This document discusses various topics related to coaching theory and sports coaching. It covers three major objectives of coaching which are having a winning team, helping athletes have fun, and helping with athlete development. It also discusses coaching styles, keys to successful coaching, communication skills, using rewards and dealing with misbehavior, teaching skills, and managing relationships. Throughout it provides examples and details for effectively coaching young athletes.

1. Coaching Theory
Sports Theory Fall

2. Three major objectives to coaching
1. To have a winning team
2. To help young people have fun
3. To help young people develop:
physically (sport skills, conditioning)
psychologically (controlling emotions, self-worth)
Socially (cooperation, appropriate
behavior in sport settings)

3. What is your coaching style?
Command…Submissive…Cooperative
Command (Dictator): coach makes all the
decisions, athlete’s job is to listen, absorb,
and comply
Submissive (Babysitter): roll the ball out
coach, makes few decisions, lazy with little
instruction
Cooperative: Shares the decision with
athletes (to a point)

4. Here is an useful analogy
Coaching is like a wet bar of soap, too
much pressure and it will shoot out of your
hand and fall to the ground, too little
pressure and it will fall out of your hands
onto the floor, but with just the right
pressure, it will stay in your hands and not
fall.

5. Three keys to successful coaching
1. Knowledge of the sport: knowing the
rules, tactics, and sports skills needed to
properly instruct the participants
2. Motivation: A coach has to be able to
properly motivate the athletes, and be
motivated enough to put the time in to be
prepared to coach
3. Empathy: Having the ability to listen to
the athletes, understand their feelings and
thoughts on things, and respond positively

6. Eight communication skills that are
essential
1. Pretentious Pete- Does not admit to
being wrong, demands respect, but never
gets it, the athletes tune him/her out
2. Nelly Negative- Always negative,
frequently criticizing her athletes
3. Jonas the Judge- always evaluating
his/her athletes, when athletes make
mistakes, blame is placed rather than
positive feedback

7. Eight communication skills that are
essential
4. Flabby Fickle- Wishy-washy, tells you
one thing, then does another, treats
players differently for the same thing (i.e.
fighting)
5. Gabby Glades- Constantly giving
directions during practice and games,
does not listen to any of the players

8. Eight communication skills that are
essential
6. Stewart Stoneface- Never shows
emotion, does not smile, wink, or show any
emotion, which leaves the players
wondering what he is thinking
7. Captain Gobbledygook- Constantly
talking above the heads of the players, or in
difficult contexts
8. Jermaine Jellybean- Frequently gives
rewards, but he usually rewards the wrong
behavior, or comes down very hard on
minor problems

9. Why do coaches use the negative
approach to coaching
1. Bad Habit: They are used to telling their
athletes what they do wrong, rather than
what they do right
2. Unrealistic expectations: Coaches may
forget that 14 year olds are not the same
as 28 year olds, and that even players of
the same age have different skill levels
3. Short-term success: can work initially,
but usually interferes with long term goals
and success

10. Using Rewards- what should you reward?
Reward the performance, not the outcome
Reward for the effort rather than the
success
Reward little things on the way toward a
larger goal
Reward the learning of emotional and
social skills, as well as sport skills

11. How often should you reward?
Reward frequently when youngsters are
first learning new skills
Once skills are well learned, you only
need to reinforce them occasionally

12. When should you reward?
As soon as possible after the correct
behaviors
Reward athletes only when they have
earned it

13. What type of rewards should you use?
Tangibles: trophies, ribbons, certificates,
decals, money and T shirts
People rewards: praise, smiles, pat on the
back, publicity
Activity rewards: playing a game rather
than doing drills, taking a trip to play
another team, getting to take a rest

14. Dealing with misbehavior
Extinction: ignoring the behavior.
Sometimes the attention you pay towards
the misbehavior is what the player wanted
in the first place, behaviors like clowning,
grandstanding, and other mischievous
behaviors

15. Dealing with misbehavior
Punishment: use it in a corrective way to
help athletes improve now
Punish in an impersonal way
Once the punishment has been agreed
upon by the players, give it to them if they
break the rule
Usually give one warning before
delivering a punishment

16. Dealing with misbehavior
Be consistent
If you cannot think of an appropriate
punishment at the time of the misbehavior,
tell the player you will get back to them
with the consequence
Make sure that what you perceive as a
punishment is not perceived by the athlete
as a reward

17. Dealing with misbehavior
Do not punish athletes while they are
playing
Never use physical activity to punish
Punish sparingly

18. Reasons athletes learn to fear failure
When the emphasis is on performance,
not learning
Unrealistic goals: examples
Extrinsic rewards and intrinsic motivation:
what is the difference, and can one
become a problem?

