Entries Tagged 'Sports Coaching' ↓

We’ve been getting involved in youth coaching recently through regional football and the English FA, and have been paying very close attention to the ways in which parents, coaches, and spectators interact with the children throughout the game. Coaching children in any capacity can be an extremely rewarding experience, however it must be done with the child’s best interest at the forefront. We’ve witnessed lots of destructive behaviour exhibited by parents – not only from the men! – both on and off the pitch. This can be conveyed through language, tonality, body language, and other such emotive aspects of communication.

If you’re in a position of conducting or observing youth coaching, then watch out for these key problems next time you’re there. For the sake of safety of the children and your own reputation, we advise you not to turn up unannounced if you don’t currently have links to the training venue and the participants – clubs and coaches have a legal and moral obligation to safeguard the children and are within their rights to turn you away, which could cause embarrassment despite any legitimate intentions.

Common Destructive Coaching Methods

Negative Instructions

Adults often use phrases such as “don’t do [this]” and “stop doing [that]“. Classic examples I hear on the football pitch are be “Don’t let him get past you”, and “Stop running around like that”. The first thing this does with the child is to make them break concentration and evaluate what you’ve just said. Remember that throughout schooling (especially Primary Education) a child’s grasp of language is constantly evolving and expanding, but it is still limited, and that should be considered when communicating with them. Furthermore, it makes the child question their actions and panic next time the situation arises… “what should I do? I MUST NOT let him past…”, by which point the opposition may have already slipped past, further compounding the issue and leading to further negative displays from the sidelines.

Commiseration

Consider common statements such as “Unlucky lads”, “Unlucky shot”, and “bad luck”. Whilst spoken in the heat of the moment, they can adversely affect the child’s future recollection of the situation. They will dwell on how they had bad luck, and didn’t quite succeed. Focussing on the negative elements, whilst said with the best of intentions, can be detrimental to a child’s confidence and future performance. Remember that at this time, a child’s character is shaped whilst they react and learn from experiences. Working to improve this area can have a massive effect on the child’s subconscious decision making process.

Negative Body Language

If things are not going quite right, parents and coaches regularly stand immobile, arms folded, and exhibiting generally poor body language. This is often more destructive than negative verbal communication as it is visible at all times from the whole pitch. A child only needs to look towards their parent or coach for a bit of encouragement, and instantly sees negativity from the sidelines. This further compounds the child’s negative emotions and provides no positive effects. You’re dealing with children, and children respond to encouragement and leadership, not closed body language.

Verbal Abuse

There’s no point glossing it over as “putting them in their place”. According to the English Football Association, adults persistently criticising children and barraging them with negative instruction is a form of child abuse. Children respond badly to negative instruction and negative language, and venting frustrations verbally is not going to win any psychological or motivational battles.

Interfering Parents

Parents may think they’re helping by shouting instructions to their – or other people’s – children, but it’s only going to complicate matters. The only person who should be communicating with the players in a tactical capacity is the team coach. Clubs often introduce a code of conduct for parents to adhere to, which stipulates that they must refrain from communicating tactical instructions, and refrain from any negative emotion. Parents are encouraged to respectfully applaud good play and provide positive encouragement to the whole team. Negatively vocal parents and spectators only serve to instill embarrassment and fear in the children, which contrary to the beliefs of some parents that we’ve spoken to, it does not serve to “get them in line and buck up their ideas”.

Overly Competitive Coaches & Parents

Remember when you were a child? Was it all about the winning, or did you just enjoy going out and playing in the field with your friends? Of all the children we’ve spoken to, a vast majority of them value friendship and fun above any other aspect of the game. Winning is not often a consideration for the children, however it is often imposed upon them by overly competitive coaches and parents. Kids want to have fun, but their loyalties are torn because the coaches and parents are figures of leadership, respect, and authority. Their motives and reasons for being there are questioned. Their fun is sapped away as they begin to feel that they are there for the sole purpose of winning. They become demotivated if they don’t perform to “the required standard” as set by their parents, and start to feel despondent when they have a “bad game”. The children then turn on each other, critical of their performances. All of this is because of the negative impact imposed upon them by the very people who are supposed to be setting positive examples.

In summary

Whether you’re a parent, spectator, teacher, or coach, you should refrain from exhibiting negative behaviour. Some of the children present may have personal difficulties, troubles in school, be victims of bullying, domestic abuse, or other such difficulties. Recreation and team/character building time should be for exactly that purpose alone – for the children to mix, have fun, forget about any other troubles in their lives, and to be children.

