What type of Leaders Do Kids Need?

Children often look up to the people who are in authority over them, people like their parents and their coaches.   

Thus, if you have a young athlete in your life, it’s important that you act as a good leader. But, what does that mean exactly? What type of leader should you be?

Challenge and Support

To start with, you should definitely challenge the young people around you. This means that you don’t allow them to not give their all. You always push them to be better, to play harder, and to take advantage of every opportunity presented to them.

And, while pushing kids is good, pressuring them is not. You shouldn’t badger them about winning every game or be too hard on them when they make a mistake. Instead, good leaders teach kids how to see mistakes or failures as learning opportunities, instead of as reasons to beat themselves up.

A good leader can push in positive ways, but he or she will also support the child every step of the way.  When you give a piece of constructive criticism, always follow it with a compliment. And, be willing to listen and offer advice when a child has a problem or just needs someone to talk to.

Avoid Fear Tactics

In addition to being supportive and kind, make sure you don’t fall back on fear tactics as a way to “reach” kids because it just plain doesn’t work.

Don’t threaten that a child will never “go pro” if he doesn’t practice. Don’t manipulate children with bribes to make them perform a certain way. Don’t do anything that makes a child fearful or desperate to win or to play to a certain level.

No leader is perfect. But, if you can remember that your main goal is to challenge, support, and ultimately empower the young people in your life, you’ll find it easier to make the right moves.

Simple Tips for Happy Hockey Parents

Most coaches are well aware of the fact that, more often than not, the parents involved in a youth hockey team are harder to put with than the kids. Hockey parents are often demanding, nervous, and a whole host of other things that can add stress and worry to a coach’s life. Fortunately, however, there are some things that you can do to make dealing with parents easier and to foster a better relationship between parents and the coach.

Tip #1: Keep Parents Informed

One thing that parents hate is feeling like they’re constantly being told what to do at the last minute and then being expected to drop everything and do it. To keep them from feeling this way, try and inform them of what’s going on very early on. In fact, as soon as you know what’s happening, you should be drafting a schedule for the parents of your players to follow.  

Parents should know, as early on as possible, when and where games and practices are going to be held, who is scheduled to bring a snack and when, and anything else they need to know. Try to avoid making changes to a schedule once it’s been shared, and you should find that the “team parents” area lot more cooperative and easier to deal with.

Tip #2: Address Playing Time and Handle it Appropriately

One of the biggest issues that often arises between parents and coaches is squabbling over playing time. Every parent, obviously, wants his or her child to play as often as possible, and when parents feel like their child isn’t getting treated fairly, there is going to be trouble.

As such, make sure you are being fair and communicating how you are handling playing time. If you are on a team where playing time is supposed to be equal, make 100% sure that it is. If those decisions are left up to you, explain how you make them and be consistent.

You will likely still have some parent complaints no matter what, but if you are fair and consistent, they should be fewer and farther between than they otherwise would be.

Tip #3: Always Be Willing to Communicate

Finally, even though dealing with parents may be the last thing that you want to do after a long day, make a rule for yourself that you will always be available and open to parents. Communication between parents and coaches is so important and can solve a host of problems. So, make it a point to always address any concerns or questions your team parents may have and to always be available to talk and to explain any decisions you have made.

If you can follow these simple tips, you will suddenly find that the parents of your players are a whole lot easier to deal with.

New Technologies in Hockey

We live in a very technological society, one in which new programs and apps are being developed on an almost daily basis. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, then, that new technologies have finally arrived on the hockey scene. Now, with the use of an iPad and the right apps, hockey coaches are taking their young players to the next level.

One app that is making waves these days is called iBench. With this app, coaches can instantly “drop” footage from games and practices into an online library, where they can then share the clips with specific players or the whole team. Coaches can even include comments to go along with the

action, making it easy for players to observe what they’re doing well and what they need to work on.

So far, most coaches who have tried the program only have positive things to say about it. Some of the positive “buzz” surrounding iBench is that it’s:

·         Inexpensive

·         Has great video quality

·         Allows for a video to be broken down into segments

·         Onscreen illustrations can be incorporated into the video

·         Can hook up to projectors/television monitors for wider range broadcasting

·         Works with the iPad air, which is very lightweight and convenient

·         Appeals to kids raised in a “video generation”

Coaches who plan to use iBench are encouraged to use it to point out both positive and negative actions of the players. Pointing out only the negatives could lead to damaged self-esteem and reduced confidence.

As long as the app is used responsibly, however, it can do a lot of good for individual players and for the team as a whole. And, with this app being so successful and well-liked, one can only wonder about what the techie world will dream up for hockey players next.