Broomfield Recreation Services Coaches Training

BROOMFIELD RECREATION

SERVICESVolunteer Coaches Training

What is the purpose of recreational athletics?

Promote the Growth of each

participant physically ,

mentally , and emotionally.

Teach the fundamentals of the sport

Have fun in an active

environment and develop

healthy lifestyle habits.

Develop life skills :

Discipline, goal setting and

achievement, teamwork, etc.

How does a coach achieve these goals?

Development

al Needs

Communicati

on

Safety

Coach and

Parent Behavi

or

What are the Developmental Needs of youth athletes?

Age Appropriate Coaching

Creating a Fun Environment

Emphasizing Skill Development and

Minimizing Competition

Please note: These are not all of the developmental needs of youth athletes, just three important needs that we feel needed to be emphasized.

Age Appropriate Coaching

5 Years and Under Free

Play/ Exploratory

6-8 YearsFundamental

s Developmen

t

9-12 YearsLearning To

Train

12-16 Years Train to Train

16-18 Years Training to Compete

19+ Years Training to

Win

• Different ages require a different model and approach to coaching youth athletes. The ages listed below are a generalization and each child develops at a different rate that you may have to adapt your style to them.

• The timeline below is based on the Long-Term Athletic Development Model (LTAD) broken down by Carson Boddicker in article on optimumsportsperformance.com on Nov. 5, 2009.

• It is important to note that an athlete cannot skip steps and a foundation has to be built prior to moving on to the next step.

• In the next few slides, we will break down each step!

Boddicker, Carson “Long-Term Athletic Development Model (LTAD)”, optimumsportsperformance.com 5 Nov. 2009. http://optimumsportsperformance.com/blog/long-term-athletic-development-model/

5 Years and Under

Free Play/Exploratory Play Athletes in this age group should be allowed

to experience any and all types of sports and activities without heavy instruction on techniques.

The focus of activities should be to keep them moving and having fun.

Teach the language of the sport, i.e. in baseball/softball you have fly balls, ground balls, outs, safes, etc.


6-8 Years Old

FUNdamentals Emphasis on learning fundamental movement

skills Keep activities fun and kids constantly moving Concentrate on the “ABC’s”

Agility Balance Coordination

Encourage kids to participante in many sporting activities.


9-12 Years Old

Learn to Train Emphasis on learning basic sports skills Focus on learning how to compete, not on

how to win. 70% of focus should be about practice and 30%

on actual game competition Encourage general conditioning which

includes endurance, flexibility, and basic body weight exercises and movements

Sport specialization is not recommended at this time.


12-16 Years Old

Train to Train Athlete can start to develop more specific

sport skills Periodization, rather than specialization,

should be used to help athletes develop sport specific skills 60% of focus should be on practice and only 40%

on game competition Aerobic and strength training can be an

increased focus depending on the athletes maturity

Note: We will not cover the 16-18 and 19+ age groups since they don’t apply to our programs.

Boddicker, Carson “Long-Term Athletic Development Model (LTAD)”, optimumsportsperformance.com 5 Nov. 2009.

http://optimumsportsperformance.com/blog/long-term-athletic-development-model/

Creating a Fun Environment

8000 youth sports participates were surveyed and listed the top 5 reason they participated in sports.

1. To have fun2. To do something I am good at3. To stay in shape4. To learn new or improve my skills5. To play as part of a team

It is important to note that “To Win” was not listed as one of the top contributing factors for participation in youth sports at all in recreation athletics.

Hedstom, Ryan and Gould, Daniel. “Youth Sports: Involvement, Participation, and Dropout”. Research in Youth Sports: Critical Issues Status. (2004): 21. 2 pars. 3 Sept. 2013. http://www.educ.msu.edu/ysi/articles/CTSAWhitePapers.pdf

Creating a Fun Environment Continued

Most statistical research shows that about 20%-30% of the 30 million kids that participate in youth sports will not return to that sport the following year.

An even more alarming number is that 70% of youth athletes will quit playing all sports by the age 13.

Subsequently, the number one reason given that kids quit sports is that is was not fun anymore.Hedstom, Ryan and Gould, Daniel. “Youth Sports: Involvement, Participation, and Dropout”. Research in Youth Sports: Critical Issues Status. (2004): 22-23. 3 pars. 3 Sept. 2013. http://www.educ.msu.edu/ysi/articles/CTSAWhitePapers.pdf


How do you as a coach keep a Fun Environment? The Positive Coaching Alliance uses the “ELM”

model for coaching. E for Effort – The player gives their best effort in

every practice and game. L for Learning – Players continue to learn and

improve every practice and game. M is for Mistakes – Mistakes are a part of learning

and how athletes improve their skills. Creating an environment that allows for mistakes will help athletes learn but not dwell on that mistake.

