Spot on. I try and ensure that the children (because that is what they are) enjoy every session and want to come back. If they come back, they get better.
That doesn't mean playing a circus clown: it means balancing challenge, learning, skill and play. It's supposed to be fun.
That's the advantage of running my own sports club: I'm not dancing to the tune of governing bodies who want results NOW!
I’ve been thinking about this post a lot. It’s easy to pick out coaches who focus exclusively on winning as having substituted their own adult goals for the goals of the child. But, really, how different is the high school or college coach exhorting youth coaches to focus on development and preparing them for the next level? Especially when development comes at the expense of kids actually playing and having fun?
To a certain extend “development” can be just as much a part of an adult agenda as winning at all costs. Does that coach stressing development care about how much fun a kid is having or are they just hoping to get an incoming class full of kids they don’t have to teach to play man to man defense? Sure, that’s their prerogative, but let’s stop pretending they’re not more focused on their own needs than those of a kid who may not make their team.
I agree wholeheartedly. We listen and follow the advice of people who have a vested interest in the outcome of these players in their 20s, not the experience of these players in their teens and earlier. The vast majority of high-school teams I have coached did not have a player with the desire or potential to play college or professional basketball; why should we sacrifice their current experience to be more developmental? I am coaching U17, and the club's goal is to develop a homegrown NBA player and put player on our pro team, but my boss is also like, sure development is important, but we need to win.
I think the win at all costs behaviors to criticize are things like playing a 6-player rotation or running sets for 2 players to get all the shots or spending all practice on scouting reports, but these behaviors are rarely the ones that are criticized.
I think it was Bob Bigelow who said something like “The most successful youth sports program of all time is recess,” and he was right. Youth sports should be an end in itself— a healthy, fun form of exercise and physical activity. It should free the kid to go where THEY want with a sport.
Spot on. I try and ensure that the children (because that is what they are) enjoy every session and want to come back. If they come back, they get better.
That doesn't mean playing a circus clown: it means balancing challenge, learning, skill and play. It's supposed to be fun.
That's the advantage of running my own sports club: I'm not dancing to the tune of governing bodies who want results NOW!
I’ve been thinking about this post a lot. It’s easy to pick out coaches who focus exclusively on winning as having substituted their own adult goals for the goals of the child. But, really, how different is the high school or college coach exhorting youth coaches to focus on development and preparing them for the next level? Especially when development comes at the expense of kids actually playing and having fun?
To a certain extend “development” can be just as much a part of an adult agenda as winning at all costs. Does that coach stressing development care about how much fun a kid is having or are they just hoping to get an incoming class full of kids they don’t have to teach to play man to man defense? Sure, that’s their prerogative, but let’s stop pretending they’re not more focused on their own needs than those of a kid who may not make their team.
I agree wholeheartedly. We listen and follow the advice of people who have a vested interest in the outcome of these players in their 20s, not the experience of these players in their teens and earlier. The vast majority of high-school teams I have coached did not have a player with the desire or potential to play college or professional basketball; why should we sacrifice their current experience to be more developmental? I am coaching U17, and the club's goal is to develop a homegrown NBA player and put player on our pro team, but my boss is also like, sure development is important, but we need to win.
I think the win at all costs behaviors to criticize are things like playing a 6-player rotation or running sets for 2 players to get all the shots or spending all practice on scouting reports, but these behaviors are rarely the ones that are criticized.
I think it was Bob Bigelow who said something like “The most successful youth sports program of all time is recess,” and he was right. Youth sports should be an end in itself— a healthy, fun form of exercise and physical activity. It should free the kid to go where THEY want with a sport.