What I believe is missing most from youth sports today are:
Coaches of principle who teach their players to be young men and women of principle.
We have too many coaches who are so busy trying to win and be impressive that they fail to teach young men and women simple principles that stick with them for a lifetime.
Here are a few of those principles Coach Wooden was taught by his coaches, and the ones that he taught his players:
1. The Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This goes for the opposing team as well as your teammates.
2. Two Sets of 3: 1) Deals with Integrity- Never lie, never cheat, never steal. 2) When things don't go your way- Don't whine, Don't complain, Don't make excuses.
3. Your character is more important than your reputation, for your reputation is who people think you are, but your character is who you really are.
4. The star of the team is the team, not an individual on the team, regardless of their talent.
5. Never flinch at failure. Don't fear making a mistake, especially when it leads to growth.
6. Be true to your word. Follow through on what you said you would do. Not doing so hurts you as much as it hurts your team.
There were many others, but the point is this:
Coach, Parent ➡️ have you taken time to write down all the lessons and things you want to teach your kids, and then distill that list down to 3-5 principles that are memorable and most impactful?
"Sports are about teaching kids life lessons."
It's something we used to say all the time but I am not so sure we are being super intentional about that anymore.
Anyway, food for thought. What do you want your players (or children, mom and dad) to remember?
