| FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. WHY INTERACTIVE?
2. WHY IS PLC A MANDATORY PROGRAM?
3. WHAT IS THE PLC PHILOSOPHY ON PLAYING TIME?
4. DOES PLC RECOMMEND ANY ADDITIONAL READINGS?
1. WHY INTERACTIVE?
We realize you have many choices when selecting a coach education program. Your options can often be categorized into two distinct types of educational programming; an online, individually-based program or an in-person, discussion-based program. The following are some benefits of having an interactive, in-person, discussion-based program such as PLC:
-
Respect - By providing the opportunity to participate, listen, and learn from others, we incorporate and show respect for coaches, experience and expertise.
-
Relationships - Through participation and sharing, coaches promote fellowship, learning from and appreciating the experiences of others.
back to top
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 major youth sports organizations now recognize the need for coach education and the percentage of trained volunteers is escalating rapidly. We believe that in the next 10 years all major youth sport organizations will require basic training for all coaches. Informed youth sports leaders are no longer asking “Should we mandate coach education” but “How much coaching education should we mandate?”
Youth sport programs must be careful about posing unrealistic burdens on volunteers, who are investing significant time and energy in their coaching. On the other hand, coaching is teaching and coaches need to be prepared as any other teacher. 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 were prepared to treat children in developmentally appropriate ways.
Voluntary coaching education programs often result in “preaching to the choir.” Unfortunately, those who resist coaching education are those who need it the most.
Coaches are most receptive to programs that are engaging and practical. All coaches want to win as well as help their players develop. The Play Like A Champion approach appeals to all coaches’ passion to win and their desire to help children. Although more than half the coaches who attend our workshops come because they are required to do so, almost all leave grateful for the experience.
MANDATORY COACH EDUCATION: THE PLAY LIKE A CHAMPION VIEW
<Click here to download pdf>
A. Expectations for Coach Education:
- All coaches, youth sports administrators, and Athletic Board members in Catholic youth sports organizations should receive certification by successfully completing a quality course on youth sport coaching. Ideally, that course should include a section on the role of the coach as a youth minister and should meet the National Standards for Athletic Coaches. The PLC workshop was designed to meet both of these criteria.
- All coaches should also receive “safe environment training” as mandated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. PLC has an optional “safe environment” module that can be added to the coaching essentials workshop.
- Ideally, coaches should renew their certification every two years either by completing a two-hour renewal workshop or by completing an advanced workshop.
B. Rationale
- All experts in youth sports view coach education as a moral responsibility. They have called for mandatory coach education in order to assure children of the best possible sports experience and in order to minimize the physical and psychological risks of youth sport participation. NASPE (National Association for Sports and Physical Education) worked with 140 sports organizations to develop standards for coach education.
- Research demonstrates that coach education is an effective way of reducing the incidence of negative coaching behaviors and of making children’s youth sport experience more enjoyable. Coaching is an educational activity that requires expertise not only in the sport that one is coaching but also in the principles of child development.
- Preparation is essential for ministry in Church, and this is especially true for an educational ministry.
- Dioceses are now required to provide safe environment training for all those working with children. The sexual and emotional abuse of children is prevalent and requires informed vigilance by all caretakers. The PLC program has developed an optional safe environment module designed specifically for coaches in order to reduce the number of meetings required of coaches as well as to enhance the effectiveness of the safe environment training by making it relevant to the coaching context.
C. The Importance of Participating in a Workshop
- Adult education is most effective when it is interactive.
- The coaches most resistant to participating in workshops tend to be those most in need of them.
- Workshops build community around the youth ministry and coaching values.
- Those responsible for sports programs at the parish as well as diocesan levels need to be involved first-hand in the education of their coaches so that they can be most responsive to their on-going needs and concerns.
D. Implementing Mandatory Coach Education:
- Enlist the support of key Diocesan Authorities: Bishop, Youth Ministry Coordinator, Religious Education (Youth and Adult) Coordinators, Pastors, and Athletic Directors on the parish on school level.
- Establish a one or two-year window for PLC coach certification. Explain to coaches the rationale for the coaching program and the expectation (which will be enforced) that after the window, no one can coach without certification
- Include assistant coaches in all training. In some dioceses, priority may be given to educating the head coaches first, but all coaches should receive the training.
- Offer training workshops in different geographical regions. Consider establishing deadlines for different sports (e.g., football and soccer in Spring to prepare for the early fall season, volleyball and basketball in the Fall, and baseball and softball in the winter.) Be aware that coaches may wait until the last second to sign up for workshops.
- Monitor your participation. Workshop should be held for no less than 30 participants. We recommend a maximum of 100 participants per workshop.
E. Funding
- Most PLC partners pass the fee on to the coaches.
- Ideally, athletic participation fees (charged to parents) can be increased to include the cost of coach training. This would create a shared expectation among parents for quality coaching. In large parishes and dioceses, the cost for coach education is $10.00 per child.
- PLC can help you to develop a viable fee structure, which is the key to a successful program.
- PLC may also be able to help you to develop supplemental funding sources as you develop your fee structure.
back to top
3. WHAT IS THE PLC PHILOSOPHY ON PLAYING TIME?
THE "EVERY CHILD PLAYS" PHILOSOPHY <Click here to download pdf>
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. Whatever youth sports organizations do to accommodate for differences in children’s athletic skill levels and readiness for competitive play, PLC believes that youth sports organizations should provide opportunities for children at all ability levels to play a substantial amount of every game. This means more than guaranteed playing-time. It may mean creating more teams to keep team sizes small, providing A, B, and C leagues, or establishing an intramural league to make sure that all children feel welcomed to play no matter what their skill level is.