Positive Coaching Alliance. Sample Script for Elm Tree of Mastery. 2012. 4

Sept. 2013.http://www.positivecoach.org/common/cms/documents/Coach%20Tools%20-%20Public/PCA_ELM_tree_script.pdf


How to keep a Fun Environment Continued. Value preparatory conditioning: A youth athlete’s

competitive drive should evolve out of preparatory conditioning and instructional training. Inadequate physical preparation are common themes in overuse injuries in youth athletics today.

Enhance Physical Literacy: Coaches should value improving motor skills competence (running, skipping, & hopping)and object control skills (throwing, catching, and striking) in a fun and positive way.

Focus on positive education: praising youth athletes publicly and specifically on the skill that they did well will enhance their motivation and enjoyment of the sport.

Faigenbaum Ed.D., Avery and Meadors Ph.D. “A Coaches Dozen: 12 FUNdamental Principles for Building Young and Healthy Athletes”. 2010. 4 Sept. 2013.http://www.strongkid.com/uploads/CoachesDozen2.pdf

Emphasizing Skill Development and Minimizing Competition

To emphasize the skill development of young athletes, coaches need to focus on a minimum of 3 things.

1. Positive Techniques of Encouragement Focus on the skills the athlete does well and when giving criticism surround it by skills

they perform well at. Be aware of the tone of your voice and praise publically and criticize privately by

talking with your athlete. Example: John you did a great job of getting your glove down to field the baseball. If

you could do that after you run up to field the ball, that would be really special. You do a great job of throwing to 1st base, keep up the good work.

2. Effective Skill Instruction Following the Age Appropriate Coaching model, you can find a wealth of knowledge

and drill examples on YouTube for your particular age group. Just remember to the drills need to be active and fun!

3. Avoiding Punishment Youth Athletes do not response well to yelling, running for punishment, or public

criticism. In public focus on what your athletes do well and remain calm and collected for the

entirety of the practice or game. If punishment is needed, talk with the athlete one on one, speak with the parent, or

change the stimulus (the drill, position, etc.) Hedstom, Ryan and Gould, Daniel. “Youth Sports Coaching: Development, Approaches, and Educational Needs”. Research in Youth Sports: Critical Issues Status. (2004): 9-13. 8 pars. 3 Sept. 2013. http://www.educ.msu.edu/ysi/articles/CTSAWhitePapers.pdf

Emphasizing Skill Development and Minimizing Competition

Continued The Positive Coaching Alliance “Double-Goal

Coach Job Description” is an additional example of focusing on the skills of the sport rather than the competition to promote and encourage young athletes in an environment that they will have fun and improve their athletic abilities. To download a copy of this form go to:

Double-Goal Coach

Positive Coaching Alliance. Double-Goal Coach Job Description. 2012. 4 Sept. 2013.http://www.positivecoach.org/common/cms/documents/Coach%20Tools%20-%20Public/PCA_DGC_job_desc.pdf

http://www.positivecoach.org/common/cms/documents/Coach%20Tools%20-%20Public/PCA_DGC_job_desc.pdf

Communication

Coach

Parents

AthletesProgram

Administrator

Communication with Program Administration

As a coach, you will be a point of contact with your program administrator. Most forms of communication come in the form of email. Example of information that your program

administrator will distribute through you are: Program Schedules Program Rules Special Events (Professional Sporting Game Youth Nights, Fun Days,

Etc.) Schedule Changes Roster Changes

As a coach your responsibility will be to communicate between your parents and athletes and the program administrator.

Your program administrator is a resource for you! Please make sure that any questions, concerns, or comments are communicated with them as soon as possible. Program Administrators cannot help you unless they know what you need.

Communication with Parents

To communicate effectively with parents you will need to do the following things:

1. Set up a pre-season meeting to cover important information about the season. At a minimum, you should cover the following topics listed below.

Important contact information (Coaches and Assistant Coaches, Program Administrator, Weather lines, etc.)

