IN THIS EDITION

In this newsletter, we cover:

1. The Success Attribute - Attitude

2. Coaching Tips from Laurie Lawrence

3. The importance of warming up.

4. How cooling down for athletes helps

recovery.

5. Teaching young athletes to thrive under

pressure.

6. The importance of snacks during prolonged

exercise.

Newsletter 2

A lot of people will never get the chance to feel the fear of great failure, or the exhilaration of great success. And if there’s a fear of great failure, there’s probably a chance that a great win is about to happen. Phil McNamara (Australian Surfing Coach)

Great Quote

Inspiring Individual Excellence In Youth Sport

SPORTS WISDOM NEWSLETTER

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Sports Parenting Every parent wants his or her child to be successful. Help them set goals in order to succeed in school, sport and real life. Setting goals motivates your child to perform to his or her best. Here are some guidelines:

Set age appropriate goals: You should set the goals in such a way that they are suitable and appropriate for the child of that particular age. If you set too high standards for your child, your child may not achieve the goal and it can result in unnecessary disappointment for both of you.

Set goals with your child: Discuss with your child about the goals he or she wants to achieve. Even if you have suggestions about the goals, wait for a few days and allow time for your child to come up with new goals. Your child may also suggest new expectations that you may not have expected or imagined.

Develop an action plan: Once your child decides on some goals, help him or her to develop a plan. The plan includes defining the goal, specifying the required time and necessary steps to achieve the goal. When your child achieves the goal, he or she will stay motivated.

A temporary setback is not failure: Sometimes, the plan to achieve the goal can fail. Falling down cannot be prevented. Provide support and guidance and allow a little flexibility for the deadline to achieve the goal.

Celebrate the achievement of goals: When your child achieves the goal, they need acknowledgment to say that they have achieved the goal. Celebrate in your child’s success and privately convey to your child the pride you feel in his/her achievement.

Coaching Tips – Laurie Lawrence

Phil McNamara When it comes to fostering training excellence, does quality or quantity get the best out of surfers? Well, I believe both matter, but I’m not responsible for driving the quantity because surfing is typically not like other sports. It’s one of the only sports I know where you complete a two-hour training session with athletes and say, “Okay, that’s enough, lads. We’re finished for the day.” The first thing they do is paddle straight back out and surf some more. I don’t have too much trouble getting surfers to do time in the water. It is self-motivated and surfing is a reward in itself. When it comes to training, the quality is about attention to detail. You must first understand what areas need attention and then concentrate on these.

• It’s all about education; everything in life is about education. With the right knowledge, a coach can provide the right message to the people that need that message. “Study the masters. Talk to the masters. Do your apprenticeship and learn”.

• If the coach doesn’t share the same

drive and ambition as his or her athletes and they can’t communicate with their athletes, they won’t be successful.

• You must get the environment right.

As a coach, be innovative and ask, “What can I give these kids that’s going to keep them interested?”

• The coach must leave no stone

unturned in their preparation, because the key to success is preparation. Make your athletes’ weaknesses strengths, and make their strengths super-strengths.

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Injury Prevention

Youth Strength Training The following guidelines should be included into a program for youth strength training:

1. Give children realistic expectations.

2. Supervise their technique closely.

3. Give proper instruction and programming for upper and lower body exercises as well as single and multi-joint exercises.

4. Allow gradual increases in volume and intensity, small increments.

5. Systematically vary their strength-training program for diversity.

Norma Plummer What is the sports parent’s role in trying to guide their child through a setback, like non-selection or a long-term injury? Support them; make sure you encourage them. There will always be other opportunities, and how an athlete responds to this disappointment will make him or her stronger in the long run. The young athlete competing at higher levels will often struggle initially, and they do need parental support. Sometimes they lash out, and it’s important to let them settle down before approaching the subject. It happens – injuries and non-selection are a part of sport. In my opinion, there’s no secret in overcoming setbacks. It’s a matter of the athlete processing it and getting through the difficult time period with their support team. As the coach, you provide encouragement but also show empathy, particularly in the case of long-term injuries.

