Whether it’s your first time coaching or your fifth, if you are signing up to coach your child’s team for the upcoming sports season, keep these tips in mind.
Going through a box of old pictures, Bill Mayville couldn’t help but smile at the memories of playing baseball with his dad.
“He was my coach starting when I was 5 or 6 all the way up until I turned 18,” says the Parma father.
Today, Mayville takes every chance he can to help or coach his son Hunter’s various sports teams.
“Being a coach gives me a chance to share a game I love with my son and hopefully he’ll have the same kind of good memories about our time together when he gets older,” he says.
Mayville admits, however, being coach and parent at the same time can be a tough balancing act.
Learning How To Coach Kids
You don’t need to be a former college basketball star or have a degree in sports psychology to coach your child’s team, said Matthew Darby, the director of Competitive Sports at the Ridgewood Family YMCA in Parma.
At the YMCA, and other recreation programs like it, directors often hold informational meetings for volunteer coaches. During these meetings, they learn specific information, including how to run practices.
Also, everyone doesn’t have to be a head coach to start out. Instead, consider signing up as an assistant. You can learn the ropes of coaching so that you’ll feel more confident once it’s your turn to head up the team.
Keeping the Game Fun
Children’s sports teams are meant to help them learn the game. That’s one reason Bob Bigelow, a former NBA player and author of Just Let the Kids Play: How to Stop Other Adults from Ruining Your Child’s Fun and Success in Youth Sports, cautions parents not to expect what they see on the field to look anything like games they watch on TV — the same goes for coaching.
Mayville believes it’s important, especially at younger ages, for kids to concentrate on learning more about the sport versus concentrating on points.
“A lot of times we’ll stop the game to explain different (aspects) about rules or safety,” he says.
“More instructional leagues for very young athletes (ages 5-9) place less emphasis on the score and more on helping kids just learn and have fun,” says Len Howser, a father of three daughters and a volunteer coach for more than 15 years who led softball teams to the Little League World Series.
“As kids get a little older, the competitive side of sports should be more emphasized. I tell young athletes who I coach that life will be filled with competition — job interviews, scholarships, sales, contract awards. Ultimately, win or lose, sports should be fun. The joy is in the process — laughter, cheering, clapping, high fives and making friends with teammates. Coaches and families are the fuel that keeps you playing.”
Organizing Practices
Learning the basics of a sport is important for kids to play well. If you’re not sure what the fundamental skills are for the sport that you’re coaching, or even if you’re looking for new ideas, there are several resources available.
“Practices should have a good mix of instruction, repetition of learned skills, introduction of new, more advanced skills and some fun time, like mini challenges or races or team-building activities.” Howser says. “Kids will lose focus if you stay with one thing for too long.”
“You can look up drills and games for different age groups on YouTube or find books about it at the library,” says Alan Mowrey of Hudson, father of four, and the senior vice president and CEO of the Canton Charge, the development team for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Coaching Your Own Kids
As a parent, you get excited about your own child’s accomplishments. You also want to help them learn to do better in that particular sport. However, as a coach, if your child ends up on your team, you have to learn to coach other people’s children, as well as not play favorites with your own.
It might be helpful to talk to your child about your responsibilities, as it can be difficult for a child to see Mom or Dad spending time with other players.
“Sometimes it’s hard for him to understand why Daddy isn’t playing with him one on one,” Mayville said. “As (my son) Hunter has (grown) older, I’ve had conversations with him where I explain that I’m not just his coach but there’s 10 or 12 other kids on the team, and I need to help them, too.”
You also want to remember why you decided to take the coaching job. Volunteer coaches aren’t paid for their efforts — it’s a labor of love.
“For me, one of the reasons I coach is because I want to spend more time with my kids,” Mowrey says. “You get a littler closer to them when you’re coaching them through the ups and downs of playing sports. It’s just a great way to connect with your kids.”
Not The Coach? You can still help your child’s team. Here’s how:
Be on time to practices and games. “We only have a limited time to practice so it’s vital that [players] are there on time and prepared to play,” says Alan Mowrey, coach and father of four.
Volunteer. If you don’t feel comfortable being a head coach, you can still make practices go more smoothly by lending a hand.
Offer to manage snacks and schedules. Sending out revised practice or game schedules to parents and organizing parents to bring snacks can be a huge help to coaches.
Get some perspective. Bill Mayville, who coaches his son’s baseball team, says “It’s really tough for an 8- or 9-year-old to have a mom or dad screaming at them from the stands.” By offering your child — and other players — encouraging comments, it can ease a kid into feeling more confident on the field.
Respect the coaches. “Remember, coaches are volunteers or receive very little compensation,” says Len Howser, father of three and volunteer coach. “Treat them with respect and appreciation, even if you disagree. Say thanks.”
Concussions
On April 26, 2013, the state put in place Ohio’s Concussion Law, which requires all those involved with youth athletics to receive education on the signs and symptoms of concussions. According to the Ohio Department of Health, concussions are “an injury to the brain that may be caused by a blow, bump or jolt to the head. Concussions can range from mild to severe, and athletes can get a concussion even if they are wearing a helmet.” Find out more at healthyohioprogram.org/concussion.
