Helping Athletes Handle Pressure and Competition
Having an open mind and being aware of what your athlete is saying (both vocally and through body language) can help in the handling of the pressure that comes with playing youth sports.
What Makes You A Good Coach?
What should a coach care about most: winning, teaching, or giving everyone a chance to play? KidsHealth.org asked their readers this question, and hundreds replied. The results are instructive.
Q&A: Dealing with Parents and Equal Ice Time for Players
Pete asks: “As a coach, what is the best way to deal with the parent who thinks their child doesn’t get the same amount of ice time or shifts as everyone else? We even keep track of the number of shifts each player goes out. The only time they differ is when we have the Power Play or Penalty Kill to deal with. We have explained that to them as well.”
10 Reasons for Equal Playing Time
On most youth teams, there are players who are physically two or three years ahead of their teammates in size, speed, or strength. These players often form a core of talent that coaches can use to their advantage to win games. Especially in youth travel and select teams, the temptation for many coaches is to use this talent more during a game to go for the win. While this method is appropriate at the highest level of athletic competition, it seldom has any place in youth sports. Here are 10 reasons why equal playing time is a better strategy: Read more
Coaches: 5 Tips for Better Post-Game Discussions
The intensity and emotion of a close competition can easily carry over into post-game discussions. It is often difficult for coaches to stop trying to manage the game after it is over. However, post-game conversations are not a part of the game. After all, nothing that is said after a game can affect its outcome. Conversations after a game have much more impact on the next practice or the next game. With that in mind, here are five suggestions for coaches for post-game conversations with players and parents: Read more
Handling Bad Calls – How to Help Your Player
Parents are going to see bad calls. Some of these calls will actually be bad calls, but most will just seem that way. Officials have a difficult job to do and cannot see everything that happens. Sometimes this is because they were not looking where the problem occurred. Other times they were not focused on watching for the penalty. Officials cannot call all penalties, just the ones they see. Here’s what you can do to help your player when you think an official makes a bad call.
Helping Your Athletes Make Better Decisions
In this article for coaches, youth coaching expert Steve Horan discusses the how coaches can help their athletes make better decisions.
The Four Most Powerful Words of a Coach
In this article for coaches, youth coaching expert Steve Horan discusses the four most powerful words a coach can say to a player.
Discover How to Design Successful Hockey Drills
As part of the All Star Season program, youth coaching and fitness expert, Brian Grasso, identifies two key strategies for designing successful drills. Follow Coach Grasso’s advice for designing successful hockey drills:
8 Ways to Turn Around a Problem Parent
Most coaches have had a problem parent or two on their team. In this article, we address eight ways to turn around a problem parent. Here are some ideas for working through this issue. Read more
