National Award for Loyal Sons

Loyal Sons: The Story of The Four Horsemen and Notre Dame Football's 1924 Champions has earned another national honor!

Loyal Sons has been named an Award-Winning Finalist in the Sports: Autobiography/Biography category of The National Best Books 2009 Awards, sponsored by USA Book News.

This is on top of the award earlier this year of the Bronze Medal in Sports/Recreation/Fitness from the 2009 Independent Publisher Book Awards.

Congratulations to author and PLC friend, Jim Lefebvre.

As the holiday's approach, remember to keep Loyal Sons in mind for gift-giving.

Parent-Coach Communication about Playing Time

Developing a positive parent-coach relationship can be a challenge. One of the most common controversies between parents and coaches is playing time. “Parents vs coaches” rather than parents with coaches can be destructive to a child’s experience of the game. Coaches cite playing time as one of the most common complaints from parents and parents cite playing time as one of the most common complaints about their children’s coaches. Here is some advice taken from our coaches clinics and parent workshops for you to use:

As a parent, how do you effectively communicate your frustration to the coach?

1. First, talk to your son or daughter about how they feel about the time they get to play. Are they having fun playing on the team? Do they feel they are not getting the game time they deserve? If so, ask them what they think they need to work on to get better? Set goals with them about specific ways they can improve in their sport.

2. Encourage your son or daughter to approach the coach before you do. Some children may feel uncomfortable or scared, but you must assure them that they have to take initiative. This is a lesson they should learn now so that later on in life they can stand up for themselves and take initiative in approaching teachers, college professors, bosses, potential employers etc.

3. Contact the coach in an appropriate way. Do not approach the coach before or after a game. If you approach him or her after practice, ask the coach if you can set up a time to talk either in person or on the phone.

4. During the coach-parent meeting, keep the following in mind:

• Start with a compliment and/or thank the coach for dedicating his/her time to working with your child. This will ease the tension in the conversation.
• Ask rather than tell. Rather than making accusations, ask the coach to explain what they see in practice.
• Ask them what specific areas your son or daughter will need to improve to be in the game more often. Decide on some goals and agree that you will both discuss those goals with your child.
• DO NOT compare your son or daughter to another player on the team.
• Do not try to convince the coach that your child is a better player than he/she thinks (even if you’re right).
• Do not insult the coach’s effort or ability to be your child’s coach. They are dedicating the time away from their families to be with your family.
  

What can coaches do to prevent playing time disappointments?

1. Communicate with players about your vision for their role on the team and what they can do to get more time in the game.

2. Write a letter to the parents and invite them to a pre-season meeting. Describe your coaching philosophy in the letter and how you plan to distribute playing time throughout the year.

3. Host a parent meeting at the beginning of the season and describe your playing time philosophy. Communicate with parents about your philosophy throughout the year.

3. If you are going to bench a player, make sure you communicate the reasoning behind this decision to both the player and the parents ahead of time.

4. Develop positive ongoing relationships with parents throughout the entire year. Get to know your players’ parents at school functions, social events, etc. The more positive your relationships are with parents, the more supportive they will be of you.

5. When a parent asks to talk about playing time, set up a meeting that fits into both of your schedules. If the parent is angry, assure them that you would like to discuss this with them at a better time. Let them cool off.

6. During the conversation, keep the following in mind:

• Listen rather than tell. They are likely to have a lot to say. Let them share their feeling and assure them that you hear and understand where they are coming from.
• First, point out their son or daughter’s strengths.
• Focus on what the child can do to get better not what they have done in the past.
• Refer back to your original communication with them about playing time.
• If the discussion becomes irrational, heated, and insulting to you, end the meeting and ask to schedule another appointment with your school administrator/third-party.
• Do not compare their child to another player on the team.
• Do not let your emotions get in the way of a rational discussion.

Coaches: What can you do to get more kids in the game? Read, “5 Strategies to Give Equal Playing Time in Sports.”

Is this a common problem at your school? Play Like A Champion Today™ offers workshops for coaches and parents that have a special focus on developing a positive relationship between parents and coaches. For more information check out our various programs or contact PLC at 574-631-9981 or by email plc@nd.edu.

Announcing PLC’s newest partner: The Diocese of Pittsburgh Catholic Sports Program

I had the privilege to travel to the great city of Pittsburgh, PA over the weekend to welcome the Diocese into partnership with Play Like A Champion Today™. Dr. Ron Bowes, the Assistant Superintendent of the Diocese, runs the sports programs for the schools. Ron has worked diligently to develop a sport program that is already highly developed and fine tuned to understand what is best for young athletes playing Catholic youth sports. The addition of PLC workshops confirms and further supports our efforts to work together with dioceses to change the culture of youth sports nationally.
Athletics directors and coaches enjoyed a lively clinic experience with positive conversation around the value of play, developing champion virtues and understanding coaching as a ministry. Coaches were energized by the exchange of information and sharing of tangible ideas to make a difference in the lives of young athletes through Catholic sports. After the coach workshop, new local trainers were prepared to present the PLC coach clinic in their own Pittsburgh parishes and schools.
Welcome Pittsburgh to our national network of Catholic Coach Ministers! We are thrilled to have you as part of the Play Like A Champion Today™ family.

