Posted 12:03 AM by Steve
It's time to tackle the issue of children's sports, winning, having fun, learning important lessons and
competitiveness.

I have had the luck to coach 6th graders in basketball, a game near and dear to my heart. These kids were at a physical, emotional, and mental level where they could actually learn the game.
I also had the honor to coach with someone who understood the value of sportsmanship, teamwork, playing time and fairness. I like to think we did it "the right way."

The kids had fun, they learned about the game, they improved. The persevered. They won. They lost. In short, they got to experience everything that makes sports, sports.

It's important to remember that you must have a love of the game in order to transfer that to your players. You should understand the process from the perspective of a player.

As with reading, once the kids have that love. You have done your job. Where they end up is anyone's guess.

The rest is just leadership. What is leadership? It is example. It is respect. It is guidance. It is authority.

Lead first by example. People will do what you do, not what you say.

Lead by earning respect. Coaches earn respect by effectively transferring their knowledge in a way that inspires.

Lead by guidance. If you see something going awry. It's your job to correct it.

Lead by authority. Players won't be led by the weak or indecisive. Therefore you must be strongly decisive.

All coaches will have players with a sense of strong competitiveness with others or you will have players with a strong sense of competitiveness with themselves. Make no mistake. Everyone is competitive, we are genetically hard-wired for it. We are scion of the survivors.

Winning is the result of effort combined with conditioning, training, and practice.

Conditioning is a physical act. Conditioning is changing the capability of your body to handle greater stress and demand. (running lines, jumping drills)

Training is an emotional foundation. You train yourself to handle fatigue, adversity, and challenges. If you can't handle these things, train more. (competitive drills)

Practice is an intellectual exercise. Practice is specific mental efforts designed to help the player understand the goal and to make the brain react more quickly and logically to dynamic situations. (scrimmage, diagramming plays, situationals, etc.)

If these things are in place:

Love of the game, leadership, effort, conditioning, training, and practice

You are a winner.