Motivating Your Athletes Throughout the Season.

Not the least of the things you can do is show that you care and will go the extra mile for them

THE INSPIRATIONAL SALES-manship speech, the pre-game pep talk, and the one-for-the Gipper gambit are still being used to motivate young athletes.

When I first started coaching, I did not believe it took much to fire up my guys before a big competition. The real challenge lay in motivating them to give their all in every practice.

Over the years, I learned a few things about creating a positive attitude and a sharp focus at every practice.

Keep everyone involved.

Help your athlete connect with you and all their teammates. Much is made of players "knowing their roles." Let every athlete know exactly how he or she can contribute to the team. Ask yourself: "If this player left tomorrow, would anyone notice it?"

Every coach would like to believe that everyone on the team is contributing a particular skill or something special to the team, such as dependability, a sense of humor, or simply a willingness to give 100%.

While it is easy to establish the roles of the more gifted athletes, it is much more challenging to connect with the athletes who are less gifted or less socially engaging.

Anytime a coach can bring the more difficult athletes into the fold, he or she will achieve a far more meaningful satisfaction.

Teach commitment.

Many young athletes have never committed to anything in their lives. To obtain their commitment, you must do at least three things:

First, explain what commitment means and discuss it with the group. Example: "Commitment is a promise to focus completely at practice and to conduct yourself with honor outside of practice."

Second, ask for their commitment. This will often take the form of a contract with the athlete.

Third, be explicit in explaining the benefits of committing to the programs, such as:

By focusing on success in practice, you can help the athletes block out their day-to-day problems. Players will often find that the things that trouble them before practice will become easier to resolve or not even be worth bothering about.

Learning to commit to one thing will help them learn to commit to other things such as schoolwork, relationships, staying in shape, social causes, religious beliefs.

Struggling with teammates to maintain a commitment will strengthen their bonds. Everyone struggles with commitments, whether it is something mundane like "Do I want to go to practice today?" or more serious like, "Should I go to the beer bash the night before the game?"

Committed athletes learn to support each other the way they in turn receive support from others.

Give specific praise, and a lot of it.

I learned a trick some time ago that may help coaches deal with the matter of praise-making certain they are being generous with it.

Upon going to practice, put four paper clips and a marble into your pocket. Every time you make a favorable comment, move a clip to the left pocket.

When you make a negative comment, move the marble to the other (right) pocket.

The catch is that you cannot move the marble back to the right pocket until you have moved all the paper clips from the right pocket to the left pocket. You can repeat this process throughout the workout.

You can make your own version of this practice, and it doesn't have to be with marbles and paper clips or a four-to-one ratio. And you don't have to do it all season, just every once in a while or every few days.

It is a good way to get back into the habit of praising your athletes and showing them that you appreciate them.

Another point on praise: the more specific you are, the better. "Good job" and "nice hustle" are better than no praise at all, but being specific helps reinforce the behavior you want. It a1so tells the athletes that you are paying attention to them.

"Good job running out the throw" beats "good job." And "way to be tough setting that hard screen" beats "Way to be tough out there."

Teach them what you want and why you want it.

If an athlete isn't performing up to expectation, make sure you are communicating what you want in a way that is getting across.

Calling an athlete lazy or stupid can be considered a personal attack Yelling is an indication of a lack of control. It is no way to teach.

If you want to change the athletes' behavior, you must have to tell them what they are doing wrong, what effect it is having, and, most important, what you are trying to teach them.

For example, if a wrestler has a tendency to reach back when in the down position, you might say, "When you reach like that, your opponent can easily slip in a half nelson. Let's work on sitting out."

Or for the football player jumping offsides "When you focus on the quarterback's voice you're more likely to jump off sides. This not only penalizes us but can kill our momentum. Watch out for the snap."

This approach to teaching will strongly increase your chances of getting the behavior you want. While it takes a little longer to deliver such a message, you can end up saving time by not having to repeat yourself. If athletes are helped to understand the whys along with the whats, your message will sink in deeper.

If you need to address a problem, do it in a productive way.

There are times when you may have to sit down with an athlete and have a heart-to-heart talk on a problem issue.

A few ideas:

Follow the same guidelines that you use for teaching and giving praise. Be specific, talk about what is wrong, how it affects you and the team, and get agreement on what you want in the future.

