Hi Coach,
Before you dive in, two quick notes:
Join the Community: It’s a free place for coaches to connect, share ideas, and learn from one another. We’ve also consolidated all our free coaching resources there. Click HERE to join 500+ other coaches!
Join our NIKE Basketball/Volleyball Camps Staff: We’re recruiting coaches to join our staff for our NIKE Basketball Camps and NIKE Volleyball Camps. If you’re interested in working a camp, learn more or fill out the form HERE.
In today’s issue…
What a first-time coach needs to know
A recap of season 2 of the podcast
And more…
I came across a post from Wayne Goldsmith (a global sports performance consultant) this past week about what youth coaches actually need to know.
He noted that too many books and manuals for new coaches dive into the minutia of biomechanics, skill acquisition, and periodization.
While those things have value, they’re far from what a new coach needs to know!
Wayne shared this list for what first year coaches need to know:
How to put smiles on faces.
How to make training sessions fun and engaging.
How to help kids feel safe — and just enjoy being there with other kids.
How to show kids you care about them.
How to build positive, working relationships with families.
How to teach skills and techniques in an enjoyable, interesting, memorable way.
He posed this question to readers:
“What would YOU write in those first 100 pages for beginner coaches?”
My answer is below. Read mine, then reply with your list!
5 Things a First Time Coach Needs to Know
1) Their Personal Coaching Philosophy
Before a coach steps onto the field or court to lead athletes, they need to take some time to define their coaching philosophy.
My favorite questions to guide this process come from Joe Ehrmann’s book, InSideOut Coaching:
Why do you coach?
How does it feel to be coached by you?
How do you define success?
At a minimum, coaches should deeply consider these questions and write down their answers.
The answers to the questions above should guide a coach’s choices and behaviors.
I put together a more in-depth guide to help coaches clarify their philosophies.
You can download it below.
2) How to Build Connections
Great coaches know how to connect with athletes and create a connected team.
But it’s easier said than done.
It’s easy for coaches to arrive at the gym or field and get right to work setting up the practice and executing the plan and totally neglect to connect with players.
It’s not complicated, but it does take intention.
Here are some practical ways that I’ve incorporated it into my coaching:
“Say Hi, Say Bye” Rule - Every player must come say hi to the coach(es) when they arrive and say goodbye to the coach(es) when they leave
Welcome Them - Stand at the entrance to the gym or field and welcome every player by name with a positive touch
Shoutouts - End every practice with 1-2 minutes of verbal recognition by coaches or players for where a player lived out the values
1-on-1 Meetings - Quick 3-5 minute meetings with players before or after practice discussing what they’re doing well and where they can grow
Usual Walks - End practice with everyone finding a partner (including coaches) and walking from end line to end line of the court for 2-3 minutes discussing a few questions that are related or unrelated to the sport (credit to Alan Keane and Simon Turner of MVMT Sports)
Group Intentionally - Choose which players to group together for various activities, intentionally pair players together who might not know each other as well
3) How to Plan a Fun and Effective Practice
Planning and running practices is where coaches have the greatest impact on the development of athlete’s skills.
For a first time coach, it can be one of the most challenging areas to thrive in.
Running a great youth practice (or any level for that matter) is about designing activities that are enjoyable and develop skills that will transfer to the competition.
There are several principles that first time coaches would be well-served to follow as they plan their practices.
Maximize Space and Time - Get as many as possible, as active as possible, for as long as possible!
Break your team into small groups to increase the number of repetitions and decisions
A wonderful byproduct of this is that it reduces many negative social behaviors that occur with young athletes are standing in long lines instead of being actively engage in a repetition
Keep stoppages short and too the point, the players aren’t there to listen to you talk
Keep it Real - What you do in practice should reflect what actually happens in the game!
There should be high levels of variability and randomness in practice, just like in the games.
Task simplification is often needed for young athletes, but we don’t have to decompose the task and remove the information that is present in competition (i.e. defenders)
Demonstrations are often needed and effective for showing players possible solutions, don’t assume they know what you’re talking about
Compete - Make activities competitive!
They can compete against themselves (get a higher/better score than last time)
They can compete against time (accomplish X in Y amount of time)
They can compete against each other (it’s good for them to learn how to win and lose)
4) How to Give Better Feedback:
Delivering feedback is one of the central responsibilities of a coach.
First time coaches can deliver better feedback by keeping these things in mind:
Decision > Outcome - Reinforce good decisions even when the outcome is poor
Sports are filled with random outcomes
We want players to continue to make good decisions even when the outcome doesn’t go their way (i.e. a missed open shot in basketball)
Read more about this concept here.
Connect it to Your Values - Connect praise and correction to your values
Determine 2-3 core values for your team (grit, selflessness, teamwork, respect, etc.)
Connect your praise and correction to these values
Notice Progress - Get excited when you see a player grow
Players need to know that you see their growth
It motivates them to continue to stretch themselves
5) How to Lead in Sport Well
The coach is the leader that sets the tone and creates the experience for the players and stakeholders.
First time coaches should consider these aspects of leading well in sport:
Lead Yourself - Your ability to control your own emotions will have a huge impact on your ability to lead your coaches, parents, and players well
Lead Your Coaches - Aligned with your assistant coaches about how you’re going to run practices, give feedback, and handle common situations that arrive in practices and games
Lead Parents - Sports parents can tend to get a bad wrap, but the reality is most of them are just trying to do what they think is best for their child. Be proactive in your communication with parents. Give them all the logistics they need to knoew, then set the expectations for how the coaches and parents will conduct themselves.
💬 REPLY
What did I miss? What would you add to my list or what would your list be?
Hit reply or email me at [email protected], I read every response and will reply to anyone that shares a thought on this piece!
👋 CLOSING
Thanks for reading, I hope this serves you on your journey.
To your growth,
Luke Gromer, RYG Athletics | A NIKE Sports Camp Provider
P.S. If you’re interested in becoming one of our NIKE Sports Camp directors, reply “NIKE” to this email, and we’ll get on a call!
📈 COACHING RESOURCES
Here are a few ways we can help you grow as a coach.
#1: COMMUNITY 🫱🏻🫲🏽
Join the Better Coaching Community to connect with and learn from 500+ other like-minded coaches!
#2: PODCAST 🎧
Listen to any of the 135+ episodes of The Better Coaching Podcast.
#3: PODCAST NOTES & FREE RESOURCES 📝
Get detailed notes on every episode of the Better Coaching Podcast and other free coaching resources.