The older the athlete, the more reasons for motivation. Professional athletes are playing for their careers and large sums of money. College athletes are playing because they have grown in the sport and have earned their way onto a collegiate team. Some are playing to become professionals and nowadays some are playing for large sums of money in collective deals. High School athletes can be motivated by earning a varsity letter, having their name in articles and potentially earning a college scholarship. How are young athletes motivated? And how can a coach help them to grow in the sport?
Be Organized
All young people crave organization. They thrive on it, even if they do not realize it. A young athlete, even subconsciously, wants their coach to be competent and to help them achieve a goal – whether it is to learn a skill or win a game. It is absolutely essential for a coach to be organized.
This starts out with unit planning and practice planning. There must be a clear objective for everything that you plan and the players must be aware of that objective. What will they be learning in the next week, the next practice, or the next drill? Game preparation and game management must have structure. What is the player rotation? What are the plays being run? Everything should be scripted and structured. This is one of the most important aspects of coaching.
Accomplishment Through Goals (Celebrate Successes and Effort)
“Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.” This quote associated with Vince Lombardi was actually said by UCLA Bruins football coach Red Sanders. Oftentimes the quote is misused. Lombardi clarified the intent of using the quote in that he was describing the will to win and the effort required to get better. He did not mean winning was the only measure of success.
Young athletes must feel like they are accomplishing something, and there are plenty of youth teams that do not win much. Linking accomplishments to winning is a slippery slope.
A coach must set up incremental goals that are achievable for each player. Maybe it is something as simple as fielding a ground ball properly or striking a soccer ball with the correct part of the foot. The accomplishments should be related to the objective of the drill or practice, and it must be celebrated in a way where the player knows they accomplished something.
Fun
The most dreaded word in all of youth sports – fun. It is so generic and very overused. Not everything that an athlete is going to do is going to be fun. Of course, winning is fun. However, a coach must strive to make drills and practices fun in a sense that the players are enjoying themselves. I always say, the worst drill in youth sports is Little League batting practice. Anyone who has played Little League has suffered through it. One batter taking six to eight swings off of the coach while the other 11 guys stand around and chase the balls. That is not fun for anyone, especially the coach.
Structure drills so that the most amount of players are involved.
Ask any classroom teacher the attention span of a student in class. It can be classified in minutes. Practices must be engaging.
Do some research in rolling out simple to follow drills that are appropriate for the talent level you are coaching. Get feedback from the players. What do they like? You will get a sense from them the certain drills they enjoy. A few of the topics we will address in this article (Competition and Communication) play a major role in having fun.
Help Them Understand the Why
Make sure that the players understand the “why.” Why are you doing a certain drill? Why do they have to do it a certain way? A major part of coaching is teaching. Explaining the “why” makes the topic relevant. If players feel like they are just going through the motions, there is no connection to the drill.
However, if the players have a clear understanding that doing a drill a certain way will make them better or directly translate to success in a game, they are more likely to understand it.
Develop ways to explain the “why” in short, concise, but meaningful ways. Don’t slow down practice for five minutes explaining why something must be done a certain way. Explain it in 30 seconds to a minute. Ask a player to repeat it back to you to demonstrate understanding. It is important for you to understand the “why” so you can clearly explain it to the players.
Competition
Players become better at competing when they compete. Practice provides a blank canvas to encourage and embrace competition. Get the players used to competing against themselves or others.
Incorporate drills that have players compete against each other. Use your discretion as a coach to make it fair and do not let your best players constantly dominate the less skilled players. Players of equal skill should be competing against each other to ensure that all players develop appropriately.
For group competition, choose teams wisely. Give all players a chance to succeed.
There are many drills and games related to your sport that can be incorporated into practice plans. Each practice should have at least one or two competition periods – AT MINIMUM.
Make Failure Part of the Process
A big piece of sports is failure. Any athlete can not be afraid of failure. The earlier that young athletes learn to embrace failure, the better off they will be.
Try not (as hard as it is) to yell or demean a young athlete when they fail. A baseball player can not be terrified to strike out. A soccer player can not be afraid to take a penalty shot. A basketball player can not be afraid to take free throws. The psychological approach to sports must be one of confidence. Allowing the fear of failure to control a young athlete’s approach is completely detrimental to their growth.
Embrace failure in practice. Reframe it as an opportunity to grow. Do everything in your power to shift the mindset to a growth mindset in athletes.
Communication
Communication is a two way street. Not only is it important to communicate clearly with your players and parents, but encourage them to communicate with you.
The first step is utilizing a platform to disseminate information. Software like Game Changer or Crossbar allow coaches to easily communicate schedules and information with players and parents.
Communication during and after practice is just as important. After drills or an entire practice, solicit feedback from the players. Encourage them to verbalize what the objectives were. Allow them the opportunity to provide feedback as to the drills they like or do not like. Make it comfortable for them to ask questions regarding concepts and plays. You never know when looking at something through their eyes opens up yours to something you have never seen before.
Engagement and communication go hand in hand. In the end, it is all integral to motivating the young athlete.
COMING SOON – PART 4 IN THE COACHING 101 SERIES – GAME DAY COACHING TIPS