My son got home from volleyball practice and we got talking about it. Volleyball is a new thing for him and new things can sometimes be a little intimidating. Sports come fraught with social complications for kids. Lay the competitiveness of sports on top of already complex social situations with youth and physical development, and it can be messy. Boys are the worst at this. Go into the locker room after a game, especially a losing game, and you'll see what I mean.
So I was pleasantly surprised when I heard about the practice of 'kudos time' at the end of volleyball practice. The team huddles up and players exchange kudos - who did what well. Simple, but brilliant. Anything that we as coaches can do to encourage behavior that builds up one another is important. It's important for team performance and for the development of Godly young men and women.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Friday, January 8, 2016
Mid Season Get Together
In the middle of my son's basketball season. The coach invited the JV team over for pizza and game video reviews. Lessons learned:
A mid season get together is so simple to do (just show up with pizza) and very effective. Get the kids together just to talk and hang out.
Often kids develop a kind of social hierarchy during practices and games. A mid season get together helps to break that down.
Reviewing game videos together is really valuable. I always posted them to youtube with links on FB, but getting together to review really focuses attention.
Getting critical feedback while watching game videos in front of peers is hard for kids. The coach just wants to point out areas for improvement. The players hear criticism. It's hard, but important.
Rant: people don't handle feedback well. Almost never. Too many complicated rules: don't give me feedback on that, your tone was wrong, you've given me too much, how are you qualified, etc. It's bad. Ask people if they want feedback and they'll gush and say 'oh yes please'. In reality, not so much. We suck at getting feedback. Doing this review with kids helps to equip them for taking feedback better as they get older.
Time is tight for all of this, but this is low hanging fruit and easy to do!
A mid season get together is so simple to do (just show up with pizza) and very effective. Get the kids together just to talk and hang out.
Often kids develop a kind of social hierarchy during practices and games. A mid season get together helps to break that down.
Reviewing game videos together is really valuable. I always posted them to youtube with links on FB, but getting together to review really focuses attention.
Getting critical feedback while watching game videos in front of peers is hard for kids. The coach just wants to point out areas for improvement. The players hear criticism. It's hard, but important.
Rant: people don't handle feedback well. Almost never. Too many complicated rules: don't give me feedback on that, your tone was wrong, you've given me too much, how are you qualified, etc. It's bad. Ask people if they want feedback and they'll gush and say 'oh yes please'. In reality, not so much. We suck at getting feedback. Doing this review with kids helps to equip them for taking feedback better as they get older.
Time is tight for all of this, but this is low hanging fruit and easy to do!
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