5 Strategies to Give Equal Playing Time in Sports

As a coach, playing time can be your biggest headache. It can be difficult to give each player fair playing time. However, the opportunity to participate in sports with meaningful playing time is essential to childhood development, confidence-building and overall athlete development. PLC believes strongly in the distribution of equal playing time in youth sports. We recommend at a minimum for 6th grade and below as close to equal playing time as possible and for 7th and 8th grade at least 25% playing time for all participants.

So how do you do that? Here are 5 strategies taken from the Play Like A Champion Today™ youth sport coaches manual:

1. Communicate with your players and their parents. Let your players and parents know your commitment to fair playing time and what they can expect throughout the season. Make sure your playing time commitments are explained to the parents at a pre-season meeting. The better you communicate up front, the less push back you will receive during the season.
   


2. Plan ahead. Prepare a detailed substitution pattern before each game. Set your line-ups to have the best chance to be competitive in each quarter, half, or inning. Don’t “stack” certain line-ups to try to win – players pick up on this and might think of themselves as the “B Team.” Make everyone feel like they are on the “A Team” and you will get the most out of every player.
   


3. Stick to your playing time commitments, regardless of the game situation. Is sacrificing a player’s opportunity to have fun and feel accepted by his/her coach and team worth improving your record? You decide.
   


4. If possible, have an assistant keep track of playing time; this could be an assistant coach or a trusted parent. Recruiting some help will allow you to focus on game strategy and instruction of your players during the game.
   


5. Take advantage of lopsided opportunities and give more time to your less-used players (especially when equal playing time is not guaranteed). Don’t wait for the other coach to do this. If he/she wants to play their stars the whole game then that is their problem. Also, make sure this isn’t your only playing time strategy.

Feel free to comment on this post to share any of your strategies in distributing playing time fairly. We want your feedback!

Motivating Young Athletes: Punish or Perish?

Nothing pains a coach more to see a lack of effort in practice or on the playing field. How can coaches motivate athletes to put forth their best effort? A common answer is to teach them a lesson they’ll never forget, and a common form of teaching that lesson is to make them run and run and run some more. Last January, a Kentucky high school football coach was charged with reckless homicide when he had his player run some extra “gassers.” The “gassers” were ordered as a punishment for the lack of effort shown in practice on a day when the temperature hit 94 degrees. A fifteen year-old player died when his temperature reached 107 degrees. As it turned out, the gassers weren’t the only contributing factor. The young man who died hadn’t been feeling well that day. He was also taking a supplement, Creatine, and Adderall for ADD. The coach was acquitted by a jury on September 17.

Should coaches “punish” a lack of effort? There are two ways to look at this. From a backwards-looking perspective, one might ask whether the players deserved retribution for their lack of effort? Did the players do something wrong that merited the infliction of physical discomfort? When did a lack of effort in a game become a crime?

From a forward-looking perspective, the point of the punishment is not retribution but correction. Coaches make players run or engage in distasteful drills to teach them a lesson. The sprints and drills serve as a deterrent to discourage a future lack of effort. The problem with this kind of justification is that punishment avoidance has been repeatedly been shown to be the least effective form of discipline. Punishment motivates through fear, but what place should fear have in motivating athletes to play a sport?

The Associated Press reported that the county in which the player died now requires coaches to attend a seminar on using “positive reinforcement” with students. This is a step in the right direction, but perhaps not such a big step. Positive reinforcement is a more effective way of motivating behavior than negative reinforcement. But both positive and negative reinforcement are extrinsic forms of motivation. The use of extrinsic motivators implies that the play of the game is not intrinsically motivating.

Aren’t sports inherently fun? Shouldn’t the motivation to play a sport come from within? Everything we know about sports psychology and educational psychology tells us that athletes at all ages will be better off if coaches appeal to their inherent desire for mastery. The unmotivated athlete is a product of organized sports gone awry. The athlete doesn’t need “fixing,” the organization does.

Loyal Sons Author Donates Portion of Profits to PLC

Loyal Sons author Jim Lefebvre has graciously donated a portion of the proceeds from his book to Play Like A Champion Today™. Jim is currently a PLC Consultant and assisted the program in the areas of communication and development in the early years of our existence. His book was featured in the latest PLC Newsletter this Fall. For more information on Jim’s book, Loyal Sons, about the history of the 1924 ND football team led by Knute Rockne, visit http://www.ndfootballhistory.com/.

