The quality of a child’s experience in organized youth sports is highly dependent on his or her coach. Good coaches both understand their sport and how to communicate this knowledge.
Consider your own education for a moment and how these two teaching attributes impacted the instruction you received. Most of us can recall a teacher who was very knowledgeable—but unable to express information in a clear, concise way. We sometimes were left confused, unable to connect the dots to achieve a solution. Likewise, we may have been exposed to the personable, good communicator who we sensed lacked an in-depth knowledge of the subject taught.
Knowledge and communicative ability—each by itself is insufficient.
Although coaches may use different instructional techniques and emphasize different aspects of the game, they must be knowledgeable teachers with an ability to communicate.
Teaching the game’s values
Besides being a good teacher of a sport’s individual and team skills, the exceptional coach also teaches his or her players how to enjoy the game. This enjoyment comes from many sources, not the least of which is an appreciation for the values of the game—those intrinsic qualities that keep drawing a child back to playing a sport.
An exceptional coach both creates and recognizes moments to highlight these values. He or she may purposefully set up a competitive situation in practice, enabling players to meet and surpass some challenge—and in the process, to help evoke within them important character traits such as perseverance, selflessness, self-control, integrity, fairness, self-confidence and leadership. Practice drills can be more than simply a lesson on skill development. Fun drills and contests can also spark a child’s mind toward a richer experience in sports—one that is filled with passion, self-expression, creativity, and excellence.
Likewise, during a close, exciting contest, a coach may briefly pause and remind his or her players of the moment’s meaning. Or possibly the coach asks a question—like the one Marv Levy, former head coach of the Buffalo Bills famously posed to his football players, “Where would you rather be than right here, right now?” This type of coach invites his or her players to look deeper, beyond winning and external rewards—to also appreciate the intrinsic joy of playing the game.
Throughout practices and games in team sports, the exceptional coach also recognizes opportunities to create bonds of responsibility and caring between players as they pursue a shared team goal. Moments of team success and failure can strengthen these ties. Respect for the game (and all of its participants) is another essential lesson that must be conveyed.
And through all of the above, the exceptional coach inspires his or her players to be the best they can be. Under this coach's tutelage, each player begins to see a possible path to success. Each player sees how he or she can contribute and be part of the team. Each player wants to learn more, both in organized activities and on his or her own.
Finding The Right Coach
As a parent, your goal is to try to find coaches who demonstrate the traits described above. Word-of-mouth recommendations from other parents, direct observation, and feedback from the kids themselves can help you determine the coaches who are the best fit for your child.
“Tough” coaches may be appropriate for your more competitive and confident child while coaches who employ a softer, more supportive style may help your younger beginner find his or her way. But whatever the style, the coach must first be a good teacher—one who can communicate his or her expertise and the values of the game.
Have you ever watched a beginning soccer or basketball player dribble a ball? Typically, this young player is constantly looking down at the ball—especially when closely defended. This behavior is understandable as the player has not yet developed the skills and confidence necessary to dribble the ball without looking at it.
Unfortunately, more advanced players often demonstrate the same behavior. When under pressure (or trying to score) they turn their head downward, exerting all of their concentration and effort on advancing the ball or puck past their defenders.
The problem with this behavior is that success in sports depends on knowing where teammates and opponents are located, where advantage and disadvantage situations exist, and how best to get the ball or puck to, and into, the goal.
To recognize opportunities and play your best, you must be able to see the entire playing field, court, or ice—and that means keeping your head up whenever possible. The ability to do so, especially when trying to control a ball or puck against defensive pressure, depends on your skill level and confidence. You must become comfortable performing these skills while focusing most of your attention on the action around you and elsewhere.
Developing Your "Head Up" Ability
How do you develop this ability? Even without watching a moving object, your mind has an amazing capacity to know where the object will be. Absent visual information, your mind turns to other senses. A kinesthetic sense of body position and visuospatial perception of spatial relationships take over. They create within your your mind's eye an awareness of an object's location in time and space. Using these senses, your mind can accurately predict where an object is and where it will be.
Although the ability to use these senses is challenging at first, you can develop it over time. You just need to repetitively practice your skills, reducing visual input as you become more proficient. Initially, try to use your peripheral vision instead of looking directly at the object you are controlling. Then extend the time you perform the skill with your head up and vision focused elsewhere. (For instance, while dribbling a ball, talk to someone and look directly at their face.)
Head Up to Preempt Defensive Pressure
But what if you don't yet have the ability to perform certain skills well without looking at the ball? How can you still succeed when you have difficulty controlling the ball or puck against aggressive defenders?