A note to parents & coaches:

Remember these signs when you’re next at a game. Look out for them, be aware, and think of ways in which you can act differently in the future. Avoid confrontation and negativity, and give the children the support and encouragement you would expect from a role model.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments area at the bottom, and share your experiences. How would you do things differently? – We will be writing a follow-up article which explores the opposite side of the coin – how you should communicate with children during sporting activities. To be kept up to date you can subscribe to our Facebook and Twitter groups, or register to receive our newsletter.

It’s a fact that first impressions really do count.  Whether you’re in an interview for a new job, meeting new colleagues for the first time, approaching someone you like at a bar, or meeting your partner’s friends or parents for the very first time.

Any of the scenarios mentioned above are likely to be high pressure and nerve-wracking times where many people react in a panic, often resulting in appearing on edge, hysterical, or foolish.  It doesn’t take me to tell you that the first impression you are likely to create in that mental state is far from being a true refection of your real self (unless of course you are naturally on edge, hysterical, and foolish!).

A good way to handle the emotional intensity and worry of these situations is to take a few minutes in the days leading up to the encounter to align your thoughts and feelings with your true self.  You can use a simple technique that I personally use and also teach my private clients which will allow you to draw on positive and resourceful emotions and experiences in order to give you the confidence to carry these past successes into present and future situations.  As a result, you will be able to create a more positive and productive first impression helping you to secure the job, set off on the right track with your new colleagues, positively engaging the girl or guy at the bar, and helping the future in-laws to adore you!

Remember that a person’s first impression of you is based on exactly what you show them.  You can choose to act with sensitivity and compassion, or you can choose to act with guile and grit.  You can be creative and handy, or you can be contemplatory and philosophical.  Many people that you meet will know exactly how they want you to feel towards them and will act accordingly to craft your first impressions.  They do not sit there thinking “I wonder what they will think of me”.  They stand boldly and inwardly state “THIS is what they WILL think of me”.  Ultimately it boils down to focus, self-belief, and an unwavering determination to create the desired outcome.

I’ve used this very technique to help me and many others to produce the resourceful state that they need, and to attain the outcomes that they desire.  I regularly use this method before business meetings, when meeting new clients, and even in shops and amongst new circles of friends.  One thing you must always remember when using this technique is that you are true to yourself.  You may feel you want to push the boundaries and act “above your station”, but remember that you will always be found out eventually.  Over time people will realise that there’s a mismatch between the impression you’re consciously trying to create, and the person that you really are.  A classic example of this is with the reality tv show Big Brother.  Regardless of the group of housemates you will always find in the first weeks that people will act with a sense of grandeur and holyness, and it only takes a short time for the true personalities to come out, denting the trust, affinity and familiarity that the viewers once held.

The golden rule is this: When creating a first impression, make sure that it aligns with your true self.  If you act in any other way, it will eventually come back to bite you, and it WILL hurt!

“Enough of the pretext” I hear you yell… let’s put it into action!

The technique that we will use here is the “Lockbox technique” which is a mental imagery system developed by Break Your Limits.  The Lockbox technique draws on some of the best parts of several other methods commonly used by NLP Practitioners and motivational speakers throughout the world, and it really does work.

In a nutshell, the Lockbox technique gives you the capacity to draw upon any mental state that you desire for a given situation.  You can stockpile an army of emotions to fuel any situation you encounter, including excitement, fear, trauma, determination, compassion… anything you want!

The Lockbox technique can be found here: Creating A Resourceful State With Our Lockbox NLP Technique

Let us know your success stories – we’re genuinely interested in hearing how this works for you!

Professional tennis – much like any sport – is a highly competitive realm of top level sportsmen striving to be better than any other player in the world.  The same goes for football, golf, and on the less physical side, even snooker, darts, and chess!

Does it strike you as strage that I should draw comparisons between football and chess?  Sure it does… so allow me to adapt the statement a little.

Top level competitors strive to outplay every other competitor in the world.

Does that make more sense?  If you analyse any sport, you’ll find each player has their own unique technique.  To build a picture, let’s look at three modern tennis players, all claimants to the #1 rank in the world at some point in their recent history.  First of all, we have Andy Roddick, reliant on his menacing serve.  Secondly, Rafa Nadal with his aggressive baseline game.  Then there’s Roger Federer with his excellent all-round game. All three players have completely different techniques and styles, yet have all experienced the ultimate status of holding the #1 rank.

This does raise an interesting point.  If there’s no “ultimate game style”, then there must be another factor in sports performance.  Something that doesn’t directly boil down to the capacity for technique and style.  The hidden factor I speak of is morale.