Thank you Jim!

A Punishment for Losing a Game?

“I was very disappointed in your performance at the soccer game on Thursday. You were sluggish, unfocused and not trying your hardest. That was the worst game we have had in three years! Everyone – we are running today at practice – get going around the field.”

Do you think these were the words of a collegiate level soccer coach? They were, in fact, words of a coach, but not at the collegiate level, not even a high school level coach. These were spoken by the coach of a third grade Catholic school soccer team.

Should a team be “punished” for losing a game?

Consider the added example of a freshman football coach whose team lost their game. In response, when the team returned to their school, the coach immediately sent the team to the practice field and had them engage in a full force tackle drill which had some of the players crying out in pain.

Play Like A Champion Today™ asserts that sports are games that are meant to be played by kids to have fun, to learn new skills and to grow – physically, emotionally, morally and spiritually. Do kids grow in sport when they are punished when they don’t have an optimal performance? Athletes may get stronger physically from punishment drills, but they will not grow emotionally, morally or spiritually through this type of punitive activity.

We all know that running is an important activity for the overall development of an athlete. It helps kids build endurance, grow in coordination and get faster and stronger. However, when a coach makes running a punishment, does this encourage the young person to engage in this activity that is healthful and helpful for him/her as an athlete? In most cases, it does not. In fact, for many people, this will have the exact opposite effect and make them hate the activity that was assigned as punishment. Goals of Play Like A Champion Today™ coaches are to help their athletes love the game, to become better players and to grow as fuller Christian persons. Critical coaches who punish their athletes will not accomplish these ultimate goals in their totality. This is true not only for younger athletes, but also for high school age athletes and beyond.

Some may say, “Punishment is good for kids to toughen them up.” Play Like A Champion says, “Coaches should wisen-up.” No good will come out of punishing athletes when adults do not feel they have performed their best. In fact, it is often harmful. The Play Like A Champion approach is filled with effective techniques to be an “Life Coach” making a positive impact on young athlete’s lives.

Fall PLC Newsletter Released

The Fall PLC Newsletter was released today. You can find it and past newsletters at the PLC Newsletter page.

In this issue:

• 4th Annual PLC Leadership Conference
• Letter from the Director: Renewing the Vision of Bishop Sheil and the CYO
• Partner Profile: Fort Worth Christian Football League
• PLC Consultant's Book Loyal Sons Wins National Award
• Hot Issues in Sports: Preventing Post-Summer Vacation Injuries
• Upcoming Events: Cruise on the Chicago River

Preventing Post-Summer Vacation Injuries

By Dr. John Stavrakos, PLC Consultant and Sports Medicine Specialist

As we enter another school year, thousands of young athletes from grade school to high school are preparing for fall sports by participating in preseason workouts, and family doctors nationwide are swamped with filling out preparticipation sports physicals. This is a fun and exciting time of year for parents, coaches and students alike – but also a high time of year for sports related injuries. In this article, I wanted to touch on a few issues that invariably come up when kids go from vacation time fun to early school year training schedules, and how to best evaluate and treat them.

1) Strains, sprains & aches: It’s a safe bet that all sports doctors are going to see young athletes marching into their offices within the first three weeks of preseason camps from one of these. Most muscle strains and joint aches are a result of a rapid increase in demands on the musculoskeletal system – going from summer fun of getting a tan and throwing a frisbee around to two-a-day strength, speed and conditioning drills is going to produce some aches – so some of these pains are unavoidable. Teaching kids to keep with a summer conditioning program will usually lessen these issues. In children undergoing a growth spurt, keep in mind that that bones are growing faster than muscles, and this can lead to relative muscle weakness and inflexibility, as well as pain from traction of the muscle tendons at their insertion points on the bone, called an apophysitis. The 15 year old female track runner who had no problems last fall, for example, who now (one year later and 3 inches taller) is complaining of a sharp or achy pain in her anterior hips when running, may be suffering from this. Year round muscle conditioning (keep in mind that most active playtime activities are great conditioning) and stretching in growing kids can help to diminish these problems; if you have any questions or concerns, be sure and ask your physician.

