My youngest 8-year-old brother, Matthew, has just begun playing hockey competitively on a traveling team, and I am so excited for him! After beginning and learning the game in house league during the past two years, so far, according to my parents, the transition onto a more competitive team has been positive for him. His skills and confidence are improving in leaps and bounds. I am disappointed that I cannot be at home right now to witness Matthew’s rapid progression and growth and the joy he is gaining from his new hockey experience, but I enjoy hearing about it weekly from my parents on the phone.
Based on the conversations I have had with my parents about Matthew’s hockey journey thus far this season, I think his positive experience with the sport and team is primarily being shaped by his coaches. Despite coaching a competitive traveling team, it seems as though the coaches have made it a priority to create a fun team environment focused on loving the game and fundamental skill development, rather than winning. The team’s season began at the end of August with a lot of uncertainty, as the team welcomed several new, more inexperienced players like Matthew. With many challenges and much to learn, the team lost four out of its first five games. However, as a result of the coaches’ emphasis on fun, the players are forming strong friendships with one another, are working extremely hard on the ice (the hardest working bunch of kids my parents say they’ve ever seen), and now, in fact, are rapidly improving and more consistently winning. This past weekend, the team was the finalist of a large tournament and, to reach the final game, beat a team 1-0 that they had previously lost to 5-3 – impressive improvement indeed!
I talked to my dad, a long-time hockey player who’s coached many minor league hockey teams himself before, about what he thinks the coaches are doing to make the hockey team experience fun for the kids. First of all, he said that the coaches are not ego-centered and that their attitude is “It’s all about the kids!” They are excited to be at the rink, which makes the kids excited too and intrinsically motivated to work hard. As well, he said that the coaches ensure that the players have equal playing time and also give them the opportunity to play different positions. Matthew, specifically, has greatly enjoyed being moved occasionally from his traditional defensive position to forward, and it’s made a positive difference in the development of his skills and sport-sense.
The benefit of allowing kids to play different positions in athletics can also be seen in my late-blooming 19-year-old hockey-playing brother, Paul. Paul was a left-winger most of the time growing up, but still had the opportunity to play defense occasionally. More recently, after a huge growth spurt, he has specialized at defense on his Jr. A team and is excelling. He will most likely have the opportunity to pursue an NCAA hockey scholarship beginning next year.
The success and positive experiences that my family, especially my youngest brother Matthew, is having with hockey can be attributed to coaches who promote fun and the love of the game and who care about children’s growth and personal development – coaches who adopt coaching styles consistent with the Play Like a Champion Today GROW approach. Thank you to all the youth coaches out there who adopt this style of coaching! You are truly making a positive difference in the lives of the kids you coach!
Natalie Geiger, ND 2012
Social Foundations of Coaching Class
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Sports: Childrens Games and A Path to Life Lesson Learning
Sports are so much more than a game in the lives of children; it is also a way to learn important life lessons. Children learn how to cooperate with a team and build positive relationships and communication skills. However, in order to take advantage of the positive power of sports, everyone must play their part.
When I was younger I competed in gymnastics for nine years and this is where I feel I learned most of my skills for life. The gym was where I felt free to be myself and where I learned how to overcome my fears. There are countless times I remember standing on the edge of the balance beam like a statue, trying to battle my fear. Many thoughts go through my head and I think to myself how crazy it is to be doing a back flip on a four inch wide beam four feet off the ground. But this is a thought I have to push past in order to reach my goals. Practicing this throughout my years of gymnastics has given me the confidence to be able to do it in other areas of my life. When I am faced with a challenge or fear, I am able to push it aside and focus on the goal.
Another skill I learned through gymnastics was how to fall and get back up. In order to learn a trick you have to fail at it many times, and this means falling . . . a lot and in many ways. I learned to be patient and to work hard even when success looks far away. Now, when I fail at something, I am able to pick myself up and try again without giving up.