Well, keeping your head up gives you another advantage. It enables you to recognize defensive pressure before it’s applied. And by doing so, you can often avoid more difficult situations. By keeping your head up, knowing who is open, and passing the ball or puck to a teammate before your defenders arrive, you preempt the pressure. You avoid the potential turnover. And even lacking outstanding ball or puck handling skills, you still succeed.
Head Up to Maximize Scoring Opportunities
Keeping your head up can also lead to better scoring opportunities for both yourself and your teammates. Passing to an open player closer to the goal (possibly a long pass) is almost always the easiest way to score. But if your head is down, you waste these opportunities.
Closer to the goal, the same principle applies. As you drive toward the goal, you will likely draw defenders toward you. If your head is up and eyes forward, you can recognize opportunities to make a pass to an open teammate for an easy goal. And should you see the defender retreating to cover your teammate, you can instead attempt to score the goal yourself.
Also, by keeping your head up you see all of the little clues that can provide you or your team with an opportunity to gain advantage. For example, you may see that a teammate's defender is overplaying the passing lane and is susceptible to a backdoor cut. At the same time, your teammate may move his eyes or make some other subtle gesture to let you know that he also recognizes the same opportunity and wants you to be ready to make the pass.
Head Up to Avoid Injury
Finally, you must keep your head up to avoid injury. In contact sports such as hockey or football, collisions between players (intentional and unintentional) are part of the game. To lessen their impact and to avoid hurtful hits, you must be aware of player movements and recognize potentially dangerous situations before they occur. Likewise, you also need to be aware of balls, pucks, or other fast moving objects that can cause injury.
So if you want to play your best, and not be sidelined by injury, keep your head up!
The March issue of Sports Events Magazine included an article on girls and boys playing sports together. Along with Nancy Hogshead-Makar (Women's Sports Foundation) and Nicole Lavoi, I was asked to contribute my thoughts on this issue.
Some of my quotes reflect ideas that I've already discussed here. Others came from my answers to followup questions posed to me by Marcia Bradford, the article's author.
For anyone interested, here's my full response to Marcia's questions. (It provides some additional context to my statements regarding girls playing sports with boys.)
I received a number of interesting comments on an earlier post titled Another Reason Why Competitive Girls Should Play Sports with Boys. Some reflected strong opinions for and against girls "Playing Up" with boys. The last two people to comment didn't waffle in the least. One said, "Boys and girls playing together in competitive sports after adolescence is rubbish." while the other stated, "You are absolutely wrong...you are setting the interests of competitive female athletes back 20 years with this philosophy."
Well, the last thing that I meant to do with my original post was to diminish the opportunity for female athletes to enjoy competitive sports!
In some of these blog comments and a few related tweets mentioning @InsideYouthSprt, there was some confusion regarding a couple of points I originally made. So let me clarify the message I was trying to communicate.
"Strong and Competitive"
First, my support for girls Playing Up with boys was directed primarily at strong, competitive girls who want to improve their play. These are the girls who have the physical ability, sports skills, confidence, and desire to compete against the best competition—regardless of whether its boys or girls, young or old. There is little doubt that these girls (and for that matter, any athletes with these qualities) benefit from this type of play.
In a recent twitter conversation on this subject, an interview with Katie Smith (the WNBA star basketball player) was mentioned. In that GameChangers interview (about 16 minutes in), Katie talked about always playing with boys when she was young. Katie recognized early on that boys provided her with the best competition to improve her already formidable skills.
But as one person later tweeted, "Not a whole lot of Katie Smiths out there." My response: "True...but they're out there! Get the best comp, wherever."
I had the opportunity this last summer to meet and briefly talk with Brianne O'Rourke, a former Big Ten honorable mention point guard who played at Penn State. She was working on her outside shot with another friend of mine. Watching her, it was obvious that she was both physically strong and possessed skills that were better than those of many (most?) high school boys basketball players. As we talked, Briane also struck me as both confident and tough minded. In other words, she possessed all of the traits need to compete against males, and get better in the process.
Still another example is my local high school's point guard. Although not tall, she is extremely athletic. She regularly competes against boys in pickup games to improve her play. (One of the tips I included in my original article came from a discussion with her.)
Self-Directed Play vs. Organized Sports
The second point I want to reiterate is that the recommendations in my original article were mainly directed toward participation in self-directed play (pick-up games). Although my response to some of the article's comments made this point clear, the wording in the initial post unfortunately did not do so. So here again is the point I was trying to make: For strong, competitive girls there are few drawbacks, if any, of Playing Up against boys in pickup games. It's simply one more opportunity to find better competition.
Playing Up in organized sports is another matter—especially when it supplants play with other girls. Whether its boys or girls, Playing Up at higher/older levels has its risks. One of these is that the young athlete ends up playing team roles that possibly stunt the player's development. Also, young players may find themselves in a social environment that is more challenging (and less fun).
