Coaching Youth Sports - Keep it Fun!

Whether you've come into it willingly, or you were coerced - you're now faced with the task of coaching a team of young athletes. Okay, maybe not athletes, but eager, young, energetic people. Perhaps you are receiving plenty of advice, maybe you've even gone to the book store or library to load up on books about drills and practices - but before you get too far into your new role, there are a few key things to keep in mind.

Above all, keep it fun. If you're going to coach youth sports, you need to be able to ignore all the pressure and competitive parents (and squash your own competitive drive, or at least tuck it away if you are working with the real little ones) and just focus on keeping the game fun. This may sound simple enough, but it's actually tougher than it seems.

In order to keep things fun, you'll need to keep things moving. Chances are, your kids have been in school all day and are eager to blow off some steam and use up some energy. Standing around, waiting in line and taking turns are real buzz-kills when it comes to youth sports practices. If at all possible, the kids should be doing something as much as possible. If you are coaching soccer or basketball or other "ball" sports, try to make sure you have a ball for each person. It may make things seem a little more chaotic, but it will definitely be more fun for the kids and the more "touches" they get with a ball, the more confident and comfortable they will become as players. Utilize parent helpers or assistant coaches and keep things in small groups so kids get a lot of attention and a lot of touches.

When you're looking through those "drill" books, think outside the box, adapt drills to make them more fun or appropriate for the age of kids you're coaching. Try to "sneak" fundamentals into other games so kids feel like they're playing and not "practicing." If you're coaching little ones, coming up with fun, goofy or corny names for the drills and games can add to the fun. Kids will also let you know which their favorites are and you can use these games as "teasers" - "if we do this for 10 minutes, then we'll play XZY!"

Participation is a big part of making sure practices and games remain fun. Everyone should get to play as much as possible and should get to play positions they actually enjoy. Many coaches try to set up their rosters to make sure everyone gets to play every position evenly. Other coaches will let kids NOT play positions they absolutely hate (some kids really don't want to play goalkeeper, for example). Whether your youth league requires equal participation time or not, encouraging equal participation will pay off in the fun department.

Finally, safety is directly linked to the fun level. Games and activities should be fun and everyone should be kept safe. Introduce your safety "rules" at the first practice and make sure they are adhered to. It's no fun if kids are getting bonked, bruises and battered at practices and games.

Keep the focus on fun and off the stress of winning and losing, and kids are likely to stay active and eager to be a part of a team.