Month: April 2017

April 28, 2017

Coaching A-Ha Moment – Crucial Conversations ??

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” — MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. Mastering quoted by Kerry Patterson in Crucial Conversations

Does this pattern sound true of many (of you?):

Pre-teen – Pretty much blurt out whatever is on your mind
Teen – Your mouth starts getting you in trouble, so you learn to say less of anything controversial
Adult – It is easier to hide your feelings so unless something is going to immediately impact you in a severely negative way, just keep your thoughts to yourself

Unfortunately I would say this accurately describes me. It has negatively affected my relationships with my wife, my kids, my friends, coaches I have coached with, and everyone else I interacted with.

–

The good news is I have been becoming aware of a better way to live life over the past few years. Recently reading the book Crucial Conversations has really inspired me on how much better life is when we engage in important conversations, instead of suppressing our feelings.

–

This is so true with our coaching staffs too. Think about it – can you think of a group of people who are more passionate, competitive, confident, or strong-willed?

–

While this is a recipe for passion, it is also a 100% guarantee that there will be differing opinions on the best way to do things – That’s OK, there should be!

Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress — Mahatma Gandhi

I strongly encourage you to read Crucial Conversations in the offseason with your coaching staff, and then to set up a plan on how you are going to communicate as a staff to make sure everyone’s opinions are being heard and frustrations are in the open instead of being suppressed.

A recent podcast guest Coach TJ Rosene shared that his teams establish that all communication must have 3 elements:

Truth
Love
Transparency

Make this a goal with your teams this season!

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in baskets of silver – Proverbs 25:11

April 21, 2017

Always learning – 2 Coaching A-Ha Moments ?? – Part 1

‘Let go of the outcome. When you let go of the outcome you dramatically increase your chance of achieving it.’ – Brian Cain

It’s fascinating how the more you know, the more you realize you need to know.

–

I’ve had 2 big coaching A-ha moments recently. I’ll share 1 this week and 1 next week.

–

Last week I listened to Brian Cain’s interview on the ABCA Call’s from the Clubhouse Podcast. One of the best podcasts I’ve listened to, I highly recommend it. http://www.abca.org/resources/calls_from_clubhouse – It’s episode 26.

–

In this episode he shared a story about core values. Here’s an activity you can do with your players today:

–

Hand every player a 3×5 notecard. Ask them to write down 2 or 3 things that your team is known for. When outsiders describe your program, what do they say about you? Or, said another way, what are your team’s core values.

–

This is a fascinating activity, because although your team’s core values may be crystal clear to you, and maybe even your coaching staff, are they crystal clear to your players? Remember what George Bernard Shaw said:

‘The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.’

Don’t beat yourself up about the results of this activity. You will probably get a list of 30 to 50 or more ideas. Use this as a launching point for a discussion about who you are.

–

Then start the process of incorporating these core values into everything you do:

Tie them into your coaching points
Incorporate them into your goals for each game
Make your most important season-ending awards based on these criteria
Communicate them, communicate them, then communicate them some more

If you want to hear more about Brian Cain’s methods of helping define the core values of a team, one of the recent WYC guests Randy Jackson shared some great stories: winningyouthcoaching.com/wyc-097/

–

Next week we’ll dive into one of my new favorite books, Crucial Conversations.

April 19, 2017

WYC 114 – Sports Nutrition – Dr. Phil Carson talks youth sports and nutrition

Phillip Carson, President of Carson Natural Health, LLC is a Pharmacist who thinks outside the box of traditional medicine. He believes in helping people find natural alternatives and integrative nutritional solutions to their health problems. He also has coached mostly soccer, coaching all five of his children and hundreds of others, over a 20 year span. He coached youth recreational teams, competitive teams as well as his local High School team.

Website: carsonnatural.com

Facebook: /carsonnatural

Twitter: @DrPhilCarsonRx

–

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where the puck has been’ – Wayne Gretzky

Coaching your own kids

All kids are different – you have to coach each kid individually

Cringe Moment

Yelling and screaming shuts kids down, especially as they get older

Teaching Skills

Tell them, then demonstrate visually
Bring in high school and college kids to add energy and expertise to your practices
Kids love when you get involved with them in the games during practice

Self-Confidence

Put kids in positions for success, where they can gain confidence by seeing confidence

Championship Culture

3 words they wouldn’t use or allow anyone to use: Can’t, Won’t, or Don’t

Healthy eating for athletes – How to Live Until you Die

Dr. Phil helped one kid who was feeling lethargic on game days – he was drinking sports drinks. He replaced them with water, you can add a little Himalayan salt to get electrolytes and some fruit to get flavor. The dyes in the sports drink were reacting adversely with the boy and when he eliminated them he regained his energy.
Processed sugar is horrible (i.e. in Coke) – The best way to get sugar is from fruits – have fruits after practice.
Water is HUGE
Oatmeal, protein bars, juices, fruit are great
Older kids need more protein to build muscle. Clean protein. Be careful of protein supplements – artificial sweeteners, dyes, are not good.
A good balance of carbs, protein, and healthy fats is key
Check out his book, youtube channel, podcast : carsonnatural.com

The One that got away

Dr. Phil had a goalie having a rough day, he should have taken him out, but he left him in, Dr. Phil regrets not taking him out.