In Mars & Venus Have Nothing To Do With It, the blog's author discusses in detail his real world experience with both coed soccer programs and ones that were separated by sex. He makes a number of good points why, for most girls, play with other girls is more beneficial. Even though many of the girls were physically able to compete with the boys, the drawbacks mentioned above came into play. Girls played less aggressively, focusing their play on team roles ("passer") that were not necessarily in their best long term developmental interest.
A similar experience occurred at my local YMCA several years ago. Although the Youth Basketball League was coed (ages 6-11) at the time, the Y's new director decided to establish a separate girls program. Girls participation substantially increased beyond what it was in prior years. For most girls it seemed, the "girls only" approach was the better one—at least in terms of joining in on the play. Interestingly, there were no girls who decided to participate in the "boys" league (which was still coed and available to the better girls who wanted to Play Up.) I can't help but wonder if the strong pull of "community" was in the best athletic interest of the more talented girls.
Summary
So to sum up, here's my recommendation: Physically strong, confident, and skilled girls should always seek opportunities to Play Up in pickup games. To find convenient competition, this will most likely mean playing with boys. Regarding Playing Up with boys in organized sports, parents should think carefully about the benefits and drawbacks of doing so. The right choice is likely one that is particular to each girl and each opportunity.
Do you have any further thoughts on girls competing with boys?
Most of your players, if not all, prefer playing the game over the alternative—drills and instruction. It’s a rare practice where I don’t hear one of my young players ask, “Are we going to scrimmage tonight?” Even if we always scrimmage, the question is asked by players to try and get more scrimmage time!
Since kids enjoy scrimmaging, let's consider how you can use this activity to not only satisfy their desire for fun and competition, but also teach principles, skills, and teamwork.
Different Perspectives
Coaches tend to view the benefits of practices scrimmages differently. Some coaches believe that scripted drills and instruction are the most effective use of practice time. These coaches may think that scrimmaging is worthwhile, but only when his or her team is “ready” to scrimmage (i.e., the players have a good understanding of skill fundamentals and their team’s offensive and defensive schemes). These coaches see little benefit in the confusion that typically arises when a group of novice players scrimmage.
Other coaches, however, believe that scrimmages are an important teaching tool—even when the coach’s players are not yet ready to execute his or her strategy and the play is filled with mistakes. They view practice scrimmages as a means to help develop each player’s fundamental skills and capacity to quickly (and correctly) react to game situations.
Practice Scrimmages—Controlled vs. Uncontrolled
Before we take a closer look at the benefits of scrimmaging, understand that scrimmages can either be controlled or uncontrolled. The latter is typically where a coach throws the ball out on the floor and simply lets the players play. In this type of scrimmage, the coach is not actively engaged. Uncontrolled scrimmages may be useful to let players enjoy some self-directed, competitive fun.
In controlled scrimmages, the coach sets the conditions of the competition and provides feedback to his or her players during the play. A coach may bark out instructions as opportunities present themselves, encourage players when correct decisions and plays are made, and sometimes yell at players who fail to make a proper play ("John! Alex was open under the hoop for an easy basket. Keep your head up when you're dribbling!"). When a serious mistake occurs, the coach may choose to stop play and provide more detailed instruction. Controlled scrimmages are usually the best approach for both learning and having fun, so let’s focus on the benefits of this form of scrimmaging.
Connecting Skills to Game Situations
First and foremost, scrimmages provide a setting that helps enable your players to connect a skill with a situational game opportunity.
For instance, a basketball low post player may understand how to perform a drop-step move to score a basket, but does he or she recognize the moment when the opportunity presents itself? Is he aware that his defender is positioned such that he can seal off the defender with his body? Does he recognize that his point guard is positioned (or will soon be positioned) at the correct angle to make an entry pass? And if defended a certain way, can he or she quickly identify the available options to regain positional advantage? Recognizing these game situations, and instinctively applying an appropriate skill, are most often learned by playing the game.
Yes, certain competitive drills can simulate a game situation, and may be a steppingstone to learning how to perform and apply a skill. Combined with instruction, these drills may be the necessary first step in this learning process. But most sports are a real-time, interactive experience that often requires split-second decisions and reactions. The constant flow of movement, the opening and closing of space, the fleeting moments that provide opportunities to gain advantage, are best understood when players participate in the game activity itself. And in an age where neighborhood “pickup” games are much diminished, scrimmages in organized sports programs play an essential role in exposing players to game situations—ones that provide an opportunity for the players to learn which of their “moves” work, and how and when to use them.
