Clap and holler with them show your player support when they see sarcasm
you tell your players- focus on preparation, trust your ability and play aggressive. Let them know that you think they will be playing a long time in front of cheering and booing fans so now is the time to work on mental toughness.
Hockey's my sport to coach, not basketball. But from what I've seen of basketball games, fans do that all the time. It might be somewhat unsportsmanlike, but I don't know why this should be considered such an unusual situation. Just tell the player that s/he needs to try to ignore the distractions and focus on making the shot. Perhaps techniques for blocking out distractions can be addressed in practices.
Just continue to cheer and encourage your team. Kids will learn how to block out interference, it's part of learning how to play a sport well!
I would quietly share with the parents of the other team that we are there to support the children, and that they learn by our example and encouraging behavior like that is poor sportsmanship.
great site!
I believe that teaching players what to expect before they are in situations as described and by providing players tools to help them focus and resist distraction is key.
These skills may include psychological skills like positive self talk, visualization etc or rehearsals or rituals to anchor performance potential.
Once the skills are in place, player's attention is set to develop and provide the capacity to be successful.
Malcolm Sutherland
