Coaching
affects young minds, often leaving impressions that last forever.
coaching has rewards that can stand in good stead throughout someone’s life.
On the flip
side, mistakes that coaches can make when training at a junior level can leave indelible
scars.
This is the
start of a series covering the serious business of training young people to be
better sports people and better people in general.
DISCLAIMER
Opinions
put forward in this series are presented in good faith and without prejudice. The
opinions we offer are based on observations and are not intended to hurt or
denigrate any individual/s. Any
resemblance to any person is purely coincidental.
Part 1 –
Language
Abusive
words are forbidden – Don’t use them – Don’t even THINK them.
Here’s a
scenario –
Young
Johnny misses a play that loses a game. The kid feels terrible. Nevertheless,
you wait for him to come off the field, you corner him, and you practice every
expletive you’ve ever heard on the little fella until you feel better. All
done? Not quite!
Little
johnny’s grandparent does a cartwheel and kicks you in the family jewels. All
done? Not quite!
You are now
the laughing stock from the kids league all the way up to seniors. All done?
Not quite!
The team that
had so much potential is now history and their coach (guess who) has to find
another hobby. All done!
Apart from
a few minor details, this is a real story. So please be aware of the traps of
using unnecessary language on anyone, in particular not a youngster because it
will backfire on you.
Strong
language is in effect an assault and can often lead to far more lasting damage
than any physical act.
Whilst screaming, jumping up and down and venting your spleen may give you temporary satisfaction, it always leaves a sour taste in your mouth and you always feel like ‘poop on a pyre’ right afterwards when those little eyes look up at you with the hurt of being discarded by a hero.
There are so many ways to get the job done but first you have to accept that even one second ago is past history and you cannot change what already has happened.
What you can change however is the future.
We will be
covering the use of Positive Re-enforcement (PR) in training methodology
shortly. PR is far more effective than abuse and it may save you from singing
in a high voice.
Cool Down
and Win!
wonderful put up, very informative. I wonder why the other experts of this sector don’t notice this. You should proceed your writing. I’m confident, you have a great readers’ base already!