19. Three stages of learning
1. Mental: beginning stage that required a
great deal of mental activity to put the
steps of the skill into the proper order
2. Practice: This stage emphasizes
practicing the skill over and over again.
You will spend more time in this stage, but
your mental activity will be less
3. Automatic: You free up even more
mental capacity, which you can use to
focus on achieving superior performance

20. Four steps for teaching sport skills
1. Introduce the skill: make sure the team can see
and hear you, speak clearly and in plain language,
and try to keep it under 3 minutes
2. Demonstrate and briefly explain the skill
What if you cannot demonstrate it properly?
The demonstration should be performed from
several angles, and several times.
If the skill is complex, demonstrate the major parts
separately

21. Four steps for teaching sport skills
3. Practice the skill: whole versus part
practice, what is the difference?
Part is best for complex skill acquisition,
whole is better for simpler skills
Practice should be short, but frequent when
teaching new skills
Practice should also occur in game-type
environments, why?

22. Four steps for teaching sport skills
4. Correct errors: provide feedback that the
athlete can use to try and fix the errors in
the skill being performed

23. Take this quiz on feedback
1. Save feedback until the end of practice
so that you do not disrupt practice
2. More feedback is better than less
feedback
3. When an athlete is making several
mistakes, it is best to try and correct one
at a time
4. You and your assistant coaches should
be the only ones providing feedback

24. 5. You do not need to tell the athlete what
was done incorrectly, just tell the athlete
how to do the skill right
6. Give simple and precise feedback
about how performance can be improved
7. Provide frequent positive feedback
(Nice job!)
8. Use sight and sounds in providing
feedback

25. The ten principles of training athletes
1. Readiness: Speed, strength, stamina,
etc are largely based on maturation with
regard to prepubescent, and pubescent
boys and girls. Neuromuscular skills can
be honed regardless of age
2. Individual response: Athletes will
respond to the same training in different
ways (i.e. heredity, nutrition, rest and
sleep, illness, level of fitness, etc)

26. The ten principles of training athletes
3. Adaptation: the body takes a while to
adapt to training (what does that mean for
your athletes)
4. Overload: Pushing the body harder
than it is normally pushed
5. Progression: Slowly increasing the
demands that you place on the body

27. The ten principles of training athletes
6. Specificity: Train the muscles that you
use the most related to the skills you use
during the sport
7. Variation: vary workouts from hard to
easy, use different types of drills/activities,
cross training, etc
8. Warm-up and cool down: A warm-up
does what? A cool down does what? How
are they performed?

28. The ten principles of training athletes
9. Long-term training: It typically takes
years for athletes to perform at very high
levels, do not expect great things in a
short amount of time
10. Reversibility: Fitness can disappear
quickly if not maintained, a off-season
training program can help the athletes
come into the season better prepared

29. Topics for team rules
Player’s language
Attendance at practice and games (what
will your policy be)
Behavior at practices and games
Interactions with officials
Discipline for misbehavior
Behavior when traveling
Locker room behavior

30. Topics for team rules
Dress when practicing, competing and
traveling
Protecting valuables
Drug and alcohol use
Curfews
Criteria for awards
Trouble with the law

31. Managing relationships
Assistant coaches
Use their strengths
Make their responsibilities clear
Help your assistants prepare for their duty
Let your assistants be involved in the
decision making
Provide formal and informal evaluations

32. Managing relationships
Administrators
Understand what is expected of you
Stay organized (don’t lose receipts or
important documents)
Keep your administrator informed of your
progress, and invite them to your games
Give the administrator credit for their
contribution(s) to the team

33. Managing relationships
Officials
At home, greet the officials and show
them where they can get dressed and
ready
Treat them like you want to be treated
Avoid constantly harassing officials
If you have a question about a rule
interpretation, address it at the appropriate
time, and in a nice way

34. Managing relationships
Officials
Avoid intimidation tactics
Help the officials in enforcing the rules
that keep the players safe
Thank the officials after the contest
If you feel they did a very poor job, do not
use them again, or write a letter to their
boss

35. Managing relationships
Parents
They are ultimately responsible for their
children, so if they insist their child does or
does not do something (not a request like,
put him at quarterback [even though he
does not have thumbs]) you should grant
their wish
Keep them informed of practices and
games

36. Managing relationships
Parents
Remind them of their responsibilities
regarding equipment, travel, pickup, fees,
and behavior
Inform parents immediately if a serious
problem arises

37. Risk Management
Negligence: failing to fulfill your legal
duties
Contributory negligence: Athlete and the
coach/supervisor are both partially
responsible
Comparative negligence: A new way to
assess fault, with each party given a % of
how much they were at fault

38. To avoid legal troubles, follow these steps
1. Properly plan the activity (developmentally
appropriate, what does that mean?)
2. Provide proper instruction (spear tackling)
3. Provide a safe physical environment
(examples)
4. Provide adequate and proper equipment
(examples)
5. Match your athletes (examples)

39. To avoid legal troubles, follow these steps
6. Evaluate athletes for injury
7. Supervise the activity closely
8. Warn of inherent risks (examples)
9. Provide appropriate emergency
assistance (example)