No coach or parent would ever advise a young athlete to jump from the couch straight into full participation in sport, and rightly so. Warming up properly can significantly reduce an athlete’s risk of injury as well as improve his or her performance. Warm-ups matter because they prepare an athlete, both physically and mentally, for physical activity. Warming up increases blood flow to an athlete’s muscles, improves an athlete’s range of motion, and helps an athlete get their mind in ‘the zone’ for their sport, competition, or training. What does a proper warm-up look like? The short answer is that proper warm-ups are unique to each sport and to each athlete. As we discussed in our previous newsletter, athletes participating in sports that require more stop-and-start movements or jumping motions like football, soccer, netball or rugby should pay close attention to thorough stretching routines. Runners, cyclist, and swimmers should also stretch and to also include gradual warm-up laps on the track or in the pool as well. An athlete’s individual biomechanics make a difference too: athletes should focus on warming up their tighter muscles. Warming up properly not only improves an athlete’s performance but can also decrease injury risk. Make sure your athletes understand what warm-ups are and why they matter.

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Mental Toughness

Training requires a certain kind of mental toughness in young athletes; competition requires a different set of thought-management skills. In order to help young athletes develop the mindset they need to thrive under the pressure of competition, parents and coaches need to help athletes understand two things: (1) where competitive pressure comes from and (2) how to harness that pressure to deliver outstanding performances. Athletes who thrive under the pressure of competition often do so because they understand that the pressure comes from within, not without. In other words, athletes who perform well under competitive pressure recognise that the pressure they feel does not come from their coaches, parents, fans, or opponents. Competitive pressure comes from a voice inside that reminds the athlete he or she can excel and that now is the chance to demonstrate their abilities. Athletes who fail to thrive under the pressure of competition let themselves believe the pressure they feel comes from outside sources. When working with young athletes, guide them to think of competitive pressure as internal pressure from the part of them that believes in their abilities. Convince your athletes that competitive pressure is a call from within to demonstrate the excellence they already possess. If you can get your athletes to think of competitive pressure as a signal from their best selves to thrive, you will help them create the mindset they need to excel in any competition.

Identifying tomorrow’s champions

1. Talent –This is a given.

2. Desire –The individual must want to

be the best sportsman he or she can

be.

3. Confidence – It’s important to build

confidence in every individual. This,

in turn, rubs off on other players in

the team. The main factor that can

limit performance is self-doubt. If the

coach can develop super-confident

individuals, they’ve done their job.

4. Positive attitude – Players need to

have the right attitude if they are

going to go all the way.

5. Discipline – Individuals must adopt

the lifestyle that is required to assist

them being the best they can be.

Ric Charlesworth What is the key to unleashing potential in a youth environment? When you’re coaching children, goals should revolve around development and improvement and being able to measure that in some way. I don’t care whether you coach the local under 10’s, club team, state team, national team, professional group, or whatever, you’d better make the environment fun and interesting. If you don’t do those two things, then you’ll lose the players. So, it’s got to be fun and interesting. There also needs to be challenges as this is the environment in which learning occurs and people thrive. Kids must have fun, learn the skills, play a variety of sports and be exposed to different experiences. In the end, they usually settle on one sport. That’s my experience.

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Sports Recovery

The benefits of cooling down Young athletes are busy people. They often have to squeeze training sessions in between classes, studying, part-time jobs, and other commitments. It is tempting for young athletes to skip cooling down after training, but by doing so they can hinder their bodies’ post-training recoveries. The point of cooling down is to help the body return to its pre-workout state. Once the body is at this state of relative rest, it begins to recover from the workout. The longer it takes the body to reach a state of post-workout rest, the longer it takes to repair and strengthen the muscles used during a workout. A good cool-down gets the body back into a state of rest and recovery as soon as possible. So what does a proper cool-down look like? It should involve two components: slowing down and stretching. After a game or training session, athletes should gradually taper their activity levels. This might include a slow jog after a race, a few laps around the pitch after a game, or a few slow laps in the pool. After a 5- to 10-minute cool-down, stretching is an excellent final step. They should be gentle and slow, but should cover all major muscle groups used during the training session or competition.

Johnny Lewis Quote “The individual must have the desire to be the best they can be and then the dedication to get there. Look, there are guys that have made it in sport having nowhere near the natural ability of others. Desire is key!”

