Discover the joy of coaching

Have you ever wondered why so many people — parents and aspiring young coaches — sign up to coach children’s teams? It’s simple, really. Coaching kids is terrific fun — and moms, dads and all those who have experienced the joy of coaching and mentoring will know exactly what I’m talking about. For some volunteers, it’s a chance to help out the community, get some fresh air and be around to lend a helping hand to young players and athletes. For others, it’s an opportunity to make a significant, positive impact on young lives or take the first steps towards a career in sports education, including coaching. Looking back on my own long career in basketball, I clearly recall three coaches in grades III-VI — a YMCA basketball coach, my junior high football, basketball, and baseball coach, and my high school basketball coach with great fondness. Most of you may remember a cricket or soccer coach who took the time to introduce you to the basics of these games and showed confidence in the way you played them. Whatever your own positive memories you can return the favour by volunteering to coach the next generation of athletes and sportspersons. If you take the plunge, you’ll find that today’s kids are very eager to play and improve their game. Especially if they’re struggling, they’ll want a coach to step up, give them a reassuring pat on the back and take a few moments to work with them on their game. Show them how to hold a cricket bat, or the right type of shoes to purchase, how to backspin a tennis shot, how to head a soccer ball and how to make a reverse layup. This is where the fun comes alive. When you go all out to help a young person to learn an athletic skill, you can see her eyes light up with excitement and enthusiasm as she gets closer to mastering it. And that is the essence of coaching. It enables and empowers young people and provides emotional satisfaction to coaches. To realise these magic moments, keep these simple guidelines in mind: • Make sure to spend at least half of each practice sessionwalking around talking to each kid, helping players with the skills they’re trying to develop or perfect. If they’re doing an activity well, tell them so. Kids like it when a coach (especially one who lives in the community) praises their effort. • If you help kids with specific skills, demonstrate the skill first and then let them try it. Avoid lectures. Just give children a demo, and then let them practice and learn. Instruct them without boring them, so they learn faster and better. • Regardless of whether they’ve mastered a skill or not, be sure to praise the effort. In most cases, kids will improve quickly, and a few will even exhibit mastery potential. But they need positive, encouraging reports of progress. Praise goes a long way when you’re coaching. • Adopt the…