Best borrowed/stolen idea

Play lots of fun games in practices

Favorite coaching book/quote

Quote: ‘I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where the puck has been’ – Wayne Gretzky

Parting Advice

Make it fun

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

–

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

April 11, 2017

WYC 113 – Youth Sports – Morgan Sullivan talks 3 P’s: Prepare, progress, push

Morgan Sullivan is a youth sports coach. He has coached his daughter and sons in multiple sports, and is an avid student of coaching. He also shares coaching wisdom on his blog and in his Facebook group Coaches Corner.

Blog: coachmorganssportschannel.wordpress.com

Facebook: /coachmorganscorner/

–

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘Push your players to the point of uncomfortable but attainable.’

Coaching your own kids

Make sure all the players know you are there to coach and treat all the players equally
Treat all the kids equally – your child shouldn’t have to be 50% better than the next kid to earn a spot – If they earn it, they earn it!

Cringe Moment

Morgan’s 5 year-old son was running the game-winning touchdown, and his shoe came off and he stopped. They lost the game and Morgan ran out and yelled at his son. Morgan realized he had lost perspective, apologized to his son and the team, and learned to keep perspective during games.

Teaching Skills

The less talking the coaches do and the more playing the players do, the better it will be for everyone. A quick demonstration goes a long way.
Use stations. Run from station to station.

Self-Confidence

Mistakes are learning points. We want mistakes. You only get better by making mistakes.

Championship Culture

It starts with great assistant coaches
Approach communication from the positive side of things: use words like ‘I would like to see…’ instead of ‘I don’t want you to do …’
Focus on process and making the right decision
Reward hustle, sportsmanship
Great team builders – Start practices by playing fun games, have a potluck cookout

Connecting with and Impacting Kids

Morgan has coached a boy who is his neighbor and followed his growth, and got to see him catch his first TD recently, Morgan doesn’t know who was more excited, the boy, his parents, or Morgan

The One that got away

Morgan had some scouts come to watch him in a high school game and he gave up 7 runs and only recorded 1 out. Morgan’s mom did a great job afterwards of keeping things in perspective and reminding him that this doesn’t define him.

Best borrowed/stolen idea

Hardwork and dedication will reap benefits
Morgan’s best coach had great passion and loved hardwork and fun.

Favorite coaching book/quote

Book: Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy
Book: Leading with the Heart by Coach K
Book: Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson and Joseph Grenny

Parting Advice

3 P’s – Prepare, progress, push. During practice – Push your players to the point of uncomfortable but attainable.

–

—

Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

–

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

April 4, 2017

WYC 112 – Championship Culture Part 8 – What are the 4 cornerstones of building Championship Culture?

–

Craig Haworth is the founder of Winning Youth Coaching, whose mission is to empower and train youth sports coaches at all levels to build championship programs by creating a culture that values the contribution of each individual and accelerates deep training to achieve peak performance.

–

Listen Now:

Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

Listen on Stitcher: Stitcher link

Listen on Google Play Music: Google Play link

–

Quote

‘Be a coach that builds up children and teaches them to overcome adversity, instead of being the adversity the child has to overcome.’

The 4 Cornerstones

1 – Establishing Core values

2 – Accelerate deep training

3 – Defining an important role for everyone & Developing your leaders

4 – Achieving Peak Performance

Taking action – How to implement the 4 cornerstones

Your equivalent to attending a live conference, but at the convenience of listening on your own schedule.
6 sessions that are about 40 minutes each
Do-it-yourself worksheets and attachments to put pen to paper and make a plan of action for your program.
Networking – 2 month membership to our culture bus masterminding network group to help encourage you and to learn from each other along the way.
Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign – this will allow me to understand the size and scope of the audience, and take feedback through comments on the kickstarter campaign page itself – to tweak this course to make it exactly what you, as a coach, need and want.
IF NOTHING CHANGES, NOTHING CHANGES.

Get started here

–

Caz McCaslin’s 2 minute Coaching tips

Spirituality – It’s one of our most important influences to help kids see they why behind what we do, and help them find their own why

–

Today’s Sponsors

Established in 1995, Upward Sports is the world’s largest Christian youth sports provider. Approximately 100,000 leaders and coaches deliver Upward Sports programming to half a million young athletes around the country.

Upward Sports promotes the discovery of Jesus through sports, by providing a fun, encouraging environment in which young athletes can learn technical skills and a love of the game. We use sports like basketball, volleyball, soccer and flag football to help young athletes develop mentally, athletically, spiritually, and socially. We are about the whole athlete—that’s our 360 Progression.

—