In this last article before the start of the school year and fall sports, let’s consider a few ways Responsible Coaches can prepare for their fast-approaching new seasons. Perhaps months removed from your last game, you may need a few refreshers to ensure a great start.
Whether you have an entirely new team or many returning players, your first team meeting and practice of the season sets a tone for all that will follow. Therefore, it is important to immediately establish your team culture (“culture” simply meaning “the way we do things here”).
However, after a long layoff, it may not come naturally to bring a positive approach to the initial team meeting. Even the best-intentioned coaches, wanting to improve on the previous year’s performance, are tempted to “buckle down” or “lay down the law” and show players (and parents) “who’s boss.”
You may remember past moments where, upon reflection, you felt you gave players more leeway than was good for them or the team or yourself. But those incidents are bygones, and it is important not to be overcome with the excitement and adrenalin that accompany a new season, the one where you “finally get it all right.”
So, how to ensure you start off positively? Here are a few tips:
- Take time to remember positives from your past. Certainly, you’ve had great moments as a coach. Many of these successes only could have occurred in the positive, supportive environment that you helped cultivate. Reflecting on those times will encourage you to try to recreate them.
- Revisit lessons from your coaches. To stick with the sport long enough to become a coach, you must have had some great experiences with coaches who cultivated your love for the game. Think back to some of the positive lessons you learned, and you will be inspired to remain a Responsible Coach so that you can provide a positive experience for your players.
- Try playing. Get a game together to remind yourself how difficult the sport can be. Remembering that challenge will keep you mindful of the anxiety your players may face and the importance of alleviating pressure on your players.
- Practice your first-meeting speech in front of a mirror. You might burst out laughing at the sight of yourself as a tough-talking coach. Or you might realize exactly which words and intonations will ultimately undermine your efforts, so that you can dial back your rhetoric while still conveying your expectations, goals, and parameters of the team culture you want to establish.
- Use Responsible Sports’ resources. Revisit the Responsible Coaching Youth Sports Coaches Guide. Check out the Youth Sports Advice section to stay current on parents’ concerns. And see the Media Library for instructional and inspirational video and podcasts that will help you remain the most Responsible Coach you can be.
Don’t forget to register your team for the
Responsible Sports Season Evaluation, to see how you can get parent feedback with our free online tool, and have a great season!
