Can We Really Impact Lives?

Can success in youth sports equate to success in adult life? Perhaps. Can winning a game teach a young athlete how to win in the working world? Possibly. Can teaching skills that lead to success in sports be utilized by athletes to achieve more in other aspects of their lives? Definitely! Can showing athletes that winning is an outcome of physical and mental preparation translate into success as an adult? Absolutely!

I was reading an article from a Seattle, WA newspaper. A local high school football coach was being interviewed about his coaching philosophy. The coach's name is Ray Robinson, a former professional football player. Here's one of the questions he was asked: Besides your experience in the NFL, what do you bring to your players at Lake Washington?. And here, in part, is Coach Robinson's answer:

I think of myself as their "Life Coach."... When people ask me if I'm a teacher, I tell them that I have the biggest classroom in the school with 80 kids. That's what I love about coaching at the high school level, the chance to show kids how to be men and do the right thing. I always encourage my players to keep things out in the open and talk about any problems and not bottle up their feelings so we can work on getting past their troubles or transgressions. To be honest, helping players deal with off field issues interests me more than the football stuff. This summer we are taking our kids to camp at Camp Casey on Whidbey Island. We are hopeful that they will bond together. I'll be speaking to them about my own life which was both tragic and funny. I hope they can learn to be good teammates who grow together.

Follow this link to the Seattle Pi.com readers blog to see the entire interview:
http://blog.seattlepi.com/highschoolcover2sports/archives/199232.asp

Ray Robinson is a perfect example of how we can impact the lives of young athletes, even if we only have them for one short season. We can teach them not only the fundamentals of a sport, but begin to give them insight into the long-term value of concepts such as Leadership, Teambuilding and Communication. And as Coach Robinson says "I care about these kids and I think that will eventually translate into wins on the football field." If we prepare young athletes, both physically and mentally, how to play the game, how to be a good teammate and what it means to be a leader, the wins will take care of themselves--and the young athletes we work with will develop skills that they can use to achieve more in their off-field lives.

Why Should We Learn Leadership Skills?

I am going to tell you a story about the value of Leadership and Communication when you're building and sustaining a team (as told to me by a friend). The team he's helping out with is struggling--they don't seem to have a clear mission. The staff, he says, is dysfunctional, and the players are confused about their roles. As a result, team morale has dropped to a dangerous low.

My friend was asked to attend a meeting to discuss these issues and to help come up with some solutions to their problems. Though my friend was an assistant on the team, and technically part of the staff, he was rarely asked to be part of these meetings. But yet these meetings typically involved discussing the performance of the group of players that my friend was charged with helping. He often wonders why his opinion doesn't seem to have much value to the rest of the staff. Especially when part of their meetings were directly related to the players he worked with.

I told my friend that Leadership is practiced from two perspective: from a power of authority (position power) and from the power of a "touch" (personal power), and that he was entangled in the former. Some think that, by virtue of their title, they have to be right, and the opinions of others are inconsequential. This type of leadership damages the team because leadership cannot be asserted under such circumstances. Personal power, on the other hand, is built on trust and credibility. This type of leader is perceptive, and both appreciates and values the input of those around him.

Through bad leadership comes bad communication. As my friend mentioned earlier, the staff, in the eyes of the team, has become dysfunctional. There are no clear lines of communication, and the team is confused about their roles and unclear about what it is they're trying to accomplish.

Now, lest you think that this story has no value beyond a field or court, I should tell you that this is not a youth sports story. My friend is an adult, and the situation he described to me came from an experience he had in his workplace. The staff are his supervisors and the players are a group of people he manages. Leadership, Communication and Teambuilding--these concepts have value and can help us succeed in all stages of our lives.

Where is Discipline in Sports?

Well it seems astounding to me that a college football star at a nationally ranked school would break into someone else's home to steal something....what, a laptop, I think? You just have to think, "What the...?". Here these guys have almost anything that the average guy could want. Why, when you're in their position, you already know the money is going to be there, the popularity is on tap like water from a firehose, and then there's the admiration of every guy who doesn't have the physical capabilities, the size or both to play collegiate D1 football.

I guess it's just me but I was raised to think if I was ever in that position it is my job to be a leader. To show others the right way to behave, how to bring a new guy into the fold and help him develop his ability to contribute, or when to stand up because ladies had entered the room. I guess I'm pretty old-fashioned about those things. But, you know, it's funny, year after year, decade after decade (and I've seen my share at this point), I see society ignore those things to its peril. And then come back to them because they realize it's a better way.