I loved gymnastics so much because it was my sport. My parents loved watching me run and were big influences in my choice to run, however, gymnastics was my sport. Even though they weren’t as into gymnastics they were still very supportive and wanted me to have fun. I believe this is part of why I had more fun in gymnastics because I didn’t feel as much pressure from my parents. I was lucky to have sport parents like this; however, there were many girls on my team whose parents pushed them at young ages in gymnastics and this put pressure on them and made the sport not as much fun. Their parents would be upset when they didn’t do well or try to be their coach. These girls whose parents were too involved and put too much pressure on them tended to quit gymnastics at an earlier age. It is so important that parents are encouraging to their children and help their children have fun so that they will want to continue their sport and be able to gain life skills from it. A lot goes into the success of sports for young athletes and everyone (coaches, parents and athletes) must play their role.
Alexa Aragon, ND 2014
Social Foundations of Coaching
When I was younger I competed in gymnastics for nine years and this is where I feel I learned most of my skills for life. The gym was where I felt free to be myself and where I learned how to overcome my fears. There are countless times I remember standing on the edge of the balance beam like a statue, trying to battle my fear. Many thoughts go through my head and I think to myself how crazy it is to be doing a back flip on a four inch wide beam four feet off the ground. But this is a thought I have to push past in order to reach my goals. Practicing this throughout my years of gymnastics has given me the confidence to be able to do it in other areas of my life. When I am faced with a challenge or fear, I am able to push it aside and focus on the goal.
Another skill I learned through gymnastics was how to fall and get back up. In order to learn a trick you have to fail at it many times, and this means falling . . . a lot and in many ways. I learned to be patient and to work hard even when success looks far away. Now, when I fail at something, I am able to pick myself up and try again without giving up.
I loved gymnastics so much because it was my sport. My parents loved watching me run and were big influences in my choice to run, however, gymnastics was my sport. Even though they weren’t as into gymnastics they were still very supportive and wanted me to have fun. I believe this is part of why I had more fun in gymnastics because I didn’t feel as much pressure from my parents. I was lucky to have sport parents like this; however, there were many girls on my team whose parents pushed them at young ages in gymnastics and this put pressure on them and made the sport not as much fun. Their parents would be upset when they didn’t do well or try to be their coach. These girls whose parents were too involved and put too much pressure on them tended to quit gymnastics at an earlier age. It is so important that parents are encouraging to their children and help their children have fun so that they will want to continue their sport and be able to gain life skills from it. A lot goes into the success of sports for young athletes and everyone (coaches, parents and athletes) must play their role.
Alexa Aragon, ND 2014
Social Foundations of Coaching
Monday, September 26, 2011
Helping Engage Kids in Running
In the spring on Notre Dame’s campus, you can’t miss the frequent running races for charity put on by dorms, ROTC groups, and academic departments. Every weekend there is at least one event and all of them donate proceeds to charity organizations. At Notre Dame, where 80% of undergraduates were varsity letter-winners in high school, these events are a golden opportunity to exercise and donate to a worthy cause (plus get a free t-shirt and food). Similar events have become more common off of college campuses as well. Websites such as active.com have searchable lists based on zip code, date, distance, and other factors. Events cater to avid runners as well as beginners. Most of the events offer both a 5kilometer or 10kilometer (etc) running race paired with a 1mile “fun walk.”
In my hometown, Hutchinson, KS, the inaugural Run for the Rocks half marathon is taking place this coming weekend. In an interview with one of the coordinators Amy Conkling last spring, she told me that 10k and half-marathon distances are becoming increasingly popular for adult runners at many levels. These distances provide a challenge that leaves runners feeling accomplished but at the same time offer an achievable goal. One of the biggest events of the spring at Notre Dame is the Holy Half marathon which is going on its eighth year.
The National Alliance for Youth Sports has developed a program to get kids involved in this individual and rewarding activity through their “Ready, Set, Run!” program (www.nays.org). The program teams up with local recreation commissions (or similar) to teach kids ages 8-13 the basics of training for a 5k run event. The program “equips kids with the physical training and goal-setting mentality needed to accomplish their running goals.” Techniques that are useful in any form of sport. Kids learn how to set and achieve personal goals and lead their own sport performance. The program piloted in the spring of 2011 and helped kids approach and accomplish an athletic goal while having fun in a sport that can become a lifelong passion.
