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Running head: Research Paper

The 7 Main Coaching Values Aimed Towards Young Athletes

Emma Brooks

November 17, 2017

Career Life and Education 11

Mr. Koshman
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Running head: Research Paper

Research Paper

Introduction

Coaching children may seem like the biggest task in the world. With strategized coaching

techniques and values, you will be able to love what you do while improving your students

abilities, mentally and physically.

The problems faced while coaching children are getting them to focus, have fun, be engaged,

and at the same time improve their skills and techniques. Having no strategized plan or core

coaching skills will have a negative impact on both you and your students. A wise person once

said, Coaching is 90% skill and 10% technique (unknown author/2006) giving the idea that

personality skills are used more in a coaching environment than actual technique. No matter

what sport or life activity you would like to coach or are currently coaching, having a main set of

core skills will improve your athletes and also improve your experience as a coach.

The seven main coaching values are; communication, positivity and patience, engagement,

understanding, and organization. These seven values will be explained in detail with examples

of how to implement them into your daily coaching routines.

The main idea of this paper is to stress the positive impact these seven values have on young

athletes and beginner coaches. Also how to create a routine that involves these skills that will

benefit you and your athletes.

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Running head: Research Paper

Communication

Being a coach with good communication will benefit both you and your athletes.

Communication as a coach is the act of sharing any relevant practice information (practice times,

changes and cancellations) and also voicing athletes improvement and or things to work on to

both the athlete and parent or guardian.

At the beginning of each season as a coach, it is best to introduce yourself through an

email sent out to all parents and on the first practice introduce yourself in person to both the

athletes and parents. This there-for creates an open line of communication with both you and

parents. In the email be sure to introduce yourself and give some information about how you got

into coaching and give your contact information for any parents wanting to contact you. Its best

to start the season off with an open line of communication with parents, so both parties are in the

know at all times.

James Himm Mitchell one said, Coaching is about creating an action plan that moves

you forward, from where you are to where you want to be. (James Hill Mitchell/2005) Goal

setting is a very good way to get things done in a minimum amount of time, and creating a line

of communication with your athletes. Having an agreed upon goal list will keep practices

running smoothly and create a specific relationship between both coach and athlete. Sit down

every month and revise goals that may have been achieved or could be worked on, keep things

relevant and updated.

Communication with both athletes and parents is a key coaching skill that keeps everyone

involved and updated on the successes and failures of being an athlete. As a coach, athletes rely

on you to keep up communication so they understand what they need to work on and what they
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Running head: Research Paper

have done well. No improvements will be made in an athletic career if the athlete is unaware of

what is going on.

Positivity and patience

People may hear your words but they feel your attitude. (John Maxwell/2014)

Positivity and patience are two life skills that are also very important when being a coach. Being

able to balance a positive attitude while having a firm coaching structure is something that comes

with time and experience. Being a positive coach is not only the act of giving uplifting

corrections and comments but being a positive role model for athletes as well.

Coaching young athletes is a coaching position that requires positivity and patience. Kids

are still developing throughout their young athletic career and they may not understand or

develop a skill right away but having patience as a coach will help them through the journey of

development.

With patience and positivity, you will create a fun, structured learning environment for

athletes, having athletes that are comfortable in the space they are in is very important and

beneficial to their learning, by coaching with a positive attitude you can help them strive and

improve throughout seasons.

Engagement

Engaging young athletes is the key to mental and physical advancement. If you are an

uninteresting coach with no engaging qualities your athletes will not be interested and will not

learn. Having an alluring and appealing personal coaching style will catch your athletes

attention.
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Running head: Research Paper

Everything you get from your students-the rolled eyes, the excitement, the apathy, and

the big smiles-is the feedback on your performance. (Eric Jensen) Meaning if you have children

Falling asleep during your coaching speeches then its most likely very boring and

unentertaining.

