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Used by permission: Play LIke A Champion Today, Inc.
Support Champions for Children
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Frequently Asked Questions 1. Why is PLC an interactive program rather than an online program? 1. Why is PLC an interactive program rather than an online program? Unlike most other coach education programs, PLC offers interactive workshops to train coaches and parents. Although an online program may seem more convenient, the benefits of having a training session that incorporates interaction with other coaches and parents is too important to disregard. The following are some benefits of having an interactive, in-person, discussion-based program:
2. Why is PLC a mandatory program? Simply stated, we owe our children the best we can give them. Preparing coaches to work with children demonstrates our respect and responsibility for our children. Most youth and high school sports organizations now recognize the need for coach and parent education and the percentage of trained volunteers is escalating rapidly. Informed youth sports leaders are no longer asking “Should we mandate coach education?” but “How much coaching education should we mandate?” Coaches need to be prepared just as any other teacher is prepared through professional development and in-services. Research clearly shows that effective teachers know the subject matter and know how to communicate it effectively. The same is true for effective coaches. Although many youth sport coaches know their sport, many do not know how to relate to young players. Most of the problems in youth sport today can be avoided if coaches are prepared to treat children in developmentally appropriate ways. 3. But why should parents be required to attend? We make our parent workshops required because many of our partners have found that the PLC program is too important not to share with the parents of their athletes. Unfortunately, a non-mandatory workshop would only attract the parents who need it the least while the parents who need it the most may choose not to attend. Knowing how to motivate your child in sports is more difficult than it seems. After attending a PLC Parent workshop, most parents are very pleased with the information that they are given and gain a new perspective on best practices for parenting athletes. 4. What is PLC's philosophy on playing time? Because PLC regards play as so important to children’s development as well as physical and psychological health, PLC asks its youth sports organizations to develop policies that welcome all children to the youth sport experience and to give them as much playing time as possible. PLC believes that youth sport organizations should guarantee each child as close to equal playing time as possible through the 6th grade and substantial playing time (at least 25%) in the 7th and 8th grades. We differentiate the 7th and 8th grades from the earlier grades because 7th and 8th grade leagues often function as a transition to high school sports. At the high school level, PLC recognizes that an "everybody plays" philosophy is difficult to mandate. However, it is important for coaches to give each player as much opportunity as possible to play during practices, junior varsity games, and scrimmages. It is important that no matter how many minutes of playing time an athlete gets, the coach should treat each player with an equal amount of respect and work diligently to foster the physical, moral, and spiritual growth of all members of the team.
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