Season Game and Practice Schedules Special Events for the Program Your Coaching Philosophy (Hopefully modeled after this training information) Expectations that you have from the parents. (See #2 Below) Broomfield’s Zero Tolerance Policy Directions to Practice and Game Locations

2. Communicate with Parents on the environment you are trying to create. Expand on your coaching philosophy and creating positive environments for kids Warn of the effects that public criticism and yelling will have on the athletes ability to learn

and improve. Focus on the skill development of their player and encourage the parent to support the “free

play” mentality. Reinforce the Zero Tolerance Policy by keeping their comments positive and about the good

accomplishments of the team/players.

3. As information is distributed to and from the program administrator, make sure to keep your parents informed throughout the season.

4. Ask for a parent volunteer(s) to help coordinate things like snack schedules, bathroom breaks, and/or to be a “team parent”.

Communication with Athletes

Communication with Athletes also varies with their age and mental development, not their physical abilities or attributes. Remember no matter how “good” a player is, they are still at the same mental and emotional age as everyone else, so they will also need the same positive support.

Communication should always be positive and even when giving constructive criticism. Studies show that when a young athlete is positively supported by the coach and their parents, the attrition rate drops from 26% (national avg.) to 5%.*

When you give constructive criticisms, they should be surrounded by positives. An example of this was given in the Emphasizing Skill Development and Minimizing Competition. Make sure both praise and criticism of a player are truthful and about their skills, not a personal attack. An athlete of any age cannot determine what skills to correct with comments like you’re killing me, you are the worst shortstop ever, etc. Subsequently these type of comments will be extremely destructive to a young athletes self confidence and ultimately make them perform worse.

Negative comments to youth athletes create an environment and mindset for youth athletes to focus on not making mistakes and having the coach yell at them, instead of a preferred environment of building skills and learning to preform at their best.

Emphasize the skills and goals that you are working on in practice and stress to the athletes that the efforts they put into practice are much more important that what happens in the game. Continue to downplay the importance of the game, athletes will put enough pressure on themselves to preform in a game. Game situations are excellent opportunities to prove to athletes that mistakes happen, learn from them, let them go, and focus on the next play.

*Barnett, N.P., Smoll, F.L., & Smith, R.E. (1992). “Effects of enhancing coach-athlete relationships on youth sport attrition.” The Sport Psychologist, 6, 111-127.

Athlete Safety

Safe Athletes

Mental/Emotional

Physical

Environment

Environmental Safety Having Environmental Safety is being cognizant of your playing location and

equipment. To provide a safe environment for your team you need to do the following things.

1. Inspect your practice and game locations for any visible safety hazards. Example of possible hazards are holes in the infield/outfield, sprinkler heads stuck in the up

position, broken basketball hoops, wet courts, etc.

2. In addition to your physical environment, your sports equipment can pose a safety hazard. Make sure you inspect your equipment every practice and game as it can deteriorate over the season.

Examples of possible safety hazards with equipment are missing padding in helmets, cracked bats, missing or broken straps, etc.

Please note: if you equipment was issued to you by Recereation Services and it is unsafe, then please contact the program administrator so they can replace it.

3. Weather also poses a threat to players safety. Recreation Services will make every effort to make decisions prior to the start of games and practices, however there will be times as a coach you will have to make decisions regarding weather conditions during your practices.

If you are in an outside program, never take a chance with lightning. The National Athletic Trainers’ Association Recommends the 30/30 Flash to Bang Lightning Rule. If you see a flash of lightning and hear thunder within 30 seconds, remove all players from your practice field. For every 5 seconds that passes from the flash, it is a mile worth of distance. Therefor, the recommendation is when lightning is within 6 miles, you clear the field. Players will need to go to a safe location such as inside a building or vehicle and not return to play until the 30 minutes has passed after the last flash of lightning and thunder at 30 seconds.

Physical Safety

Athletic events pose a risk of injury to any athlete that participates. The goal is to minimize that risk by following these guidelines. Players need to be informed of the team’s safety rules. Examples

of this are always checking around you for other players prior to swinging a bat, making sure your teammate is looking at you before passing the ball, no horseplay, etc.

Coaches should avoid any drills that require players to “fight” for the ball. Example: Rolling a basketball out on the court and having your players dive after the ball.

Overuse injuries are becoming a large problem in youth sports today. Make sure your players are getting adequate rest between games, practices, and seasons. This is especially important in baseball and softball with a players throwing arm.

For resources on how to prevent injuries in your specific sport, please go to the following link: Stop Sports Injuries

http://www.stopsportsinjuries.org/sports-injury-prevention/coaches-resources.aspx

Physical Safety Continued What happens if a participant does get injured?

