2 Must-Do Things Every Youth Sports Coach Should Do To Avoid Drama
Posted on: 24 August 2017
As many youth sports coaches know, drama can rear it's ugly head and cause problems for the entire team both on and off of the field. Not only are there children competing to be the best on the team, parents may also be competing as they live vicariously through their children's athletic endeavors.
Sometimes, drama in a team can drive parents and their athletes away. If you coach a youth sports team and are having problems with drama between your players and/or their parents, or you expect there will be problems when the season starts, here are several things you can try.
Set Expectations
One of the best ways to avoid the politics and drama that come into play during season is to have a pre-season meeting with the team and their parents to set expectations. If your season has already started and you didn't hold a pre-season meeting, schedule one as soon as possible.
Team players should be present for the first part of the meeting so you can address your expectations of them directly in front of their parents. Once you are done discussing the things your players need to know, have your assistant coach take the youth to the field or to a separate location so you can address the parents. Lay down the rules and expectations, then allow time for a question-and-answer session afterwards.
Schedule Team Building Activities
Change the scenery a bit by scheduling team building activities for the players and for their parents off of the field. Team building activities can include field trips to area rope courses or obstacle courses and a visit to a nearby escape room at places like Bates Motel Escape Rooms. Team building activities can also include community service, such as cleaning up a local park or volunteering at a local food pantry or nursing home.
Team building activities can help you find everyone's strengths and weaknesses. That way, you can leverage strengths and work on weaknesses, which can help give players and their parents more incentive to do the best they can. This can help increase their level of engagement of players on the field and their parents in the stands.
For example, you may discover that a player who is usually quiet has the best natural ability for leadership out of all the players on the team. You can then utilize this natural gift to reduce drama by allowing this player to have a leadership role on the team.
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