Getting childrens attention at times can be very difficult, but with the right techniques,

you can see a very high level of improvement from athletes. Try doing drills with them and

showing them how its done, this is a way to get involved but at the same time give an idea of

what you want to see from your students. Another way to catch athletes attention is showing

videos of pro players and athletes showcasing specific techniques you are trying to focus on.

Showing videos and clips of professional athletes is something that will catch the eyes of young

athletes while developing an understanding in their brains of what a specific skill should look

like.

Engagement is a skill that comes naturally, a very outgoing and positive person can be

very engaging to young athletes and beneficial to their learning. Being engaging can come in

many different coaching styles, visual, verbal, aural, and physical. Many strategies connect all

four learning styles to engage any type of learner.

Organization

Organization is the main skill that helps practices and organizations run smoothly.

Without organization, there would, be no sport or activity. When building your program,

remember: creativity will thrive on the foundation of organization and habit (coach Gray/2013)

organization develops throughout the season and becomes bigger and bigger as things grow.

Having a good base of organization skills will help destress difficult situations.
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Running head: Research Paper

Being organized includes creating lesson plans and schedules, these make it easier to run

a good and fun practice that keeps the athletes engaged and wanting to learn. Be sure to create a

plan that includes a specific skill for students to work on and master, incorporate games and

exciting drills that will keep the practice flowing. Having an organized plan for every practice

will ensure that goals are met on time and skills are perfected.

Organization helps athletes but also parents, parents are the outlet to the athletes and

without them, there would be no students. Keeping parents in the loop and updated on any

relevant information is important. Send emails at least once a week updating them on the latest

information about practices and athletes attendance. Keeping parents in the know should be a

top priority for any coach wanting good attendance and successful practices.

Conclusion

Developing and learning your own coaching style is very important to you and your

athletes. In reality, having coaching skills that will benefit both you, athletes and parents is a

recipe for improving and success in an athletes career. No matter what age, athletes need a

consistent coach with good attitude and skill. Using communication, positivity and patience,

engagement, understanding, and organization as a base set of skills a guaranteed improvement

will be seen throughout your students. Having a baseline of examples, skills and an

understanding of each concept will not only benefit you as a coach but your students as well.
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Running head: Research Paper

The best reward as a coach is seeing improvement throughout athletes careers, and

building up knowledge of core coaching skills and techniques will help you see advancement

more frequently.

Bibliography

Angela.W. (2014). 5-steps to Easy Organized Coaching. Sports Mom Survival Guide, 7.

Retrieved from https://www.sportsmomsurvivalguide.com/5-steps-easy-organized-

coaching/

BC Diving. (2010). Long Term Athlete Development Model; Implentation Plan. Vancouver : BC

Diving. Retrieved from http://www.bcdiving.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/BC-Diving-

Sport-for-Life-Plan.pdf

BC Diving. (2015). diving instruction - beginner coach pathway model. Vancouver: BC Diving.

Retrieved from http://www.bcdiving.ca/coaches-officials/coach-resources/ltad-long-term-

athlete-development-model/

Grey, C. (2013). coaching quote.

Jensen, E. (n.d.). coaching quote. Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.ca/rosspitcher/eric-

jensen-teaching-with-poverty-in-mind/

LeBlanc, J., & Dickson, L. (1996). Straight Talk about Children and Sport. Oakville, Ontario:

Coaching Association of Canada. Retrieved from

http://www.coach.ca/files/Straight_Talk_1.pdf

Maxwell, J. (2014). coaching quote. Retrieved from

https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/545146729866797017/?lp=true
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Mitchell, J. H. (2005). coaching quote. Retrieved from https://www.life-plan-blog.com/faqs/

UK Coaching. (2017). 10 benifits of multi-skills coaching all coaches should know. UK

Coaching. Retrieved from http://www.ukcoaching.org/blog/10-benefits-multi-skills-

coaching-all-coaches-should-know

UK Coaching. (n.d.). Coaching Children. UK coaching . Retrieved from

http://www.ukcoaching.org/coaches/resource-bank/coaching-children

unknown. (2006). coaching quote. Retrieved from http://www.wow4u.com/coaching/