Most young athletes love competing. It is inherent. If you think of what kids like to do, it is mostly a competition. They play video games. They play tag. They play kickball, tic tac toe, and rock paper scissors. A lot of what kids do naturally is through competition. There is a winner and a loser.
Despite the “every child gets a trophy” culture, coaches must create a sense of competition in practice in order to further develop that skill. The ancillary benefit is that it also engages the athletes a bit more.
Competition in practice can be very sport or skill dependent. The ideas are limitless. If you think of any of your standard drills or practice scenarios, they can be turned into a competition. Mini games, scrimmages, drills and fundamentals lend themselves to having the athletes compete. And ideas will come to you randomly.
One baseball game, we had an opponent beat out an infield hit. Our shortstop simply took too long with his fielding and throw to first. We had run through drills about charging the ball and a quick release all preseason but it did not translate in this situation.
That night after the game I looked up that the average high school player ran from home to first in 4.3 seconds. Rather than have players run (which is an option), I put the fielders on a timer. This took out the variable of how fast the live runner was on a ground ball. I told them that all of the infielders had to get the ball to first within 4.3 seconds. Outfielders were given stopwatches and timed the infielders. The entire team ate it up.
They were all trying to beat their times to first. Who got it there in 4.3? Who did it in 4.2? Who can beat 4 seconds? All of a sudden, the infielders were charging the ball and getting it out to first quickly. This drill translated to games and no one beat out an infield hit against us the rest of the year.
SPORT SPECIFIC STRUCTURE
Think of the daily drills that you run. Think of a new drill and put a spin on it. In an ideal world, there should be consistent competition sprinkled in throughout a practice. Each sport lends itself to different types of competition.Once the competition is on the practice plan, it is vital that the coach structure it appropriately.
A good coach will make sure that all members of the team are actively involved and given a proper chance at fair competition. Starters vs. backups is not the most appropriate structure for a competition.
You know your players’ abilities. Structure competition in a way that makes it competitive and fair. If it is speed based, spread out the fastest kids. If it is skill based, mix your most skilled and your weakest players. Not only will the weakest players learn from those, but the theory that they will elevate their game is proven.
Competition is an essential element of engaging students in practice. When done properly, you will have your athletes requesting certain competitions throughout the season.
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