How does Form/Morale work?

Whilst Form and Morale are intrinsically linked, we’re going to focus on morale today.  Form is a measure of relative performance over a period of time, where as morale is a measure of mental state and focus.  Form can affect morale, and morale can affect form.  We will cover this in more detail another time, however for now we will draw on the external factors affecting morale.

Morale is comprised of several influences.  Of course fitness plays a part in both form and morale.  Without being in peak physical condition an athlete will quickly lose a considerable portion of their performance and a resultant factor would be a dip in form and possibly a dent in confidence (morale).  So let’s assume all the participants in this year’s Wimbledon are of similar quality both technically and physically.  Someone has to win, and often the winner will be victorious by a resounding result.  How could this be?  On paper they’re relatively evenly matched.

What we’re left with is mental state (morale).  If a player is in peak physical condition and has the “perfect technique”, they are still likely to fall if they’re not in the right frame of mind.  You’ve probably observed althletes performing fantastically and completely dominating their opponent, only to suffer a dramatic twist in fate following an interval.

A great example of this is during Wimbledon, the English Tennis Open.  Players will spend hours prior to a game getting mentally prepared, running through a whole host of mental techniques to ensure they have the best possible chance of winning.  By the time they get on court they’re brimming with confidence.  They’re in the zone and ready to take the match by storm.  They win the first set 6-2 and the second set 6-1, and then in true English fashion, the rain starts to fall (or if we’re lucky and have good weather like the 2009 Wimbledon Open, darkness may stop the game).  They’re cut in their tracks, and head back to the dressing room holding a comfortable two set lead.  When the court is ready to resume play, the tables often turn.  The leader has time to reflect and is detached from their previous positive state, and nerves may creep in.  Conversely, the player chasing the game has time to recompose and gear themselves up for the gargantuan task ahead.  It then becomes a battle between nerves and desire.  It is at this time when we can see some big upsets.

Examples of morale in action

The 2009 Wimbledon Open has had a good spell of weather, so the only real distrution has been nightfall.  However with the weather unusually reliable, we’ve seen more quick and straightforward games than we’d have expected.  Here’s a few examples:

17 year old Oudin (124) beat 6th Seed Jankovic

After the game, Jankovicwas critical of Oudin, claiming she lost due to heat exhaustion and “women’s problems”.  Regardless of this, Oudin proved headstrong and focussed in defeating Jankovic.  Oudin’s streak came to an end on 29th June, just one match away from reaching the quarter finals in her first ever Wimbledon tournament.

5th Seed French Open Champion Kuznetsova defeated by #37 Lisicki

19 year old grass court novice, Sabine Lisicki has been incredibly optimistic and headstrong about her mental game, and it’s truly paid dividends as she defeated 5th Seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the 3rd round of the Winbledon Open.  After the game, Lisicki commented “It’s a huge win for me because before Wimbledon I had not won a match on grass”.

How does morale affect the game to this extent?

Wimbledon can cause many upsets due to the unpredictable weather conditions.  Players get mentally prepared and often have their games affected by stopping for rain.  When back on court they often lose their supremacy and concede to a slump in form.

Mental focus and Neural Programming is not only a decision that we make for our life ethos, but also a tools that we can utilise for an immediate and temporaryperformance enhancement.  The same is true for almost all facets of our lives.  Motivational speakers and performers often use such techniques to enhance their delivery on stage.  In football, Liverpool FC’s Anfield Stadium has the slogan “This Is Anfield” at the pitch entrance – a slogan which breeds confidence and passion in the Liverpool players, and in equal measure induces fear and nerves in the opposition every time they walk down the tunnel.

How can I use these techniques?

There’s a popular quote by Henry Ford as follows:

Whether You Believe You Can, Or You Can’t, You Are Right

There’s a whole range of techniques we could use to demonstrate this point.  I’ll go into them in quite some detail in a future post.  I’m sure you would find them very interesting to try on your friends and colleagues.  They can be applied to illustrate the importance of mental focus and positivity in all areas of life.  Whatever you’re doing, the same rule applies: If you unconditionally believe that you can achieve something, then you standa  much better chance of achieving it.

Naturally, this only applies to things within the realms of reality and your remit.  Clearly no matter how hard you tried to believe it, you could not reach the moon just by flapping your arms, nor could you sprint unaided faster than a Formula 1 car.

Where can I learn more?

