Honestly ask yourself this question…as a coach of youth sports, what would YOU do to help your team win a game? Would you pull out all the stops, to keep your team from losing? These two questions can be very uncomfortable to ask yourself; especially if you have a very competitive personality, in respect to youth team sports.
Hello all! Coach Paul here! Today, I will be touching on a subject that could be considered “sports taboo”; even in 2023. Ethics In Youth Sports Coaching is a topic that many a youth coach, will consistently avoid. Let us break down the three key cornerstones that come into play, when a coach’s ethics are left by the wayside, in exchange for a cheap victory for his/her team. These cornerstones should be put into practice, not only by the youth, but by coaches as well. So let’s dive right in!
Good Sportsmanship For A Youth Player
As a young athlete, I remember reciting a sportsmanship pledge before each game, whether it was football, baseball or basketball. Now, as an adult, I realize that that pledge (among many others) contains numerous creeds that when applied, are designed to enhance the competitive experience for every athlete involved. The pledge includes valuable points such as:
– playing the given sport in order to have fun, first and foremost
– playing as hard as you can, within the rules, to win the game
– no cheating whatsoever
– winning AND losing with dignity and grace
– giving positive words of encouragement to your teammates
These are important elements that youth coaches must convince their players, to earnestly put into practice. When this occurs, it will allow the team to practice and play at a high level and as a cohesive unit. This can also help increase player confidence and youth sports discipline.
Good Sportsmanship For A Youth Coach
At this point, you may be asking yourself, ‘What does THAT have to do youth coaching ethics?’. I will respond by saying, ‘Plenty!’. You see, youth coaches, by default, should be the stewards of good sportsmanship. They must set the tone for everyone. In my opinion, THE most effective tone-setter for youth coaches, is maintaining a positive attitude regardless of the situation. Being a coach is not easy at times, so you must keep things in perspective by recognizing small victories as much as possible, even when things do not work out in your team’s favor. When your team comes up short in a game (which WILL happen), you must encourage them to learn from their failures, so that effective solutions can be put into place immediately, for future success.
Another crucial component of exhibiting good sportsmanship as a coach, is how you outwardly respond to wins and losses. Let us be clear. If you are a passionate coach, you DO have an intense desire to win each and every game that you play (within the rules, of course). When there is a win, the elation and immense pride that you feel for your young players, can be very palpable and they can feed off of that energy; and rightfully so. Even for younger youth, if they play hard and come away with a victory, it SHOULD feel good to them. The key to this, is how it is perceived by the losing team. We have all heard the phrase, “To the victor go the spoils.”, right? Although that may be true, externally and intentionally bragging or boasting about a win, directly towards the opponent, should NOT be one of those ‘spoils’. A youth coach should NEVER do this. If you witness a player or players on your team, attempting to brag or taunt an opposing team’s player or players, then you need to squash that ASAP. There needs to be absolutely no room in your team’s personality makeup, for bragging or taunting. None. As coaches, we want to build an environment where we are cultivating young athletes to be gracious winners.
Now…let us discuss the elephant in the room…LOSING. We all have experienced losing, in a variety of ways. Losing a bet, losing in the final round of a spelling bee, losing out on a job opportunity, losing your I.D. The list is seemingly endless, right? However, in terms of losing in competitive sports, that can be on an entirely different level emotionally, mentally and physically and it can feel like a kick in the gut. In coaching
The pledge is something that coaches need to know as well. Any coach who is worth their salt, must be aware that their role as coach, precludes them from behaving
Integrity
The famed novelist C.S. Lewis once stated long ago that, “Integrity is doing the right thing, Even when no one is watching.”. Using that quote as a catalyst, we can begin to understand the importance of integrity in coaching and that it cannot be overemphasized. In coaching youth, it is even more fundamental, as it can be an excellent demonstration for young people, to help build/maintain their character, morals, honesty levels, etc.
Being a youth coach, I realize that my ability/knowledge to coach, plays second string to being an overall role model to the children whom I coach. Basically, this just means that, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”, as famously quoted by former President Theodore Roosevelet. By displaying acts of integrity as a coach, such as:
– showing up on time for practices and games
– making commitments to the team and keeping those commitments
– keeping your ego in check
– constantly improving on your coaching
– telling the truth and doing it with thoughtfulness and kindness
– always being open to receiving advice from volunteers and others, who can help your program
you will find that you can easily integrate these acts (and many more that I have not listed here) in with your raw knowledge of coaching youth in any given sport. The coupling of the two, can go a long way to keeping your integrity intact. When you can do that, it will help your players and set parents’ minds at ease. A win-win scenario, no matter how you look at it!
Fair Play
What DOES the term fair play mean? If you go online to get that question answered, Google will return, “respect for the rules or equal treatment of all concerned.”. Sounds pretty straight-forward, but the practice of fair play can often go unnoticed, even during a game. For much younger athletes in particular, the rules (and oftentimes, complex ones) cannot be fully understood. It can be an arduous task to learn all the ins and outs of how a particular sport is played. As a youth coach, you must take it upon yourself to learn as many of the major rules of the sport, as you can. It isn’t necessary to learn All the existing rules; just the ones that can potentially affect every play.
You are then able to parlay that knowledge, to help guide your team. Playing within the rules MUST be paramount to your team’s performance and competitiveness. Equally, the opposing team should also be adhering to the rules of the game. When/If you have visual evidence that an opposing team is consistently breaking a rule(s) during a game, and if it is proving to be detrimental (from a game play execution perspective) to your team, you must pull an official to the side, and inform them. Your hope is for the official to keep an eye on the situation, and if they also spot the infraction being committed, that they notify the opposing team’s coach to get the issue rectified immediately.
A coach does NOT want to see his players being taken advantage, from a rules violation standpoint, by the other team or coach. It can be quite easy for you to blow a gasket out on the field, when this occurs. It happens. However, when notifying an official about nefarious actions, you must do so discreetly and professionally. Always keep in mind, that eyes are forever watching your reactions and actions, when things go awry.
Conclusion
I hope that this tiny dive into ethics in youth sports coaching, has served you well. There are many actions that can be implemented seamlessly, to help you become an even better coach than you are right now. Just remember that there is ALWAYS room for improvement in your coaching style and methods. When you understand that your degree of sportsmanship, integrity and fairy play can always be improved upon, it can make coaching be even more enjoyable for you and your youth. Don’t beat yourself up all the time, but know that you can better serve your team next week, than you did today. Upward and Onward!
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!