2) Heat and overexposure: not long ago, the dangers of hyperthermia, or overheating, made national headlines when a college football player at a Division I school passed away in training camp from this condition. In humid areas of the country, the risk of hyperthermia is even greater, as humid air lessens the body’s ability to dissipate heat from the skin. Always keep in mind that children have a decreased tolerance to excessive heat and a diminished ability to cool off when compared to adults. If an athlete shows signs of listlessness, walking with a staggered gait, not focusing or not speaking intelligently, get them into shade/cool area, lay them down and elevate their legs and seek medical attention. Advise your athletes to drink well before and after practice (drinking until you’re no longer thirsty is a good rule of thumb), and to cool down afterwards. Drinking excessive amounts of water when exercising can be dangerous as well, and can lead to dilutional hyponatremia, an electrolyte imbalance where the sodium level in the blood gets “watered down” from too much water intake, and can present with symptoms similar to dehydration and hyperthermia. Kids should avoid caffeine (which causes dehydration), and most especially energy drinks – these beverages (e.g. Monster, Amp, Spike Shooter, etc.) not only carry much more caffeine than a 12 oz can of Coca Cola (up to 11 – 12.5 times more!), but have other substances in them that act as stimulants, which your kids don’t need in 90 degree heat when they’re running a 5K, doing push-ups and crunches or doing tackling drills.

3) Stress Fractures: another potential problem of ramping up activity level beyond what the bones can handle. Stress fractures (also called insufficiency fractures) are micro fractures, or “cracks” in the architecture of bones that happen when the forces exceed the shock absorbing ability of the bone and surrounding tissues, and overcome the bone’s ability to heal. Stress fractures tend to occur most commonly in the shins (“shin splints” are an early stage stress fracture) and in the midfoot (just past the ankle), and are more common in girls than boys. Typically they present as a achy pain that occurs with impact activity at a bony weight bearing area (foot, shin, hip, etc.), that is worse with impact and gets better with rest, and may progress to hurting with every day activities such as walking. These are most common when young athletes go to ‘the next level’ – i.e. 8th grade to high school, high school to a competitive college program. They usually require an xray and possibly further imaging, such as a CT or MRI, if the clinical suspicion is high, because many stress fractures do not show up on plain xrays. If your young athlete has a pain that will not go away when doing their sport, even with rest, and especially if it is present even when not in sport, you should seek medical attention.

Sports are an important and enjoyable aspect of returning to school, but as with every activity, as responsible adults who love and care for the children we are responsible for, we need to be vigilant for conditions that can adversely affect them. May all your young athletes have a healthy, successful season!

What Outliers Can Teach about Developing All-Stars

The five lessons below are taken from the book Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcom Gladwell. In this book Gladwell reveals how people become successful by looking at individuals that appear to be Outliers, abnormally successful people. These five lessons substitute the lessons about outliers with lessons about all-stars in sport.

1. Coaches choose all-stars. In Chapter 1 of his book, Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell points out that on elite 16-18 year old hockey teams the majority of players were born in the months of January, February or March. How could such a strange phenomenon occur? The cut-off date for Canadian hockey leagues is January 1st. When children try-out for hockey teams at early ages, a December-born player and a January-born player are compared to one another even though one is nearly a year older than the other. Coaches select the January – March players thinking they are more “gifted,” “skilled,” or “talented” when at this age they just happen to be older and more physically developed. These “talented” older players end up on select teams, practice more often, and play at a higher competitive level and are made into all-stars.

2. All-stars have to want to play and work hard. Teams win championships by working hard in practice. How do you get players to want to work hard in practice? Some coaches try to force it upon their players with fear and punishments. However, research does not show that this is effective. Players get better when they like practicing and when they love the sport. They would spend hours in the driveway shooting hoops. This is the edge they have over other players of similar gifts and talent.

3. All-stars are given opportunity to work hard. Not only are all-stars willing to work hard, but they are given the opportunity to learn and work hard in their sports. Children and adolescents, especially those living in cities with few fields and gyms, need the opportunity to play. It is the only way they can get better.

4. Effort is connected to reward. All-stars, like the outliers in Gladwell’s book, feel that there is a connection between their effort and a reward. For some all-stars this means winning, but winning is not directly connected to effort. No matter how hard you work are, the other team may be better, there may be some missed calls, the weather may not cooperate, etc. If winning is the only reward for effort, then players will not be as motivated to succeed nor will they want to work as hard as if they were intrinsically motivated (see lesson #2). This is connected to setting goals in PLC’s GROW Approach.

5. All-stars feel Autonomy. All-stars, like Outliers, become successful when they feel that they have some say in the direction of their lives. This is the third component of the GROW Approach: Ownership. Give athletes ownership over their play and they will take up the responsibility to succeed on their own. If coaches take away that autonomy, then athletes will feel that pleasing the coach is more important than playing the game well.

Malcom Gladwell hopes to convince his readers that Outliers aren’t really outliers at all. Coaches should be convinced that all-stars aren’t really all-stars at all. Or better yet, as a coach you determine who will become an all-star. Give everyone a chance.