Although it should go without saying, being a youth sports coach is not a great situation pastime for someone who doesn’t enjoy working with kids. A coach who genuinely cares about his players will work toward the betterment of each individual. When I was serving as administrator for CENTRAL LOUDOUN YOUTH FOOTBALL our end of year surveys would occasionally come back with very different feedback from some families than others on the same team. Although this was rare, when it did happen, the negative responses were usually accompanied by comments about how the coach focused all of his attention on the star or “favorite” players.
The kids are not equal in every regard and do not need to be treated as such. They must all be treated fairly though. In order to build a team, the coach must recognize each child’s importance. Your players have different strengths, weaknesses, athletic ability, and levels of experience. They learn in different ways. Not every kid can engineer the offense from the quarterback position. Not every kid can pressure the passer on defense. Some kids will play more than others on game day.
Every player can contribute to the team. Every player has areas where they can improve and should be given enough of your attention so that they have the opportunity to do so. Every player can and should be made to feel important. It is a failure to run practices where a portion of the team is treated as an afterthought.
In future posts, we’ll look at how to ORGANIZE PRACTICES that keep each child engaged and working to improve their skills. I’ll also offer some tips for making each player a contributor in games. In addition to realizing their value as players, a coach should take the time to make a personal connection with each child. Talk to them, get to know them, and develop a relationship with them. The section entitled GOING THE EXTRA MILE has some great ideas for making every player feel special.