Recently, I had the incredible honour of attending the 2019 American Baseball Coaches Association’s annual convention in Dallas, Texas. Being surrounded by an overwhelming wealth of knowledge in over 6,600 coaches and presenters was surreal; many of them were from high levels of coaching in the MLB, minors and Division 1 college.
One subject was brought up many times over the course of the youth focused clinics that I attended: How do we keep our youth from quitting sports?
We know that this is a very common and unfortunate problem that regrettably impacts both genders, most frequently in the junior high school/early teenage years. The solution to addressing the issue of youth quitting sports too early in their lives can be quite complicated due to many factors, but can also be addressed by asking a single question: are they having fun?
Steve Springer, a former major league scout and mental coach for the Toronto Blue Jays, presented at the youth clinics in the convention, answered the question best, “If you like to yell or get yelled at, join the army. Baseball is not for you!”
I interpret this profound statement to read that you should save yourself the grief and anguish and stop screaming at your kids, umpires, officials and opposing coaches and try to make youth sports enjoyable for the kids’ sake and your own.
It is such a common complaint from kids — and threat from overbearing coaching staff — to demand young athletes be bag-skated or made to endure extra hours of dryland training because of their misguided coach’s punishment for poor performance.
These coaches are punishing young athletes for making errors — errors that we want them to learn from at a young age, which gives them the important practice of challenging themselves and learning their boundaries.
From my experience as a female coach, I always strive to make it a priority to try and instill confidence in my athletes, allowing them to make their own decisions, learn from their mistakes and above all, have fun! Let them celebrate their wins and achievements; however small they might be to you, they are enormous to them, so give them that support and praise! More youth coaches and leagues would have improved success if they were able to get to know their athletes better and develop a more accurate understanding of them, laugh with them and break down the walls that can restrict the development of trust and respect of a solid coach-athlete bond.
While the probability of making it to a college or professional level is low, 100 per cent of kids should be able to experience a fun and respectful sports atmosphere, if we, as coaches, can learn to remember that giving youth a positive experience is much more important than strictly short term wins and misguided discipline.
To learn more about FAME and our upcoming free Female Coach Development Mentorship Program follow us on Facebook at FAME Medicine Hat or email ksegall@mhc.ab.ca.
Amber Harnett is an instructor with the baseball/softball academy at Notre Dame Academy and is a Females in Action Moving and Empowering committee member.
