While most people tend to think of practice preparation as a crucial element to coaching (and it is), game day preparation is just as important. Typically, players are more relaxed coming to a practice so a coach’s job is managing emotions in a game day setting, as well. Game day coaching tips are essential to making sure that everyone has a positive experience for a game.
PREPARATION
Part of your practice planning, in particular right before games, should be preparing your players for the competition. Not all youth coaching involves scouting, but if you are aware of any details of the team you are playing weave it into practice. Maybe you have played the team before. Maybe you know some of the players on the team. Give your squad some basic information to help them process what they are up against.
I always like going through game day routines in practice too – depending on the sport. Part of reducing anxiety on a game day is making the players feel comfortable. The same dynamic stretching they do in practice should be done on game day. Do not make them learn or remember new warmups or drills for a game day. Pull some warmups from your practice plan so the players are used to it.
As a coach, make sure you have all essential equipment for your game. For baseball, you must have game balls, line up cards, umpire money, etc. For soccer, you should have your player cards, game balls, pinnies (for pregame warmups), etc. Each sport has their own needs, just be prepared for what you are going to need on game day.
ORGANIZATION
Building off of preparation is organization. Be organized prior to leaving your house for the game. Your team will feed off of your frantic chaos if you are rushing around and forgetting crucial elements of a game.
Have a basic script for starting lineups and player rotations prior to the game. Once you are in the game you will have many emergent situations to handle so having a framework for playing time set prior to the game is one less thing you have to worry about. That can and will probably change as the game progresses but having a framework will do wonders.
Have any additional needs taken care of prior to the game too. Know who your captains are going to be. Know what parent is bringing post-game snacks. Know when your next practice or game is so you can inform the team after the game.
The more work you can have taken care of prior to the game, the better your game day experience will be.
ROUTINE
Establish a clear pre game routine and rehearse it with your team. They should arrive at the field the same amount of minutes before every game. They should know what warmups they start with. They should know what drills they go into after warmups.
Practice this routine prior to game days. You do not want to teach the players new skills or drills on game day. If there is a certain drill you do frequently at practice, incorporate that into your pregame routine. Players should not be stressed thinking of what to do prior to a game. You want them relaxed.
COMMUNICATION
Communicate clearly with your players. They should know during pregame who is starting and who is not. If possible, explain to the bench players when you will be subbing or what roles they will be playing during the game.
Communicate expectations to the players. If they are playing certain positions, let them know what they should expect or what they should be focusing on during the game. Use assistant coaches if you have any.
Make it clear to the players that you will not be entertaining playing time questions during the game. You will make decisions based on what is happening in real time. Playing time questions by both parents and players should be done during a practice, not before, during or after a game.
Your communication starts early on in the season. Make your expectations clear and concise. That communication continues during game day situations. When you speak to your players during the game, ensure they understand exactly what you are saying. Be direct.
MANAGING YOUR OWN EMOTIONS
Games can be emotional. Do not let your emotions derail your team. It is perfectly fine to be excited for players’ accomplishments. You are within your right (and you should) be excited for players if they do something well. Positive feedback is extremely important for young athletes. Let them know when they are doing what is expected of them.
Your job as a coach is to not get too high and too low. When you are winning, keep your emotions in check. You do not want your players to feed off arrogance, nor do you want to insult your opponent. When you are losing, keep everything in perspective. This is a learning experience for all involved.
There is an old saying, “a team takes on the personality of its coach.” If you want your team to play with a quiet confidence, be quietly confident. Too often you see emotional coaches lead emotional teams. That can go sideways very quickly.
STAYING POSITIVE
Part of managing your emotions is staying positive during a game. Game days are not the time nor place to offer a lot of instruction. The instruction should be saved for practices. The more your players are thinking, the slower they will play. You will make mistakes on game days. Your players will make mistakes on game days. Young athletes have a tendency to slip into a very negative state and one mistake becomes three or four mistakes.
The biggest challenge for a young player is handling the mental aspect of the game. You do not want a player to drop the ball early in the game and fixate on that drop for the rest of the game. You just lost that player for the entire contest. You do not want a player to strike out in her first at bat and then dwell on that. You just lost that player for the entire contest.
Stay positive during game situations. Fix the mistakes in practice.
That does not mean you should not “coach” the game. You can make tactical decisions, as you should. But leave the heavy fixes for practices and let the players play during the games.
There is so much that goes into a game day situation. There are just a few tips to help you, but when all else fails just remember to be organized and remain in control of your emotions. Everything else will fall into place.
COMING SOON – PART 5 IN THE COACHING 101 SERIES – HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH PARENTS AS A YOUTH COACH (AND BUILD TEAM CULTURE)