A few posts back I wrote about always being on the lookout for little inspirational quotes to have ready to say to athletes. Words are great but not as good as actions, of course. With that in mind, here are the three key ways to motivate athletes:

1. Attention – showing legitimate interest in activities that kids are involved with provides inspiration. Attending games, asking questions, practicing with, showing enthusiasm and providing financial support are all means of showing kids that you are interested in the same things that they are.
2.  Approval – positive words, well timed smiles, recognizing little improvements and effort help kids feel like a success and are inspiring.

      3.  Knowledge – providing players with fundamental knowledge and strategic know-how inspires confidence in athletes.

Post from: Positive Parenting in Sports - Raising an Athlete

How to Motivate Youth in Sports – Positive Parenting Actions

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     I work with baseball and softball palyers all the time because that is what I do for a living. Inevitably, when I begin talking to a group of players, many of them will immediately look elsewhere than at me. Is that a little annoying? Yes, but the thing is I’ve realized that it does not mean that the players who look away are the ones who are not paying attention. Some kids listen better when they are not looking at the speaker. So, I have learned to live with the fact that some kids will not be looking at me when giving a talk. What I have also learned to do is to ask questions after talking to see who is listening and to reinforce the spoken material.
    The problem is that not looking at the speaker is considered a sign of disrespect by many coaches. Players who are not looking at the coach, even if they are listening, are at a disadvantage for making the team or for being on the good side of the coach. WIth that in mind, parents should encourage kids to look at the coach when they are speaking as often as possible so they have equal opportunuties as the players who are looking at the coach. Of course, all players should be encouraged to listen and try the things that coaches suggest. 

Post from: Positive Parenting in Sports - Raising an Athlete

Are the Athletes Listening? Positive Coaching

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Positive Sports Coaching

Attention – Getting the attention of players can be difiicult. Their attention span is often short and when they are around teammates and friends it tends to be even shorter. A couple of techniques I use to help this situation was to allow players time to warm up and socialize with their teammates before giving a talk on what you wanted to accomplish at the practice session, instead of trying to get them to listen immediately at the start of practice. Secondly, I would ask questions about what I was teaching. I was often amazed at which kids were paying attention and which ones were not. Often, the ones paying attention were not the players who were looking directly at you. That is why a short question and answer session was useful. If players know they may be called upon to answer a question, they had a tendency to pay more attention.

 Believability – Parents and coaches must have some experience with what they are teaching youth if they expect players to listen and try what they suggest. If parents don’t know the “why” and have previous “experience” of doing something a certain way, then kids will have a hard time wanting to do it their way. When parents do not have that expertise they should research it (read books, watch video, ask other coaches) or have an experienced coach work with their child. Otherwise, kids will tune the parent out or tell them to be quiet when they play and practice, especially when a kid reaches a higher level of ball, or just an older age. Reaffirming in a positive manner at the appropriate time what the player’s coaches are teaching is good, though. Future posts will discuss things like “positive manner” and “appropriate time.”

Post from: Positive Parenting in Sports - Raising an Athlete

ABC’s of Positive Parenting in Sports – A & B

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