29 Sentences That Will Make You A Better Youth Coach

These are lessons learned after 15 years of coaching youth.

Things I didn’t even realize I did until I sat down to write this.

They work for me and my coaching style.

Hopefully some will work for you…

1. To get your kids to focus at practice you need to make a competition out of EVERYTHING.
2. If you are doing your job well you should never have to punish kids.
3. If you are not having fun coaching, your players are not having fun playing.
4. Addressing a player 1 on 1 in front of the entire team will rarely have a positive outcome.
5. Don’t ever expect parents to thank you at the end of the season. Validation comes from within.
6. If your program has more games than practices, you need to re-evaluate how you design your program.
7. Your players will never learn to think for themselves if you are always telling them what to do with the ball.
8. Every one of your players needs to hear their name from your mouth every single day.
9. Praise progress more than results.
10. Comparing yourself, your team and your situation to others will make it difficult to enjoy where you are at right now.
11. Looking at your phone during practice tells your players they do not have 100% of your focus.
12. Punishing the entire team for the mistake of one player will turn the rest of the team against that player.
13. Blasting music on the field as your kids arrive at practice will enhance your players’ energy levels.
14. Great coaches don’t need to yell at their players.
15. You should focus LESS on developing skills and MORE on developing a love of the game – this will result in more skill development in the end.
16. Your kids will remember the peaks and pits of a practice/game AND the very last thing. Be intentional about how you end.
17. If you are not spending time teach the game of life, your impact on your players will be limited and you will be forgotten.
18. If you are talking for more than 60 seconds straight, chances are your players are not listening to you.
19. If another coach has been working with your player, before giving instruction, ask them “what have you been working on”? (this helps reduce giving mixed messages)
20. Like dogs, it’s easier to train and motivate kids with positive enforcement rather than punishment.
21. Sitting on a bucket while coaching is a bad look. Stand.
22. Servant leadership means coaches cleanup and pickup balls too.
23. If a player has been bothering you, it is best to not hold it in – sit them down and have the difficult conversation.
24. Feed your kids positivity sandwiches: Positive comment. Correction. Positive comment.
25. Do not attach your self-image to how well your team is doing.
26. Chasing championships will always leave you unfulfilled.
27. Your players are constantly looking to you for validation and they remember everything you say.
28. To inspire kids to want to reach their own unique potential, they must first develop a love and passion for the sport.
29. The goal is to make practice the best part of their day.

Thanks for reading. Hope you got something from this!

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