Becca Page
Social Foundations of Coaching
Notre Dame Undergraduate Class
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
An Effective Strategy for Equal Playing Time on a Youth Basketball Team
St. Agnes Basketball Player Rotation:
Dear PLC, I'm sure you get all sorts of resources that coaches/league directors use but I thought this one served me very well this past year after hearing some of your thoughts in Play Like A Champion and I'd be thrilled if other coaches found it useful.
As I moved from coaching junior high varsity where I played kids based on a blend of factors to coaching 5th and 6th grade JV where I knew I wanted to play them all equally, I came across a heck of a lot of problems in my first game. Namely at one point to play everyone equally, I had five forwards and centers who needed to play, none wanted to handle the ball, and rightfully so; they weren't prepared to do that and didn't want to be the fall person for the team not functioning well.
In advance of my next game, I created this spreadsheet. The back page lists all my players, their uniform number (for ease of signing in) and the positions they are able to play. Next is a count of minutes (which are checked off as I create the playing schedule) and a total column. The front is a roster for the game, broken down by position, and into boxes which each represent a 2 minute block of the game (in most occasions I try to schedule the same players for four minutes to allow for continuity, but the beginnings and ends of quarters are often 2 minute segments. What I was able to do is make a team policy that everyone plays equally so the kids know that from the start. To show them I was intent on this, I showed them my spreadsheet.
On gameday, all players are required to show up 15 minutes early to keep games on time, and to warm up, stretch, and go over pre-game prep and what we did in practice. As players show up, I circle their names on the roster. At 15 minutes before gametime as players stretch, I create the first quarter roster from all the players on time. If everyone is there on time, the game is split evenly. If players show up late, they forfeit their first quarter minutes and then the 2nd through 4th quarters are split evenly. By the start of the game, I have my rotations filled in so each player knows when they're going in, which teammate they need to be watching before they go in, who they're calling out, if they're moving any players to new positions, and the man to man matchups that they need to pick up or switch around when they sub in. I find this helps the little guys stay focused, pay attention to player assignments, and to communicate with confidence once they step foot onto the court. My assistant coach explains to kids where they're going next, how they run the play from their position, who they'll be guarding or where they'll be in the zone, and what they can do to help the team on the court.
The one downside to this is that it does require preparation right before the game, but I find once I have that done, I can spend all game coaching instead of worrying about playing time and rotations. Also, kids are penalized about 4 minutes of playing time if their parents are late, but once this was in effect, we noticed a lot more students showing up on time and I never once had to deal with parents questioning playing time.
Alas, at the end of the season we got whooped in the championship game (good character coaching on the other side too, they were just way better) but after the game our kids knew the score might have been closer had our best players played all game like they noticed was the case for the other team. That said, one of the most challenging players on my team pointed out that we came in second place as a true team with everyone being a part whereas the other team really was a combination of three players who did all the playing and another 7 who just tried to keep out of the way. They're catching on and top to bottom, I think this will result in a lot of growth in our students.
I hope you find this useful and feel welcome to use it as much as you'd like and share it amongst anyone you believe will find it useful.
Sean
PLC Coach
Dear PLC, I'm sure you get all sorts of resources that coaches/league directors use but I thought this one served me very well this past year after hearing some of your thoughts in Play Like A Champion and I'd be thrilled if other coaches found it useful.
As I moved from coaching junior high varsity where I played kids based on a blend of factors to coaching 5th and 6th grade JV where I knew I wanted to play them all equally, I came across a heck of a lot of problems in my first game. Namely at one point to play everyone equally, I had five forwards and centers who needed to play, none wanted to handle the ball, and rightfully so; they weren't prepared to do that and didn't want to be the fall person for the team not functioning well.
In advance of my next game, I created this spreadsheet. The back page lists all my players, their uniform number (for ease of signing in) and the positions they are able to play. Next is a count of minutes (which are checked off as I create the playing schedule) and a total column. The front is a roster for the game, broken down by position, and into boxes which each represent a 2 minute block of the game (in most occasions I try to schedule the same players for four minutes to allow for continuity, but the beginnings and ends of quarters are often 2 minute segments. What I was able to do is make a team policy that everyone plays equally so the kids know that from the start. To show them I was intent on this, I showed them my spreadsheet.
