Hello and Happy Memorial Day weekend to you all! Thanks for stopping by!
In this post, I will be discussing the important question of, “Do I need any little league coaching requirements to begin coaching?”. This is a very important question, as it can speak to an individual’s confidence in coaching young people, or a lack thereof. What are the particular set of skills that can allow you to seamlessly acclimate into any coaching scenario? Are these skills already inherent from within your psyche or will you be required to learn how to acquire them? My perspective in respect to the main question, I hope, will be refreshing and enlightening. So…heeerrrre we gooooo!
Do you have what it takes?
One of the first questions that you need to ask yourself is, “CAN I be a little league coach?” or “CAN I be a youth coach?”. There is nothing wrong with asking this question of yourself, as it is a strong indicator that you want to make the best decision for yourself as well as for the children whom you would potentially coach. When answering this question, a number of factors should be greatly considered. I will call these my Top 5 Coaching Needs. They are listed as follows (in no specific order):
- Sports Knowledge – For the sport in question, do you at least have some rudamentary know-how of how the sport is played? Are you familiar with the most important rules of that sport? Do you thoroughly enjoy watching and/or playing that sport? If you are a parent of a young athlete, do you do any 1-on-1 coaching with them at home? Are you comfortable doing that? If so, then that 1-on-1 coaching approach could easily be applied to a team setting.
- Mentality – I like to refer to this as ‘sports coaching mentality’. With the children whom you would coach, are you able to speak to them at their level? Being a coach brings a certain level of maturity, responsibility and seriousness, however, are you able to make things fun for them? Are you able to make the children feel at ease early on in the coaching process? This is particularly important should you coach very young children. It can go without saying, that taking a drill sargeant approach to coaching them would not be advisable, so you MUST meet them at their level. Be professional and an authority figure, but make it fun, Fun, FUN!
- Emotional Awareness – This is key, regardless of what age level you are coaching at. I think that you and I can both agree that children are highly emotional beings. They can be happy-go-lucky one minute and in the very next minute, they are throwing a temper tantrum to end all temper tantrums! We’ve seen it, right?! When this happens (for the sake of this discussion, while you are in the midst of coaching), you must be confident in your emotional awareness to handle the situation. Additionally, your maturity level also plays an important role, when dealing with not so positive occurences with the children under your watch. What if the parents of the child(ren) in question, are not available? You must be able to take an even keel and calm approach to difuse the situation and keep any negative emotions in check.
- Physical Fitness – Kids…they are a bundle of high energy ENERGY! The Energizer Bunny can’t hold a candle to little Timmy who is rounding 3rd base, heading into home plate. It can be quite funny, when you think about it! However, you must ask yourself, “Can I be physically fit and able to keep up with the children whom I will coach?”. Your physical energy level should be high enough, to keep pace with them. It doesn’t mean that you have to be a professional marathon runner or sprinter, but you want to maintain your physical energy while you coach.
- Positive Enthusiasm – This last one, pretty much ties together the previous four, into a cohesive bundle. Having positive enthusiasm not only helps YOU, but it can be a huge boost to your childrens’ confidence on the field/court/rink. Display this positive enthusiasm from the time that you arrive for practice or a game, to the time that you leave practice or a game. Always encourage your young players and give lots of Hi-Fives! Say things like “Way to go!”, “Good job!”, “Excellent!”, etc. Offer up thoughtful guidance and instruction to a child, if they are faltering. Another important aspect of this, is that the parents will GREATLY appreciate your enthusiasm. Parents are keen observers and during the course of your team’s season, a parent just might come up to you out of the blue and say, “Thank you so much for coaching!”. That kind of praise can go a long way in boosting your confidence in being a coach as well as boosting the trust that the parents have, in your coaching abilities. All of that being said, NEVER ARRIVE TO PRACTICE OR A GAME, IN A BAD MOOD. EVER!
Next Steps?
If you are comfortable with where you stand with my Top 5 Coaching Needs, you can pretty much hit the ground running. You should have the sureness to proficiently coach children, regardless of the sport. You want to make sure, however, to get to know the children as quickly as you can.
First and foremost, learn their names. This might seem quite trivial, but knowing the kids’ names early on, will show them that you are vested in them as their coach. This may have slightly more significance for children who are 10 yrs old and up. Nevertheless, get their names seared into your memory. From this point, you can have the confidence to pull together day-to-day or week-to-week itineraries involving practice plans/drills. You will have the assurance within yourself to interact with purpose, with each of your players. As I mentioned in the previous section, parents are keen observers, but so are children. Take that to heart, and coach accordingly!
In Conclusion
The main thing that can be said, is that coaching can and IS a very rewarding experience. You will find that as you coach from week to week and season to season, you will begin to notice each child’s strengths and weaknesses. You will also take notice of each child’s personality, as it begins to show itself, in a competitive setting. Take advantage of that, by making adjustments (when necessary) to help that child and by extension, the team, become a greater version of themselves. Everyone wins!
Please feel free to leave a comment below, about this discussion! If not, you can simply say “Hi!”. I like it when people say “Hi!”. And as always…thanks for reading!