In sports, coaching the most talented kid on the team is the easy part. But what about all the other kids? Specifically, the least talented kids? The short-sighted answer is to avoid those kids as long as possible until you absolutely have to put them into the game, but we know that is not fair to the kids, and really speaks poorly about the coach. While lesser talented kids likely won’t measure up to the best kids on the team, they are still teammates and are deserving of dedicated, quality instruction — or the same that is delivered to the best kids. Every kid in sports can be coached, just like how every student in class can be taught. You just have to care.
Coaching up all kids
Coaching the best kids in youth sports is fun and enjoyable, especially since they give you the best chance of winning. There usually isn’t a lot of coaching skill required to hand the best pitcher the ball to go pitch, or let your star running back get most of the carries in football. The challenge for a coach is not just letting the star player excel, but getting every other kid on the team to buy in, focus, and give their best effort. While some coaches ignore lesser kids and only play them when they have to, great youth sport coaches — like great teachers in the classroom — find ways to connect, motivate, and support all kids. Is this easy to do? Heck no!! But coaches, like teachers, are expected to make these kinds of efforts, and are reminded of the huge difference they can make in a kid’s life for doing so.
When lesser kids are given attention, treated fairly, supported by teammates and coaches, and truly feel like a meaningful part of the team, it allows for group acceptance that can lead to increased self-confidence and future success. Youth sport coaches can serve a far greater purpose than simply winning a league championship, they can serve as an instrumental force in a kid’s life that literally changes the trajectory of what the future holds — and not just in sports. When kids begin to feel as though they can achieve something in sports (i.e. earn minutes of playing time), they often begin to allow that confidence to spill over in many other areas of life, including academic and social experiences. Now that’s what coaching is all about!
Yes, every kid can most certainly be coached, just like every kid can be taught. Adults in coaching and teaching jobs are in great positions of power, and their efforts to connect with kids lead to life changing experiences. In fact, when you talk to adults and learn about their back story in life, you almost always hear about that great teacher or coach that made a difference. Think about that the next time you look down the bench at the kids who don’t play much, but might just need that one moment to experience something special on the field — something so special it propels the kid into thinking “I can do it” about far more than scoring a soccer goal or getting a base hit.
There is no textbook to follow when coaching or teaching kids struggling to succeed, you simply have to care. When we connect with kids in the classroom or sports field, we give them hope and a support system, and often that serves as the first spark of belief. From there, the relationship must be nourished with ongoing attention, and reinforced whenever small gains are made. Once this dynamic is in place, kids often take it from there and begin trying, bouncing back, and trying again.
Final thoughts
The primary role of a youth sport coach, similar to a classroom teacher, is to help kids believe in themselves so that they can put their best effort forward — regardless if it’s a soccer field or classroom. Adults play a big part in this, as the efforts coaches and teachers make to help kids experience that “aha!” moment where they begin to believe they can do something is what it’s all about. As the old saying goes, kids don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care…what a great reminder of what it’s really all about.
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