On gameday, all players are required to show up 15 minutes early to keep games on time, and to warm up, stretch, and go over pre-game prep and what we did in practice. As players show up, I circle their names on the roster. At 15 minutes before gametime as players stretch, I create the first quarter roster from all the players on time. If everyone is there on time, the game is split evenly. If players show up late, they forfeit their first quarter minutes and then the 2nd through 4th quarters are split evenly. By the start of the game, I have my rotations filled in so each player knows when they're going in, which teammate they need to be watching before they go in, who they're calling out, if they're moving any players to new positions, and the man to man matchups that they need to pick up or switch around when they sub in. I find this helps the little guys stay focused, pay attention to player assignments, and to communicate with confidence once they step foot onto the court. My assistant coach explains to kids where they're going next, how they run the play from their position, who they'll be guarding or where they'll be in the zone, and what they can do to help the team on the court.
The one downside to this is that it does require preparation right before the game, but I find once I have that done, I can spend all game coaching instead of worrying about playing time and rotations. Also, kids are penalized about 4 minutes of playing time if their parents are late, but once this was in effect, we noticed a lot more students showing up on time and I never once had to deal with parents questioning playing time.
Alas, at the end of the season we got whooped in the championship game (good character coaching on the other side too, they were just way better) but after the game our kids knew the score might have been closer had our best players played all game like they noticed was the case for the other team. That said, one of the most challenging players on my team pointed out that we came in second place as a true team with everyone being a part whereas the other team really was a combination of three players who did all the playing and another 7 who just tried to keep out of the way. They're catching on and top to bottom, I think this will result in a lot of growth in our students.
I hope you find this useful and feel welcome to use it as much as you'd like and share it amongst anyone you believe will find it useful.
Sean
PLC Coach
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Uganda Continued!
Over our other days in Uganda, PLC visited with faculty, administration and staff of Uganda Martyrs University, Makerere Business School and we had the pleasure of meeting Jasper Aligawesa who is the General Secretary of the Uganda National Council of Sport (pictured above with Clark and Kristin). Finally, our trip wouldn't be complete without sharing our group picture taken on the Equator.
2nd Day in Uganda
During the PLC team's second day in Uganda, we traveled with the children of the village to the hospital to receive medical treatments. We played together while waiting for treatment and we all shared lunch together. The children loved learning a new game of "Duck, Duck, Goose" but gave it an African specific name of "Cow, Cow, Goat."
PLC travels to Uganda in Partnership
The PLC team is back under the Golden Dome, but our hearts are fuller and our lives are richer due to the new friendships we have created in the beautiful country of Uganda in East Africa. We began our journey in the village of Kkindu. Attached is a video of the leader of PLC in the village, John Kakande, announcing the official partnership. The village also unveiled a PLC sign at the base of the village for all to see and believe in the philosophy. The village proudly shared their cleared field pictured above and we met the women who weave the Play Like A Champion Today(TM) mats. The whole village celebrated with a shared meal and sport competitions: a bike race, net ball game, sack races and a soccer game. The women and children of the village welcomed us with beautiful songs, drum accompaniment and dancing.
All of this in our first day in the village!
Former ND football player gives back to his community
David Burton of the Denver Broncos is spending the time off during the lockout giving back to his community. 2009 Notre Dame Graduate with a degree in Political Science and Sociology is substitute teaching at his former high school in Dayton, Ohio. To see the full story,
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Broncos-8217-Bruton-spending-the-lockout-as-a-?urn=nfl-wp2141
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Broncos-8217-Bruton-spending-the-lockout-as-a-?urn=nfl-wp2141
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Uganda update
The PLC team is in Amsterdam on their way home from Africa. Our apologizes for only one blog while we were traveling. We had only one opportunity to get Internet access our entire trip. We will post a full report with pictures and videos in the next few days.
We are feeling grateful and blessed for our life-changing journey. PLC team
We are feeling grateful and blessed for our life-changing journey. PLC team
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