A Coach's Diary

Have you ever noticed that some athletes excel under some coaches but struggle and melt while playing for other coaches? Kelsi was a player who had a lot of talent but struggled with her confidence. She could do complicated moves and mazes in training, but she struggled to replicate them in games. She always told her parents that she didn't feel confident enough to try what she was working on in private training sessions in practice and games because she had a fear and anxiety of messing up. Going into Kelsi's senior year, her high school hired a new coach, and almost immediately, her parents saw a change in her confidence, energy, and performance. Kelsi had a great senior year, and when her parents asked her what changed, she said that it was that she felt more comfortable and confident playing for her new coach. Kelsi said that her new coach made her feel confident because he believed in her, and she felt safe because when she made a mistake, he helped her through them and th...

Have you ever been on a team where a leader needed to step up or have you ever wanted to be a leader but you felt like you didn't have the voice to lead? When Michael Jordan joined the Bulls as a rookie, they were a struggling team and a struggling franchise. They needed a jolt of energy and leadership, and Michael became that jolt and provided that leadership. The culture of the team at the time wasn't what it needed to be and felt like Jordan needed to do something about it because he wasn't used to losing. The Bulls didn't handle adversity well, and they would put their heads down and give up when they faced challenges or got down in a game, but Jordan's character wouldn't allow that to continue. His teammates quickly learned that Jordan wouldn't let them lose. Within the first couple of weeks, MJ proved to his teammates that he was the best player on the team and a leader worth following. Michael Jordan said, "My mentality was - whoever was the tea...

WEEK 17 DEVOTIONAL | BELIEVE "All things work together for those who believe." After feeding the 5,000 thousand people using five small barley loaves and two small fish, and walking on water to catch the disciples in their boat on the lake, Jesus was asked, "What must we do to do to the work God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to BELIEVE in the one he has sent (John 6)." I always tell my team that it is easy to BELIEVE when everything is going great, but who can we count on when things aren't going great? When we are in a slump, or when our energy is low, or when things are starting to fall apart, who can we count on to help turn things around? It is important to know that there is nothing that can happen to us that God will not work out of our good, one way or the other, as long as we keep BELIEVING (Romans 8:28). As long as you keep BELIEVING, God keeps working. We can't let the devil take away our BELIEVING, and we can't...

Research supports that expectations might be the most important key to success. When you believe in yourself, you do better, and when coaches believe in their athletes, they do better. Years ago, a study was done that showed something remarkable about a teacher's belief in students. Researchers told teachers that some of the students in their class could be expected to be 'growth spurters,' based on the students' recent test results. The test never happened, but at the end of the year, the students' scores on IQ tests matched the teacher's false beliefs. This study shows that our expectations and beliefs about our athletes matter in how we teach and coach them and in how they perform. In a more recent study , hundreds of students were involved in a study where they wrote essays and received critical feedback from their teachers. Half the students received an extra sentence at the bottom of the feedback. The students who received the extra sentence earned higher...

COACHES AND PARENTS Tell your players/athletes: “I believe in you. I believe in your ability. I believe in your potential.” Believing in our kids is one of the most important gifts that we can give them. Shower them with this gift.  Tell them why you believe in them and their potential. Tell them how they can live up to their potential. Help them create a plan. Teach them how to work diligently and consistently to complete the plan. Teach them that obstacles and adversity are inevitable parts of the journey. Teach them how to gracefully get past obstacles and how to handle adversity. Teach them how to win with honor. Teach them how to learn from and bounce back from losses. Teach them how to love, serve, and support their teammates. Teach them how to believe in themselves, and teach them how to share the gift of belief in others. This just might help change a life. One life at a time can change sports.

While they often get a bad 'rep,' and rightfully so, good trainers do a good job of pushing kids to work harder - often times more so than their school coach.  In talking with one trainer, he told me that us coaches just have to make sure that the kids know how much we believe in them and then they will give us all that they have. Kids have enough anxiety and pressure when it comes to performing in sports, and we coaches can sometimes add to that because we criticize - or coach - our kids, which includes correcting their mistakes.  If we spend more time on correcting than we do praising, it can be easy to see how kids might start to doubt themselves and our belief in their abilities. While corrective criticism, direction and honestly is absolutely necessary for growth in anything, and especially in sports, we have to make sure to couple that criticism with positive affirmation.  We have to make sure that our kids KNOW that we believe in their ability to succeed...