Coaches Tip of the Week

4.  Redefine what it means to be a "winner" through a mastery approach to coaching. Instead of focusing solely on the scoreboard, explain the ELM Tree of Mastery for Effort, Learning and Mistakes are OK, because mistakes help us learn, but fear of mistakes makes us timid and helps us fail.

3.  Set "Effort Goals" such as running hard for contested balls, in addition to outcome goals. In this way, over time, if players achieve the effort goals, they also will move toward achieving desired outcome goals, such as winning contested balls.

2.  Maintain a "Magic Ratio" of five truthful, specific praises for every one specific, constructive criticism. It’s called the Magic Ratio because when coaches get close to it, magical things happen with their players’ performance.

1.  Conduct a parent meeting as soon as possible after learning which players are on your team. Use the meeting to explain your approach to coaching, learn what your athletes and parents want from their youth sports experiences and to set expectations for athlete and parent behavior in the coming season.