Children are encouraged to participate in sports at a level consistent with their abilities and interests. Pushing children

beyond these limits is discouraged, as is specialization in a single sport before adolescence. Parents should ensure that persons who are knowledgeable about proper training techniques, equipment, and the unique physical, physiologic, and emotional characteristics of young competitors are coaching their child athlete. Child athletes involved in intense training should be monitored regularly. Attention should be focused on serial measurements of body composition, weight, and stature; physical maturation; and evidence of emotional stress. The coach and parent should be alert for signs and symptoms of overtraining, including decline in performance, weight loss, anorexia, and sleep disturbances. The intensely trained, specialized child athlete needs ongoing assessment of nutritional intake, with particular attention

to a balanced diet, the adequacy of caloric intake and early identification of pathologic eating behaviors.

General Sport’s Participation Guidelines

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Sports Nutrition

If your athletes are training at a relatively high intensity for longer than an hour, it is usually a good idea for them to snack during exercise. Snacking during training sessions helps athletes maintain adequate energy levels and electrolyte balance. How much and what kind of food athletes should snack on during training sessions depends on the intensity of their activity, but snacks given to athletes during training sessions should be easily digested carbohydrates. Snack Tips:

1. Most athletes are not able to tolerate high-fat snacks during a workout because it causes stomach discomfort and is not as quickly metabolised as carbohydrates. High-fat snacks like fried pastries or peanut butter are not the best choices.

2. Snacks should be easily transported and be able to sit at room temperature for a few hours before being eaten.

3. Young athletes tend to forget to eat. Athletes often do not feel hungry during high-intensity workouts and inexperienced athletes can forget to eat until their bodies run completely out of energy and they ‘hit the wall’. Until athletes are experienced enough to remember to snack regularly during longer intense workouts, coaches, teachers and parents should remind them to take in the nutrition they need.

Nutrition Tips

Scott Hill’s Favorite Smoothie

Soy Milk Muesli SERVES 2

• 1 cup of soy milk • 1 frozen banana • ½ cup of toasted muesli • 3 tbs. fruit yoghurt

Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.

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2.

3.

You should eat according to hunger, and not according to the clock. Hunger is simply your body’s request for more fuel.

When you plan your intake for the day, you should try to divide your calories evenly.

If you are finding the need to eat huge dinners in the evening, you are likely to have eaten too little during the day.

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The Sports Wisdom Affiliate Program

Attribute for Success

From ‘The Coaches” book, the authors have

identified 7 attributes for success that should be

fostered and nurtured in young athletes.

In this newsletter, we talk about the second

attribute being ATTITUDE.

This Attitude relates to a person’s frame of mind and

outlook, the way they think and behave. It’s a

decision taken in the mind that becomes an

action, for example, by choosing to be better than

anyone else, and deciding to do what it takes. It

involves having a positive outlook and willing to

make sacrifices. According to cricket coach

Geoff Marsh , “poor attitude leads to poor

performance. It comes down to a persons’

attitude and willingness to take action and do

whatever it takes.” Attitude can be nurtured,

influenced and encouraged by parents and

coaches. The essence of a positive attitude is in

embracing challenge, testing yourself, and using

the lessons you learn to improve and develop.

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About Sports Wisdom Scott Hill (former Melbourne Storm and Kangaroo NRL player) and David Becker (former junior champion athlete and professional physiotherapist) have teamed up to form Sports Wisdom (Australia) and together are producing a series of information products for the Australian sports market. The products will have a unique selling proposition in that they impart the collective wisdom of ‘elite athletes and coaches’ onto youth athletes, sports parents and youth coaches. Products include: Physical Books, E-books, CD’s & Audio Books. Check out the Sports Wisdom Store at: http://www.sportswisdom.com.au/products

SPORTS WISDOM Contact Details

Inspiring individual excellence in youth sport by

providing practical yet innovative educational

materials to sports parents, youth coaches and athletes.

In doing so, we hope to make a positive contribution to

the community at large by producing confident young

Australians.

PO Box 997 Caloundra 4551 Queensland

David Becker : 0401387178

Scott Hill : 0414435721

Email – sportswisdom@gmail.com

http://www.sportswisdomrevealed.com.au

SPORTS WISDOM VISION

Disclaimer: Should any reader choose to make use of any information contained in this newsletter, this is their decision and the contributors and authors do not assume any responsibility whatsoever. It is recommended that the reader obtain his or her own independent advice. Copyright: Sports Wisdom Pty Ltd Content Use: Should any content be used from this newsletter, the user must state the source and website at the bottom of the article.