Helping kids by teaching coaches!

The SCORES program has always been centered on providing the best possible services to the students in our community.One way we try to do this is by having good coaches for our teams who promote a healthy and positive mentality. When it comes to coaching, the smallest practices can have the biggest impacts and KidsHealth.com has a great article on simple ways to be a good coach. Below are some brief summarizations of points in the article. You can also read the complete article using the link near the bottom of the page.

Winning isn't everything: "When you are a good coach, winning or losing is secondary to you. You care more about the morale of your team," said Daniel, 13. It is important to have a coach who can motivate a team to win without being overcome by it, and make their players feel confident about themselves whatever the outcome.

You want to improve your skills/Life and sport skills: "Sports just aren't about winning. They teach an athlete about life, friendship and hard work." Chad, 16. Coaches are teachers and need to be able to help their players see how to apply lessons learned on the field to situations off the field too.

Motivate their players: "They need to know the sport and the athletes well enough to make good choices for the athlete," said Shannon, 14. Coaches need to be aware of players' abilities and personalities and find unique ways to motivate each individual. If you can motivate a child to want to play, they will put forth the effort and success, by any definition, will follow.

Touch but fair: Stephanie, 13, told us a good coach has "the ability to tell you the straight truth or facts without making you feel bad." While it is difficult, coaches need to be able to help their players improve without breaking them down or bruising their confidence. It is important that the coach is able to give negative and positive advice that motivates the player to learn and improve instead of feel bad and not want to play.

Make it a team effort: "A good coach understands that respect is to be earned and understands that they do not control the team, they are part of the team," said Rebecca, 13. Coaches need to be open to the teams ideas and goals and treat them as an equal unit and not according to skill level.


What Makes a Good Coach? Article from KidsHealth.org


To learn more you can also contact Positive Coaching Alliance to provide workshops on what it means to be a positive coach and how to foster that type of environment. LA SCORES is proud to be a partner of Positive Coaching Alliance.





-Quotes and bullets provided by http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/sports/good_coach.html