I have 6 sons and 4 daughters (yes, you read that right...and one fabulous wife that gave birth to each and every one of them). I was a little slow on the uptake and what with the daughters being among the older children, I did not get them involved in sports quite as much as the boys. I regret that but I'll have to address it in another article. The youngest daughter is proving to be quite the natural athlete so we don't know what we missed with the others.

Anyway, back to the boys, all very athletic in their own ways. We've enjoyed our share of football championships and some very successful rugby seasons. Two of our sons have been named Player of the Year in their youth clubs. Our second oldest just finished a season racking up rushing yardage that placed him 3rd in the state among all high school running backs. Another son ran a 40-yard dash that placed him in the top 3 for the local high school varsity football team. Yet he was a rising freshman.

OK, so we know something about being athletic at our house. And I've always taught the boys to leave nothing on the field. You support your team and you give it your all to win. But here's where the story is different for us, our philosophy is this, God gave them the talent they have. Oh, sure, it's their's to work on now and refine; but God gave them the talent. And, yes, I love watching them make the big hit, pick off a pass, run for a long gain or make a key block. I'd be lying to you to tell you anything different. But I'm more thankful than I am proud; thankful for their God-given abilities. The times that I could not be any more proud of them are the times when I know they've made choices that require character. When they walk away from a fight. When they befriend the kid on the team that nobody else likes. When they seek out someone in the cafeteria that has to sit by him or herself. Or when they take a stand for their faith and the things we believe in. That's when I'm really proud. I'm proud because that's something they can pass along to anyone, athletic or not.

Not everyone will be able to perform like the elite athlete. But everyone can make quality character choices. And besides, every superior athlete is just one hit or one germ away from it all being over. If your popularity, self-esteem, and significance only go as deep as your last performance, well, it's a sad world. But anyone and everyone can make quality character choices any moment of any day.

OK, let's get back to that football star at a nationally ranked college. What is wrong with Jeremiah Masoli? I mean, being a Heisman Trophy candidate is not good enough? Not to mention all of the other perks that will come with it? And LaMichael James, what was in his head? Anything? These guys could simply ask for a new laptop, and I'll absolutely, positively, double-dog-dare-ya guarantee that someone would have gotten them one each, and yesterday! "Here guys, I was stopping off at Chipotle's anyway, so I brought you lunch while I was delivering your new computers. What?! Go on, you kidding? No big deal! Happy to do it!"

Here's where you can read more about this story: http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/cityregion/24557122-41/james-masoli-kelly-court-gardner.csp. (By the way, take notice that the "little-used reserve, Garrett Embry...was booted off the team". I don't know, maybe it's me but I'm wondering if justice is blind in this case or if she has one eye open under that blindfold of hers. The expendable guy guilty of theft is booted; the irreplaceable guys are, well, irreplaceable. I mean, what would happen to the team?)

Is there a serious disciplinary gap here? Well, the writer of this article thinks so.

http://www.sportingnews.com/college-football/article/2009-11-09/what-we-learned-blounts-reinstatement-proves-college-footballs-h He believes LeGarrette Blount should have missed the entire season as his coach said he would. But instead, Blount gets the ring and all the other good stuff that goes with a bowl game. "He needed us..." more than the team needed him, we have been told. Uh-huh.

But the blogger in the following entry thinks it was right for the coach to go back on his word and reinstate Blount:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/ducks/2009/10/blounts_reinstatement_thoughts.html. Sad that these troubled young men have so much difficulty finding someone that can give them the security of knowing, without question, where the boundaries are and that those boundaries are not going to be moving around.

Maybe this largely comes down to the coach understanding the value of true discipline and placing a little higher value on quality of character. Remember, character is not formed by adversity, it is exposed by it. Had Chip Kelly, Blount's, Masoli's, James' and Embry's head coach, called me about it (sure, that's going to happen), I could have told him, "Think it over good and hard, Chip. Tell the boys, 'Judgment day is coming, fellas, count on that.' Then take your time and decide what you're willing to enforce without qualm. Once you've decided, then tell them....and don't go back on it. You've got to post the landmark and the whole team has to see where that landmark is. They'll respect you, Coach. And they'll love you for it." It's sad to say it, but I think Masoli and company saw that, if they were good enough, they could do what they want, miss a few weeks, still work out with the team and not miss the playoffs or their potential NFL careers. Can anyone say dysfunctional?

I think I'm going to stick with stuff that a lot of younger coaches tell me is unimportant anymore. Stuff like "When coach says, 'Take a knee', it doesn't mean stand around if you want, it means 'take a knee' ". Or other favorites of mine like "anytime you take a knee, your helmet goes on your right hand side, facing forward. No exceptions."

Come on guys, let's look like a team out there. And let's have the character to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Preparation now with an eye toward the future will produce some remarkable results in our young athletes. I'm putting in the effort now; these people will be running the world when I get old.