PLC has become a strong playing-time advocate because so many youth sports organizations do not have adequate playing-time rules or do not enforce the rules they have. Too many organizations leave playing-time to the coach’s discretion or stipulate only token participation. Most organizations “try” to provide equal playing-time for young children, but the cutoff age for equal playing-time is rapidly decreasing. For example, leagues that once promised equal playing-time to children below the age of 12, now promise equal playing-time only to children below the age of 7.
Why should we be concerned about giving each child playing-time? At the professional, collegiate, and high school levels, we assume that playing-time ultimately depends upon an athlete’s ability to help the team. At these highest levels of sport, most believe that playing-time is to be earned; it is not a right. Why should we regard playing-time differently for younger athletes?
PLC’s response to the playing-time issue is a simple one: because play is critical for child development, a significant amount of playing-time ought to be guaranteed to each child. To place undue restrictions on children’s play is to deprive them of a significant opportunity for physical and psychological development. In many parts of the country, organized youth sports have almost completely replaced the pickup games of childhood. Adults have assumed the roles and the responsibilities that children once had. Adults select the teams, assign positions, devise the strategies, manage games, and officiate. Adults also do something that children rarely did – they consign some children to the bench. Although children sometimes exclude other children from playground games, children as young as age 7 generally find such exclusion unfair. When left to their own devices, children devise ingenious ways of including others and of compensating for inequalities of experience and talent. For example, children will add a “short fielder” to a baseball team if they have 20 players and younger players may be given an extra strike or two.
Parents encourage their children to play sports for a variety of reasons. Sports are a great way to get exercise, to meet other children, and to develop virtues of perseverance and courage. Most importantly, youth sports introduce children to activities that can provide a lifetime of enjoyment both as a participant and as a spectator. Youth sports are different from adult sports because youth sports are played by children whose bodies and souls are at an especially formative phase of development. Although some athletic prodigies can be identified at an early age, the trajectories of children’s physical and psychological development vary widely. Yes, children will vary greatly in athletic ability and in psychological maturity. This is true in the classroom as well as on the ball field. Yet shouldn’t all children have the same opportunity to develop to the fullest extent possible? We believe that it is in the best interests of each child and the sport itself to put a priority on player development in the elementary school years (through the 8th grade). Managers in Minor League Baseball have been operating with this philosophy for decades. The larger the pool of children playing sports by the time they get to high school, the greater the probability that greater numbers of exceptional athletes will emerge in high school and beyond!
If we can all agree on the importance of play for child development, is there any justification for denying children through the sixth grade (ages 11 & 12) equal playing-time? Some argue that practices are the time when all the children get to play, and children and their parents shouldn’t focus so much on the distribution of playing-time in games. We can all agree that practice-time is an excellent opportunity for giving all children playing-time. On the other hand, children are as aware as their coaches and their parents, that practice is just that -- practice. Practices prepare children for the “real games.” When children are forced to sit on the bench, they are being told that they aren’t good enough for the “real game.” They are being deprived of the opportunity to show off what they are learning.
Some coaches argue that giving equal playing-time puts undue pressure on less-skilled athletes. Does it really help children to keep them on the bench in order to protect them from the embarrassment of being “shown up” by superior athletes? If the youth sports environment becomes so threatening, youth sports leaders have responsibility to change the environment, not to remove children from it. Again, PLC reminds youth sports leaders that youth sports are for the sake of the child. Youth sports offer children an excellent opportunity to develop the virtue of courage and to learn from their mistakes.
Some coaches object that giving equal or substantial playing-time fails to acknowledge that some children simply don’t deserve to play when they miss practice, goof off when they are in practice, or fail to perform as well as others on the team. In our view, children below high school age should not be blamed for missing practices or for not putting forth sufficient effort. Getting children to practices is the parents’ responsibility. Motivating children to put forth their best effort in practices is the coach’s responsibility, as challenging as this may be. Youth sports should help children to have fun, get exercise, and to develop the virtues that will serve them in adolescence and adulthood. Children vary by motivation just as they vary by skill. PLC’s GROW approach offers techniques for developing children’s intrinsic motivation. PLC strongly discourages the use of playing-time as a reward or punishment. Playing-time is just what the words say – time for play. All children should have equal access to the joys of competition and to the physical and spiritual benefits of the play.
Finally, some coaches and youth sport administrators argue that guaranteed playing-time is for “recreational” not competitive leagues. PLC believes that this distinction misses the whole point. Playing-time has nothing to do with competition. Leagues guaranteeing meaningful playing-time can be every bit as competitive as leagues that do not guarantee playing-time. Differences in skill levels do not justify different treatment. If a child is good enough to “make” an “elite” team why should that child have to sit on the bench?
PLC calls on youth sport leaders at all levels to advocate for children’s right to play. All children, no matter how unskilled they may be, have an equal right to experience the thrills and challenges of competition. All children have a right to physical activity that can help to prevent obesity and related health problems. All children have a right to build character through sports. And most importantly, all children have a right to have fun playing competitive sports.
PLC challenges youth sport organizations to develop playing-time policies that reflect the values discussed above. Because circumstances vary widely from organization to organization, PLC looks to each organization to develop policies that are fair and workable.
PLC’s mission is to educate not legislate. PLC teaches youth sport leaders and coaches research-based ways in which they can optimize the benefits of the youth sports experience for each and every child. PLC trusts that informed leaders and coaches will come up with wise policies that will meet the needs of all of the children whom they serve.
back to top
4. DOES PLC RECOMMEND ANY ADDITIONAL READINGS?
Coming Soon
|
