the echoes of a coach's voice
The late Billy Graham once said, “A coach will impact more people in one year than the average person will in an entire lifetime.” Just a reminder that the student-athletes are always watching. Your words will echo in their minds for the rest of their lives.
Harnessing the Champion's Mindset: The Power of Positive Self-Talk in Sports
Physical prowess is often the highlight in sports, but the real game-changer lies within the mind. The 'Champion's Mindset'—a term revered and sought after in athletic circles—is not just about talent and training; it's equally about the mental dialogue athletes engage in with themselves. This is where the power of positive self-talk comes into play, a tool that can transform good athletes into great ones.
Shaping Tomorrow's Champions
Coaching is more than teaching a sport; it's about shaping character and teaching life lessons. As a youth sports coach, you have a unique opportunity to impact young lives positively. So, coach with passion, wisdom, and compassion, and help shape tomorrow's champions.
Empowering Athletes to Take Ownership of Their Growth
When we help our athletes set meaningful goals that align with their growth mindset, we empower them to take ownership of their own development. By setting challenging and attainable targets, we encourage them to push beyond their limits and maintain their motivation throughout their athletic journey.
Inspiring Athletes through Coaches' Continuous Learning
Remember, personal development is not solely about acquiring knowledge and skills for yourself; it is about inspiring and empowering others to embark on their own growth journey. Being an authentic role model can ignite a spark within your athletes, fostering a lifelong commitment to personal development.
The Flow Factor: Unlocking the Hidden Potential of Young Athletes
In the pursuit of athletic excellence, student-athletes can benefit greatly from achieving the "flow state," a mental state characterized by heightened focus, enjoyment, and a sense of control. Coaches play a crucial role in helping young athletes tap into this extraordinary state, where performance seems effortless and personal bests are often achieved. By understanding the chemistry of flow, coaches can foster a supportive environment that encourages growth, exploration, and self-confidence. Key strategies for cultivating flow in student-athletes include setting clear goals, providing immediate feedback, encouraging deep practice, developing mental resilience, and fostering a supportive team environment. When coaches successfully guide their athletes toward the flow state, they unlock their true potential, both on and off the field.
Recomended books to read in 2023
A few years ago, I reached out to my network of coaches and started a list of book recommendations. We are now up to 180 great reads for coaches. I break the list into four categories: leadership, culture, mental game, and self-help. You can get the whole list here for free.
How can we teach kids about emotional intelligence? (Emotional Intelligence part 2)
Be a role model. Parents want me to teach them the tricks of raising an emotionally intelligent child. And what they don’t realize is that the real trick is their development of the skills and modeling them. Your kids are not going to talk about their feelings unless you talk about your feelings.
Why does emotional intelligence matter? (Emotional Intelligence part 1)
People sometimes think of anger and stress, and anxiety as bad. But there are no bad emotions. All emotions are information. Let’s say you have a kid or a significant other, and you’re plotting yourself in the red with those people; you’re angry. That’s an indication that you’ve got to work on your relationships. It’s not a bad thing. You’ll want to ask yourself, what’s going on in your life? Is it that you have no space? Are the people you’re with bringing you into the red? Is it your work? And then start setting goals—say, I want to be 5% less red next week. You’re not going to get rid of your red. Because life is about being in the red and blue. We’re complex people who should feel the full range of emotions.
Five Ways to Help a Student-Athlete Develop Self-Efficacy
As a student-athlete, learning self-efficacy and making decisions independently is essential. Here are five things I teach throughout the season to help my student-athletes to practice becoming autonomous people.
I learned it from watching you!
Young athletes are not adults and do not have the life experience to be held to the expectation of being able to control their emotions. Sports give a student-athlete a controlled environment to learn how to manage feelings and emotions; the coach as the teacher. That teaching is one of the biggest lessons a coach can teach an athlete under their supervision.
Time Out or Pause?
Games are high-stress for everyone—players, coaches, parents, and fans alike experience increased heart rates and crazy emotions throughout the game. I often get asked, “How do I make my athletes more mentally tough?”
Creating a learning environment
When I get classroom time with athletes, I am very intentional about the atmosphere I create for them to walk into. There is music playing, the board is prepared with whatever we are going over, they know what I expect of them, and I do some fun activities to shift their mindset from the monotony of school to a playful attitude they can bring into practice.
The Promises of Coach John Wooden
Promises to Keep, left for us to ponder by the late great coach John Wooden.
Focusing on the Process, Not Just the Outcome
Always remember the profound impact you can have as a coach when you shift our focus beyond the scoreboard. By prioritizing the process, fostering a love for the game, and cultivating a positive team culture, you empower your athletes to grow as skilled competitors and as resilient individuals with a lifelong passion for their sport. Together, let's embark on this transformative journey, where every step taken is a victory in itself.
Every Child Just Wants to be Seen
We can love someone and still be less than present at times. But to “see” someone requires us to be fully engaged and present.
Activity: Hero, Hardship, Highlight
The Purpose of this activity is to challenge each athlete to reflect on their life and nail down three moments that have aided in who they are today.
To Scold or Mold
"A coach is merely the extension of a child's dream." Former South African Rugby National Coach Peter DeVilliers leans in, piercing me with his eyes while the echo of his words bounces around in my head. He continues, "At the end of your life, you will be called into account for all the kids who were put under your supervision." Coach DeVilliers raises both hands up high in a victory pose. "These kids are gold! They are precious minerals that can be shaped and formed, and it is your duty to play your part!"
The Leadership of Alice and Dorothy
These two legends of literature have many great pearls of wisdom, especially regarding leadership. Recently, I read both Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, and I find it interesting how much of each adventure has been left out of the popular movie adaptations. Still, and more importantly, I was surprised at the number of applicable life lessons to be learned from Alice and Dorothy.