How To Coach Youth Sports

The modern day youth sports environment has taken the enjoyment out of athletics for our children. Currently, 70% of kids drop out of organized sports by the age of 13, which has given rise to a generation of overweight, unhealthy young adults. There is a solution. John O’Sullivan shares the secrets of the coaches and parents who have not only raised elite athletes, but have done so by creating an environment that promotes positive core values and teaches life lessons instead of focusing on wins and losses, scholarships, and professional aspirations. Changing the Game gives adults a new paradigm and a game plan for raising happy, high performing children, and provides a national call to action to return youth sports to our kids.

From research that has taken place on youth sports, to the structure you should use when starting your team, and the importance of winning, this book gives you valuable information for you as a coach. A coach will learn the science of how a player learns and techniques to be used to increase motivation. The best coaches are the best teachers and this book gives coaches the most important tricks that great teachers use.

This book was written expressly for you who are coaching children in sports. We stress how to teach children to participate in sports and to have fun doing it. The most important thing is participation by everyone. Planning your training program and what you should have in it is the next most important objective you have. We’ve covered that in this book. How to prepare your training schedule and what you are able to accomplish effectively. We cover player rotation, substitution and fairness management. Progressive training is the key to getting the team working as a team. We have taken the children from kindergarten through the eighth grade and grouped them into categories. In each category we discuss the players abilities, what they are capable of in both the physical and emotion sense, and their limitations. We have also defined the coach’s role, the parent’s role and the player’s role. As a coach, we cover the teaching attitude and methods. Always keeping in mind these are children, and the games are for the kids. In youth sports, winning isn't everything, but learning to play well and wanting to win is.

The sport’s best guide, Lacrosse Essentials, provides instruction on the fundamentals that players need in order to start competing confidently. Coverage includes skills such as passing, catching, shooting, clearing, and goaltending; offensive and defensive plays; simple strategies; and plenty of drills and activities to speed learning and improve performance.

Leading USATF coaches present event-specific technical instruction and training regimens in this official level 1 text of USA Track & Field’s coach education program. Experts in sport psychology, physiology, and biomechanics provide coaches knowledge and applications to improve athletes’ performance.

The Christian Athlete is a gospel-centered guide that assists athletes who identify as Christians and are seeking to understand how to practically apply their faith to their sport. Athletes desire—and deserve—a more substantive expression of the Christian faith in the context of sport, but they don’t know what it looks like or where to turn to learn more. Author Brian Smith shares his story as an athlete and coach, and his experience working with high-level athletes in the last decade to help readers better understand how to integrate faith and sport by: Assisting those who want a wide-angled understanding of how to live the Christian faith in the context of sports Walking through the many questions Christian athletes ask about winning, losing, injuries, practice, and everything in between Moving Christian athletes from simply having clichéd spiritual sayings decorating their bodies or t-shirts to actually living out their faith through all the opportunities their sport offers them The Christian Athlete will show readers how to live out a biblical perspective on athletics and urge them to engage in the gifts they are given to glorify God whether they are the team MVP or riding the bench.

Two seasoned sport psychologists help coaches understand the psychology of young athletes and provide guidelines for winning strategies that benefit athletes in sports and life. They cover issues like motivation, leadership behavior, values, life skills development and other topics, enabling coaches to have a lasting positive influence on youth.

Written by the American Sport Education Program in conjunction with Matt Lydum and other experts from Hersheys Track & Field Games and USA Track & Field, Coaching Youth Track & Field is the only resource available today aimed at coaches of athletes ages 14 and under. Coaching Youth Track & Field includes activities specifically designed for young track and field athletes and fundamentals of all of the events in track and field (USATF and Hersheys Track and Field Games). Coaching Youth Track & Fields 73 activities and 32 age-specific coaching tips are sure to jump-start your planning and practices and help you overcome any hurdle encountered during the season. Plus, sequenced and specific chapters help you learn, retain, and reference in a flash. Endorsed by USATF and named the official handbook of Hersheys Track & Field Games, this book a must-read as you prepare to meet the challenges and enjoy the rewards of coaching young athletes.