Most injuries suffered in youth sports are minor in nature such as bruises, abrasions, and minor sprains or muscle strains. You will be equipped with a small first aid kit which includes bandages, athletic tape, and a re-freezable ice pack that will provide care in these situations. Note: Always have two adults assess the injury. If you are in doubt of the severity of the

injury, contact the parents and allow them to make a decision for the athlete. For anything above a minor injury, but not an emergency, the parent of the

participant should make the decision of what to do for the athlete. If the parent is not going to attend the practice/game, you need to have emergency contact information for them. Please also make the parent aware, that if you call that number during that time, the parent or emergency contact person will need to make a decision about what to do with the athlete. If no one answers, then you will have to make the decision for the athlete of whether to contact EMS or not.

In any emergency situation, i.e. broken leg, contact EMS immediately. If the parent is not at attending the practice or game, then contact the emergency contact number they have given you.

After any injury has been taken care of, please file a report with the program administrator. Details should include when and where the injury occurred, how the injury occurred, the severity of the injury, what 1st aid was given and by whom, and if additional medical help was needed (i.e. parents took to the athlete doctor or ems was called).

Mental & Emotional Safety

Providing a safe environment mentally and emotionally for young athletes starts by covering their developmental needs (presented earlier in this presentation).

Physical and environmental safety will go a long way to providing mental and emotional safety for young athletes.

Yelling, pressure to win or not make mistakes, and fear does not provide a safe mental and emotional environment.

At some point you will have to discipline youth athletes because of their behavior (i.e. creating a disruption in practice, not because they made a mistake in practice). Broomfield Recreation Services recommends the following steps in

this order:1. Talk to the athlete individually (i.e. not in front of the team) about

his/her behavior.2. Talk to the parents about their child’s behavior.3. Talk to the program administrator about the situation

Coach and Parent Behavior

Respect

Coaching and Parent Behavior

Accepting the role of youth sports coach, you are also accepting that you are a role model for both the parents and athletes on your team.

Part of being this role model means that you need to have respect for policies, rules of the game, your athletes, and officials.

Parents and athletes will follow the precedents that you set forth in practices and games. For example, if you yell at officials during games, this will trickle down

to parents and eventually to your athletes. Broomfield Recreation Services has a Zero Tolerance Policy.

All parents, players, coaches, and spectators are expected to follow this policy. Anyone who does not follow the policy will be removed from the game and will be required to meet with a program administrator prior to being eligible to attend future games.

Respect for the Rules

As a coach, you are expected to know the rules of the game you are coaching and follow them during games and practices.

Rules are not up for negotiation in pregame meetings with the other coach.

Explain the rules to your players and parents so they understand them. Many of the conflicts in sports arise from either not knowing or misunderstanding the rules of the game.

Broomfield Recreation Services has specific modified rules for each of it’s youth sports programs. These rules are designed to maximize fair participation and for

the safety of the athletes involved. Note: If you don’t understand a rule in a game, then you please

contact the program administrator to get an explanation.

Respect for Youth Athletes

To be respectful of young athletes, a coach needs to bare the following guidelines in mind.1. Understand the age group you are coaching and

the appropriate expectations of that age group.2. Do you very best to teach the fundamentals of the

sport and allow athletes the opportunity to learn all of the positions.

3. Minimize the pressure to win and emphasize setting goals of skill development

4. Provide opportunities to every player to experience success.

5. Emphasize that this is a game and should be treated as such.

Respect for Officials

In accordance with the Zero Tolerance Policy as well as the coaches position as a role model, it is up to the coach to set the example for both the team and parents on how officials will be treated.

All of our officials we use in youth sports programs are teenagers and young adults also learning a new aspect of the game. Please keep in mind the following: They will make mistakes and that is the only way they will learn

how to be better. They deserved to be treated with respect. If they are pressured by a coach, they will change the call not

because it is the right thing to do, but rather to get you to go away.

If you feel there was an improper rule enforcement or have a problem with an official; contact the supervisor on site or the program administrator the next day.

Summary

Please keep in mind the purpose of recreation programs; to have fun and learn the fundamentals of the sport.

Coach according to the athletes age and skill level. Know that you are a role model and have a

substantial influence on your team. Communicate early and often with parents and

administrators. Be proactive in providing a safe and fun environment. Allow athletes and officials to make mistakes in a

pressure free environment. Make sure that you, the coach, has fun!