Responsible Sport Parents and Coaches care about the scoreboard, but they care even more deeply about instilling a Mastery Approach in their athletes, which will help them win both on and off the field and throughout their lives.
There are three key elements to a Mastery Approach and you can remember them with the handy acronym ELM - Effort, Learning and Mistakes. Responsible Sport Parents encourage their kids to “climb the ELM Tree of Mastery” by giving maximum Effort, committing to constantly Learning to continue to improve, and remembering that Mistakes are OK, because mistakes help us learn.
Explore the content below to learn more about Mastery Approach.
Videos & Podcasts
Among the most daunting challenges for any Responsible Coach is getting players to communicate with each other during game action. Youth athletes often resist taking charge vocally, whether from shyness or fear of making an incorrect call.
You may be wondering what we mean by “Responsible Coach”. It’s easier to start by saying what a Responsible Coach is not, which is soft, a source of empty/unearned praise or satisfied with everyone just having fun.
Tryouts can be tough not only for the athletes, but for their parents and coaches as well. Parents may find it difficult to console a child who has failed to make a team. Likewise coaches often dread “the cut”, informing athletes that gave their all that they just didn’t make it.
Athlete’s injuries are an unfortunate part of sports. However, like so many other aspects of sports, injuries provide “teachable moments.” These are opportunities for Responsible Coaches to use misfortune or adversity to teach life lessons and cultivate character.
Getting ready for the big game starts with a set of post-practice reminders from coaches, strong involvement from parents the night before, a committed athlete in the morning and a whole host of other great strategies and tips from our youth sports experts.
Adopting a Mastery Approach with youth athletes means encourage effort, learning and that mistakes are okay. So how do you get your athletes to give that maximum effort, even when the results might not immediately follow?
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