We will publish a follow up to this post detailing some techniques for you to use to demonstrate morale in action, and also some tips for you to use to carry forward into your daily life.  I’m sure that these tips will improve your life and have the capacity to have a resounding impact on your own potential for success.

If you want to hear more, you can follow our feed, bookmark the site, orsubscribe to our twitter updates.

Have you got any stories of your success through mental focus?  If you have, we’d love you to share them with us below.

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Something I’ve often thought about when running my own companies is how little money I’ve spent on marketing.  In fact, the only money I’ve spent directly on marketing in the last few years has been on business cards and web hosting.

I own a web development company, so costs there are kept within the umbrella of my empire.  I also own a reseller print company, so business cards can be produced at cost.  Everything else I’ve built up has been purely on word of mouth and making the most out of every day events and interests of mine and my colleagues.

I have an interest in charitable causes, fun events, activities, and community projects.  Just in doing these things alone, I’m able to raise awareness of my own businesses and even incorporate some of the “good cause” into my business.  For example, my trip to Malawi in 2007 was funded by my web company, and whilst out there I managed to get to do some work with the Malawian schools, donate money to the Wildlife Centre through my company, and generally operate as an ambassador for my company whilst in Malawi.

I’ve been asked by a client if I would help at a charity event on 26th June (tomorrow… if you’re reading this on the post date!) for the children of Chernobyl.  Naturally I said yes, as it not only meets my core values but as a bonus it will be a boost to my company profile – I’m very much about promoting good causes, and in doing so through my business dealings also builds trust in my brand and the causes themselves.

Later this year, my Malawi trip will be funded partially by my web company as I’ll be conducting free of charge construction and IT work over at the Wildlife Centre, and partially funded by my new Sports Coaching / Personal Development company.

Whilst in Malawi, I will be working in schools and orphanages to deliver sporting activities for the children to help develop their interpersonal skills and to build confidence.  This will be operating as part of my Sports Coaching business, free of charge of course!

So as you can see, just by using a little creativity you can make excellent marketing and advertising campaigns virtually free of charge, whilst incorporating causes that really do make it all worthwhile.  There’s so much to be said for putting the expense of these trips into good causes rather than lining the pockets of a marketing agency.

If you want to do things closer to home, you might want to consider helping out at a local fair or sponsoring your local community centre.  If you feel like being more hands-on, offer to help at a local youth centre or community project.  There’s no end to the creative ways that you can get involved with real life and at the same time promote your business through ethical, cost effective channels.

If this isn’t your cup tea, there’s still a whole range of inventive ways that you can modernise your marketing techniques.  A good article to get your creative juices flowing can be found at the Creating Passionate Users blog.

Quite a pretentious opening subject for my first post, but it sure is looking that way!

I’ve been in the web industry since 2000, worked for web companies, set up my own Mancehster based website company, DigitalVibe, which is going extremely well. We’ve just finished a job for AND Digital, a Manchester-based marketing company (they like to call themselves an “Ideas Company”, because they aim to offer far more than just your traditional uninspired run-of-the-mill marketing). The jobs we’ve just finished are for Contour Housing, Go-Style (a project for Golden Square shopping centre in Warrington), and a promotional campaign for Night at the Museum 2 (for 20th Century Fox and Village Hotels).

So back around this time last year I made a vow to myself that I would withdraw from mainstream development in April 2009. Well two months later than planned I’ve actually gone and done it! I’m still maintaining the company to the same high standards as always, however will be entrusting all production work to my lovely team of designers and developers. This allows me to adopt a purely managerial role. Of course I’ll be keeping my hand in the mix to some degree, but certainly not to the extent of recent months (it’s really been hectic lately as anyone in my circle will agree).

This frees up my time to explore other business opportunities and ventures that excite me. I’m sure you’ll be hearing much more about all of them in due course! For now, a little summary of my newest ventures:

The First Hour

I’m working with two other people (one of which is Manchester Metropolitan University’s Business Development Manager) to build a web service dedicated to helping business people/entrepreneurs find professionals that they can trust.

African Work

I was out in Malawi in 2007 helping out at the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre, and have the opportunity to go back out this year. I’ll be helping with construction work, getting the education centre ready and then when it’s finished, kitting it out with computers. I’m also trying to get over to a scouple of schools and orphanages to go through some mental and physical activities forming part of the next venture…

Sports Coaching

I’m training to attain my FA Coaching Level 1 and Level 2 badges which will qualify me as a football coach. This is to give me a firm understanding and groundwork for an exciting new business venture with Jimmy Petruzzi and David Go-Shay. We can’t reveal too much at this stage, but I’ll keep you posted on developments!