Many youth athletes play sports without learning the valuable leadership skills and character traits that create well-rounded team members with potential. This is a wasted opportunity. Sports provide an invaluable vehicle for leadership and character development when coaches, parents, administrators, and players make this a focus. This focus can’t be at one meeting, seminar, or locker room chat. It must be a consistent element in the lives of our youth athletes.
We are on a mission to help you transform the lives of your athletes and communities by fighting back against the tide of negative messaging that bombards our youth every day.
Rather than focusing on their own performance and stats, we want to help build up athletes that look to become the best servant leaders they can.
Instead of athletes that only practice when told or take action when instructed, we want to encourage and develop youth that take initiative, own their actions, and responsibly care for their teammates.
Ultimately, we want to be positive forces for change that actively seek ways to improve the youth sports experience.
Thank you for your willingness to take on this challenge and utilize youth sports as a vehicle for making a life-long impact.
Scenario: Practices haven’t been very intense lately. You feel like the team is unfocused and lacks the drive to get better. There may be a variety of reasons for this, but you know that you need to get everyone on board and working harder. There are only a few athletes that always come prepared to practice.
What steps can you take as a leader to improve practice pace?
How can you work together with your coach?
How can you work together with other teammates who are hard workers to encourage others to do the same?
Coaches Note: It’s amazing how a given athlete can be the hardest worker in one setting and then completely distracted in a different. The environment surrounding players can have a major impact on the energy and intensity of a practice. Be open to incorporating some suggestions from your players if this is an issue your team faces. It’ll give them ownership and make them more likely to train harder.
Scenario: Before one of your practices, another team is practicing. That team isn’t very good. Some of your teammates start making jokes about how bad the team is as they are watching. They are making mean comments and being rude.
How should you respond to this?
Should you say anything to your coach?
In what ways can you lead by example in this instance?