The New Head Coach is a What?!?!

A female head football coach? At a high school? Man, where is this world going, anyway?

We're learning more and more everyday that more and more people are concerned with winning alright; but not without principles and values that matter. Not without learning what it means to take a young man, put him through the rigors of a strong football program and have him come out the other side a little better; a little more interested in the welfare of others; a little more aware that nothing good has ever happened without leadership, that leaders create the teamwork that makes good things happen faster and more often and that communication is the primary key that opens the door to leadership and teamwork.

New head coach Natalie Randolph of Calvin Coolidge High School in Northwest Washington D.C. may be a surprise to us all--and this is going to be tough for me to say--but I hope she does well. No, guys, I'm not a trader. But it's time for someone to step up and say, "We have to look at both the long term as well as the short term. We have to think about SAT scores as well as the win/loss record."

Natalie Randolph reads Tony Dungy. I like her already. And Tony subscribes to a pro draft philosophy that includes a column on their charts marked "DNDCP" (or something very similar). This column is for players that might otherwise be candidates but are classified "Do Not Draft, Character Problems". Huh, whaddya know? Someone cares after all!

You can (and really should) read more about this here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/09/AR2010030903708.html. And then put Calvin Coolidge High School and your "To Watch" list. It will be very interesting to see where they go this year.

I'm pretty sure Natalie Randolph is going places.

What Is Your Coaching Philosophy?

Aware of it or not, we all have a coaching philosophy. We base this philosophy on our experiences (directly or indirectly) in a particular sport, on our knowledge of a sport and on our own personal values and beliefs. Developing a coaching philosophy requires that you be able to assess your own strengths and weaknesses, be clear on what you perceive your role as a coach to be, and think about the impact you would like to have on the young athletes you coach--not only for the season, but for future personal growth.

So what is your coaching philosophy? The answer to this question lies in what type of playing environment you want to create for your young athletes. At 1st and Goals, our coaching philosophy is centered around the concepts of Leadership, Teambuilding and Communication. Because these are the primary building blocks of our program, we will go into more depth on each concept in future posts. And we will talk about how each helps us develop the physical and mental skills of every young athlete we work with; and how each is aimed at promoting team success.

But this does not mean that our focus is on winning--our focus is on creating an environment that gives our players opportunities for developing their physical and mental skills and gives our team the best possible chance of success. At 1st and Goals, you'll never hear us talk about a need to win. You will, however, hear us talk about preparing to win and playing to win (keeping in mind that winning doesn't necessarily reflect what's on the scoreboard). With this philosophy, winning becomes the fruit of our efforts and not the focus of our efforts. This philosophy is also a key factor in motivating players and in building positive relationships with them--getting to know who they are, why they want to play football and what they want to achieve throughout the season and beyond.

We understand that coaching youth sports is a volunteer effort and that coaches have limited time frames to work with. We also know that many youth sports coaches question the long-term impact they can have on young athletes in a short period of time; because of this, many coaches spend too much time on transitory outcomes. We're here to tell you that you can have a huge impact on the athletes you coach. If you develop a coaching philosophy that promotes Leadership, Teambuilding and Communication, don't be surprised when, 10 years from now, you are approached by a young man or woman thanking you for teaching them how to play a sport and how to succeed in life. It doesn't get any better than that.

What is your coaching philosophy?

What Is the Role of a Youth Sports Coach?

Our role as youth sports coaches is similar to that of a teacher. In fact, at 1st and Goals, we believe that coaches are, first and foremost, teachers. But with one difference. In a classroom, teachers are dealing with our childrens' brains. Youth sports, on the other hand, is a whole-body activity--every domain is challenged: physical, mental and emotional.

It's not enough to teach young athletes the fundamentals of a sport. We have a unique opportunity to create an environment that allows young athletes to set and achieve goals that will not only develop their sport-specific skills, but will help with personal growth as well. And we need to show them how indvidual development contributes to team success.

As coaches, we need to integrate both physical and mental skills--they are not two separate entities. Developing physical skills builds confidence and self-worth, and an athlete who is confident and self-worthy is motivated to learn more and play harder. It is a simple but powerful idea that all sport behavior starts with a thought. Many youth coaches focus too much time on the physical process and not enough time on the thinking process. One goal of mental game preparation is to help coaches and athletes understand the thinking process, therefore understanding and improving behavior on the field or court.

So we need to redefine our role as youth sports coaches. We need to realize that we have the ability and the forum to teach young athletes how to develop physical and mental skills that will help them achieve their goals throughout a season and throughout their lives. And, by the way, we will reap these benefits in our own lives.

We would like to hear your thoughts on the role(s) of youth sports coaches.