Advice For Coaching Sports Teams
As a coach, your team’s goals aren’t always the same. Your priority may be winning if you’re in charge of an NCAA Division I basketball team, while your main concern may be recruiting enough athletes to even field a team if you’re at a small high school. Regardless, there are some strategies that can help your team achieve its goals this season. The following tips can help you coach your team to being as strong as possible.
Be a class act.
As a coach, you’re an example for your athletes. If you value good attendance, sportsmanship and effort, you need to demonstrate these. Show up to every practice on time, and don’t lose your temper and yell at your players, the referees or the opposing players. Statsdad.com suggests that thinking about your team’s future by being considerate — such as caring “enough about the kids to build their self-esteem” — can impress potential recruits.
Keep your athletes healthy.
If you’re coaching an Olympic team, your athletes need to be healthy so the team can do its best. If you’re coaching first-graders at a park, you have a moral duty to keep your athletes healthy. Incorporate rest days and keep practices reasonable to prevent injuries. Also, according to Coach Youth Sports, “Proper hydration as well as recognizing and preventing heat illness are very important topics for all coaches to understand. Athletes, young and old, increase their risk of heat illness as they become dehydrated.”
Promote team building.
According to Steel Locker Sports, “team building exercises are an essential tool for coaches who want to create happy, triumphant athletes.” They’ll help you create a unified group instead of a collection of individuals. You can do this by getting to know each player personally and by encouraging open communication with you and among your athletes. The closer your athletes are to each other, the more likely they are to be able to work naturally together during games.
Be encouraging.
Your job as coach is to build your players up, not tear them down. Different athletes respond differently to various types of coaching styles, but the overall message needs to be positive. Tread carefully, because even the best-intended message can come off wrong. “Encouragement can easily turn into nagging,” according to MomsTeam.com, so beware of repeating advice too frequently.
Stay in control of yourself.
Coaches need to get involved and show that they care passionately, but never lose control during practice or games. You may need to lower your expectations if you find yourself getting angry when your team doesn’t hit the goals you set. TeamSnap suggests that you “avoid disciplining in anger.” Some appropriate times to discipline athletes are when they are late to practice or games, when they display poor sportsmanship toward opponents or umpires, and when you catch them bullying others. Don’t discipline athletes for accidentally missing an easy layup or field goal, or for skipping practice for health reasons.
