August 4, 2014
WYC 012 Youth Baseball and Upward Stars Basketball – Lance Akridge – ‘The Enemy to Great is Good’
What does it take to be a winning youth coach? Listen in as Lance Akridge shares coaching stories and discusses his journey to becoming a successful youth coach.
Lance works for Upward Stars – an affiliate of Upward Sports. He actively coaches baseball and is constantly recruiting basketball coaches for Upward Stars’ teams. He is married and has three children, a 15 year-old son, 13 year-old son, and 12 year-old daughter.
Twitter: @upwardstars and @upwardstarsTN
Facebook: facebook.com/UpwardStarsNashville
Website: upwardstarsnashville.org
Listen NOW:
Listen in ITunes: Itunes link
Listen in Stitcher: Stitcher link
Coaching/Leadership Quote
▪ ‘Be a transformational coach not a transactional coach’ – Inside-out Coaching
Coaching your own Kid
▪ Lance shares that early on he was harder on his own kids than the other players – ‘I’ve learned to be coach on the field rather than be a Dad.’
My ‘Cringe’ Moment
▪ Taking things too seriously and losing perspective. Lance shares a story of taking his son to the baseball field and putting too much pressure on him to the point he was starting to cry- he regrets he had lost perspective
Coaching AH-HA Moment
▪ Watching other coaches embarrass themselves – ‘That is not who I am and not the type of character I am going to exemplify’
Teaching Children & Keeping it Fun
▪ Have patience; Overcommunicate; Impart confidence
▪ Baseball hitting game – Each player gets 7 swings and earns points based on result(kind of like Home Run derby)
▪ Basketball – Break into 3 person teams and have shooting competitions
Best Stolen Idea
HUGE IDEA #1: ‘Short lines, lots of repetitions, learning fundamentals’ – Baseball – Instead of having one coach hitting to the infield – have two coaches hit to each side of the infield and players run to the next line
Coaching Resources
▪ Baseball: Cal Ripken’s Coaches Clipboard – Daily emails – He sometimes forwards these to his players
Discipline
▪ The best way to keep them focused is to TALK LESS
▪ Make sure your discipline involves taking away fun games – don’t discipline them during talking times
Reward, Recognition, and Teambuilding
▪ Affirm positive behaviors continually
▪ HUGE IDEA #2: Let the players set 2 or 3 objective, realistic(but a slight stretch) goals for their season and continually use those as a target for all of their actions
▪ D-Groups – Twice a month they hang out – 1 hour of fun, 30 minutes eating, 45 minute character discussion ‘Player to Coach: ‘Because you care, I care’’
Inspiring Story
▪ A young man Lance coached in basketball had a really tough home life – was showing anger issues on the court – they loved him and disciplined him in love
The One that Got Away
▪ Umpires incorrectly ended his game for time limit – Lance yelled at umps – he doesn’t regret fighting for what was right for his team – but wishes he had not displayed his anger towards the umpires the way he did
Coaching/Leadership Motivation
▪ Book: Coach Wooden
▪ Quote: ‘The Enemy to Great is Good’ – Jim Collins
Parting Advice
▪ Be organized
▪ Overcommunicate to the players and parents
▪ Inside-Out Coaching: ‘Be a transformational coach rather than a transactional coach’ – Joe Ehrmann
Upward Stars
▪ Competitive travel teams that are teaching kids to be leaders based on Luke 2:52 – Teaching athletes to grow mentally, athletically, spiritually, and socially
▪ Currently in 10 citites – In Tennessee: upwardstarsnashville.org
Interview Links/ Promotional Partners
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