What Is A Responsible Coach?
Perhaps no aspect of youth sports is more perplexing to parents than how to deal with their children's coaches. As a Responsible Sports Parent, how can you tell if your child has a Responsible Coach? And how can parents talk with coaches to make sure children have the best possible sports experience?
Here is the definition of a Responsible Coach from the companion to this site, Liberty Mutual's Responsible Coaching powered by Positive Coaching Alliance
Let's begin by explaining what a Responsible Coach is not. A Responsible Coach is not:
- Soft
- A source of empty, unearned praise
- Satisfied with everyone just having fun.
Responsible Coaching actually is more difficult, challenging and rewarding than coaching with a win-at-all-cost approach. In addition to learning all they can about their sport, honing their "x's and o's," and competing fiercely for wins, Responsible Coaches are also committed to:
- Ensuring player safety
- Placing education and character development before wins
- Coaching beyond the "x's and o's"
- Coaching athletes to master their sports
- Filling "Emotional Tanks" to improve performance and instill love of sport
- Living and coaching by a code of Honoring the Game.
Even if you are the first sports parent in the world to have a Responsible Coach in every sport, at every level, for all your children, you still will have potentially uncomfortable conversations with those coaches. As a Responsible Sports Parent you should be prepared to address all types of coaches.
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