Hi everyone! Coach Paul here! Today, I will be discussing some common youth coaching pitfalls to avoid, as you work with young people in any given sport. These are stumbling blocks that even the most seasoned coaches can have major problems with, should they not be mindful of them. As a youth coach, it is essential to understand when you feel yourself encountering problems that can quickly put you in a bad light with players, parents, fellow coaches and the officials. So…let’s examine these, shall we?
Overemphasis on Winning
Who DOESN’T love to win, right? Ask just about anyone and they will believe that the concept of winning is hardwired into our DNA. The thrill, the adrenaline and the emotional high that you experience, can be an addictive feeling. To achieve those feelings of euphoria, you and your team stretch yourselves to the limit each day at practice.
When the time arrives for your squad to compete on the athletic battlefield, your first inclination may be to drive home hard the concept of winning, to your players. If this is something that you choose to lead with, it may backfire on you, especially when much younger players are involved, who tend to be more impressionable to many things. When that ensues, it can bring about negative behaviors such as: cheating, putting winning above player safety and concentrating on outcomes rather than on player development.
To combat this, coaches should avoid placing too much emphasis on winning. When you are coaching very young players, the concept of winning should not be as much of an issue, as more often than not, the younger players just want to have fun and burn off excess energy. A balanced approach is necessary, where the focus is on skill development, teamwork, and enjoyment of the game.
Over-Coaching
Youth sports coaches should avoid over-coaching, which can confuse young athletes and create anxiety, as their brains may not be able to process a complex coaching style, that you would like to implement. Have you heard of the quote “K.I.S.S.”?…”Keep It Simple, Silly.
Though you may have illusions of creating a juggernaut of a team through your coaching, it will do you absolutely NO GOOD if you are trying to do too much and with too much vigor. Coaches must be mindful to give their players room to make mistakes and to learn from them, while also providing constructive feedback that helps players develop their skills in good time. Take a consistent and yet, soft-handed approach to coaching your players. There is no need to overcomplicate things.
Focusing On Only High-Performing Players
As a coach, this particular pitfall IS a tremendous gut punch to your players who may not have the requisite skills to consistently lead your team to victory, but who want to contribute in any way that they can. This pitfall pairs well with the overemphasis on winning, so they are not mutually exclusive. In a coach’s obsessed drive to win (at all costs, presumably), high-performing players will take precedence over the remainder of the team.
Coaches must avoid solely focusing on high-performing players, as this will result in neglecting other players’ development. The coach should provide equal opportunities to all players to grow their skills, experience, and love for the game.
As a coach, you may need to take it upon yourself to work with other players on the team, who are lacking the skills, but who have the will to play at a high level. This can create a more balanced squad, where ALL players will be able to contribute equally.
Disregarding Safety Of Players
This should NEVER be a subject of contention, regardless of the competitiveness that you or your players may have. Player health is absolutely paramount above all else and youth coaches should always keep that in mind at all times. This involves taking steps such as ensuring adequate equipment and facilities, teaching players the proper techniques to prevent injury, and being attentive and responsive to any players who show signs of an injury.
If serious injury does occur to a player, then earnest efforts must be made by you, the coach, to obtain immediate medical attention for the player. This should NEVER be ignored. You should definitely feel free and comfortable to ask any adults who are in attendance, if there is a doctor available. If the player’s parents step in and want to handle the situation themselves, allow them to do so, but let them know that you are available to assist. Depending on the seriousness of the injury, calling 9-1-1 can be a definite course of action as well.
Of course, all of this should be handled with a reasonable perspective. For example, if a player simply skins his/her knee on a particular play, you may be more apt to pour some clean water over the scratch, slap a Band-Aid on it and send the player back out onto the field. There is no problem in taking this course of action, in this situation.
In competitive sports, a certain level of grit and perseverance is vital to developing great athletes. Just exercise common sense and do your utmost best to help keep your young players injury-free.
Forgetting That You Are A Role Model
Being a youth coach, you are always under scrutiny. In such a position, others will judge your performance; sometimes harshly. You need to always assume that you are being looked at under a proverbial microscope. Coaches in youth sports should seriously recognize their role in shaping young people’s lives.
Young people look to you for guidance, wisdom and know-how. To that end, coaches should avoid negative behaviors such as yelling, verbally abusing the players, or making inflammatory comments about players, parents or the officials/league. It is simply unbecoming for you to do so and is not a great reflection on your character; professionally OR personally.
Instead, you must strive to model the values of respect, honesty, sportsmanship and hard work in what you do on the field/rink/court. These are four core disciplines that will earn you the title and responsibility of Role Model, and that is a great place to be!
Conclusion: Can YOU Avoid These Pitfalls?
Hopefully this knowledge will better inform you, to keep you on track with the things that are most important to a youth coach. You want to have the best version of yourself, being accurately represented, so that you can focus strictly on coaching and developing your young players to be the best athletes that they can be. This includes doing things as a coach, that are 100% aboveboard and as you coach from season to season, you will be able to fine tune your coaching style for the better. And guess who will benefit? You guessed it! Your players!
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.