoach ran over the weekend: #uracoach if you find a way to keep your players on the edge of their ability daily

Simply put, part of the art of being a coach is to find ways to walk the fine line between boredom and stress inducing impossibility in your training tactics.  As a player develops and gains the ability to run through skills with little to no mental effort, he or she will naturally and without noticing develop a sense of boredom.  The player's excitement over mastering the skill set will diminish.  As a coach it is up to you to help guide that player raise the level of difficulty just enough to keep the learning and development exciting and new.  Go too far and risk breaking your player's confidence, too little and they'll remain unengaged.  

There are many ways to do this for every team and individual skill known to man.  Think of this practice as applying positive constraints in order to force yourself to do something the harder way to increase skill level.  An example, in basketball only allowing players to dribble for an entire drill with their non-dominant hand, in volleyball adding a 2nd ball to a ball control drill that must be passed around while a ball is being volleyed, in football forcing your receivers to run pass routes and catch the ball while always being double covered.  In words, finding creative ways to place constraints on skills in order to improve the skill through challenge.

Great coaches, dare I say, also have a knack for teaching players how to put themselves on the edge, raising the level of difficulty on their own in order to take responsibility for their own progress.  At the beginning, most won't have the skill set to do this, but if you can train your players to adopt this skill, the progress your teams will make during the course of a season can be jaw dropping.

For more #uracoach posts, stay tuned.  Please get your entire athletic department registered for the August 3rd coaching workshop in Big Rapids, MI by going to www.treerootsllc.com

Happy Coaching!