For example, "You've been late to practice three times in the past week. When you're late you either miss on what we've taught or we have to take time to go over it again for you. This frustrates me and wastes your teammates' time. You must be on time everyday from here on out."

Be prompt in delivering this message. If an athlete is screwing up, you need to get to him or her soon.

Be calm. Speak in a business-like tone that communicates the seriousness of the situation and that shows that you are in control.

Be private. If it is a serious conversation take it offline. If you address it publicly you will embarrass them. And they in turn will either defend themselves publicly (argue) or privately (sabotage your efforts) or quit. Remember, all you want is a change in behavior.

Follow up. If you don't see a positive change, deliver a last chance warning and let them know the consequences if they don't succeed. If you do see a positive change, let them know it!

Find out why the athlete came out for the sport.

Coaches have a lot of different reasons for why they coach--to win a state title, to have fun, love the game, etc.

By knowing your athletes and their reasons for playing, you can help them meet their needs and, at the same time, meet your own.

As a wrestling coach, I had athletes who had been wrestling since the age of six, with their eyes always fixed on winning a championship.

I also had newcomers who came out for the team only because they had friends on the squad and were curious about the sport.

And I had athletes who came out just to stay in shape for soccer and football.

All of them had different needs and different goals. The coaching and workout were structured to ensure them of getting the most from their time commitment and that I was getting the most out of their effort.

Set stretch goals for the individual athletes and the team.

Take some baseline measures at the beginning of the season that relate either directly to the athletes' area of competition (e.g., time in the 100 meters) or indirectly (e.g., bench press as a percentage of body weight).

Get input from the athletes to determine any special goals, such as qualifying for state. Then set targets that are within the athlete's reach but still challenging.

Make use of your team manager to record data and chart progress.

Better yet, wander down to your computer or business department and ask for a student volunteer to enter stats in a database and print out weekly charts for your athletes to review.

If your school has a media club, you might ask for a volunteer to videotape your athletes every so often. This will help you break down critical areas for coaching and will help the athletes see that they are indeed making progress. Anytime you want to improve anything, measure it.

Take time to help your new athletes make a transition.

Hold a meeting with your new athletes and invite their parents. Clarify your expectations, not only the rules (e.g., attendance), but also concepts like attitude and team-work. Bring in the seniors to talk about some of the great experiences they have had and what it means to be a member of the team.

Newcomers may have a sense of not belonging--of feeling out of place. Assure them that they are welcomed and wanted. Give them a sense of belonging to something big by sharing the team's history, newspaper clippings, and awards.

During practice, watch your use of jargon around the newcomers. Make sure they know what you are talking about when you use expression such as "box and one", "play action", and "cross face."

Also encourage your upperclassmen to develop a mentoring relationship with underclassmen ("Let's work on your technique"), rather than a divisive relationship ("Pick up my wet towel, rookie").

Give your athletes a reason to show up tomorrow.

Whether it is the last thing you do in practice, after a game, or at the end of the season, do something that will compel everyone to come back.

At the end of practice, it might be something like a fun scrimmage or relay to determine who hits the shower first and who puts away the equipment.

After a game, it may be simple talk about what they are doing well and what work they still have in front of them to meet their team goals.

At the end of the season, organize an awards banquet that will recognize your athletes' successes and the contributions of parents and boosters. Give them something to look forward to the next time they step on the field, dive into the pool, or walk onto the gym floor.

Show them you care[ldots]for their individual development, the team's success, and the future of the program.

Talking with your athletes about sports and their other interests is a good start, but listening to them is just as important.

Maintaining a focus on the athlete and the conversation and not allowing anything and anyone to interrupt will show them you care and are deserving of their trust.

If you say you are going to do something, make sure you do it. Meet your commitments.

The final point in demonstrating your caring is going the extra mile. Sure, some athletes will require a lot of attention and will often force you to draw the line. But you'll find that most athletes will give a great deal to the team and their coach and ask for little in return.

So, whenever an athlete needs a special piece of equipment or a letter of recommendation, dig down and give the little extra.

In Closing.

Looking back through the above, you may discover that you are already doing most of these things pretty well. But there are always one or two things you can improve upon, or one or two things that you can pick up and use immediately or save for next season.

The key to becoming a successful coach is the same as becoming a successful athlete--build on what you do well and continually add to your bag of skills.