Teaching Moments Abound
Secondly, as touched on above, controlled scrimmages provide the team’s coach with one teaching moment after the next. As the scrimmage’s game situations change, the coach can shout out instructions to his or her players, helping them to understand and recognize opportunities to succeed, and any mistakes made. This type of engagement by the coach provides instant feedback to his or her players, and helps tie a game situation to an appropriate response. Where a serious error is made, or an opportunity missed, the coach can stop play altogether and instruct the player(s) on how they should have reacted or performed. The instruction that arises out of a controlled scrimmage can be especially helpful to beginners.
Setting a Scrimmage’s Conditions
Another important aspect of a controlled scrimmage is that the coach sets the conditions within which the play takes place. A coach can change the conditions as needed to help teach certain behaviors.
Each sport is different, but you can usually modify either the number of players on each team or the rules to emphasize a certain skill or principle. By reducing the number of players on each team, you can change the game’s dynamics (i.e., more space, more one-on-one opportunities, more ball touches) and also stress certain skills. Modifying the rules accomplishes a similar result, and also gives you the opportunity to change behaviors and tendencies that are unproductive.
For example, in youth basketball, many kids tend to dribble too much—often with their head down and concentration fixed on the ball or defender. The desired behavior is for the player to dribble the ball with their head up and see the court, always looking for opportunities to pass the ball to an open teammate and quickly advance the ball up the court. To help young players better understand this concept and break their tendency to dribble with their head down, I will occasionally scrimmage five-on-five—but with one important rule change:
Players are only allowed to dribble (one time) when converting a layup. At all other times, the player who receives a pass must advance the ball down the court by making another pass.
Players typically struggle with this rule at first, continuing to immediately dribble the ball upon receiving a pass. But after blowing my whistle a few times, they begin to make the proper plays.
What does this one rule change accomplish? Players who have the ball quickly realize that they need to keep their head up and have an idea where their teammates are located on the court. They find that upon making a pass they must move to get open (“move without the ball”) to again receive the ball. They learn that they cannot run away from the ball, but must instead go toward it when no other teammate is open. They realize the importance of being in control of their body when receiving a pass. They become aware that passing can move the ball down the court faster than dribbling. They learn how to play as a team.
Leverage FUN
Try to see beyond a practice comprised only of drills and instruction. Allocate time for scrimmaging in each practice. Even though your players are beginners, and your practice scrimmages full of confusion, use these scrimmages to better develop your players’ understanding of game situations and provide them with a measure of competitive fun.
Engage your players while scrimmaging, taking advantage of teaching moments as they arise. Use your imagination to modify the scrimmage’s rules to fit your teaching purposes (and refer to coaching books specific to your sport for additional ideas). You will find that your players enjoy these slightly twisted rules and modified scrimmages.
If you read enough articles about youth sports, it's hard not to come away with the belief that pickup games are dead. That with the rise of technology, two paycheck families, and safety concerns, this form of sports play is a quaint relic of our past. Great back then, but impossible now.
The baby-boomers of course still prattle on about how they spent much of their youth outside playing neighborhood games of pickup baseball, football, and basketball; how their moms used to kick them outside, telling them not to come back until lunch or dinner. But modern parents and youth sports pundits know better. Society has changed, kids are different, and youth sports reflect this new reality.
The golden age of pickup is dead—forever rest in peace. Hail to the new age of organized sports!
Or so it would seem if you believe all you read.
But wait, not so fast... Like the elderly man being hauled away in that old Monty Python movie, The Holy Grail, the spirit of pickup play is crying out, “I’m not dead yet!” Pickup games are alive—at least in the sport of basketball. Take a look at the short video clip below. (I shot this a few weekends ago at my local YMCA.)
As you can see, the gym was filled with kids (of all ages) playing pickup basketball. There was a full-court game going on and kids shooting and playing on the side baskets. Other kids were on the sidelines waiting to play; many of whom were talking with their friends.
Technology was also on the sideline. Cellphones were laying on the floor near the wall (and many other phones were undoubtedly tucked away in sweatshirt pockets). Occasionally, a kid picked up a phone and checked for new messages. But technology wasn't winning kids' mind share in this gym—self-directed play was. Face-to-face, physical interaction was crushing "social networking."
I've coached several of these kids and am aware that they play on local school teams. They get plenty of exercise and basketball. But as this video shows, they still want to play in a more social setting with their friends (many of whom do not play on the school teams). They want to have fun—but a different type of fun than they experience playing organized sports.
Other kids, who either don't have the ability or desire to play on the school teams, were also on the court and sidelines. They were having fun, socializing, and getting exercise.
So what's going on here?
It sure doesn't look to me that kids have given up on pickup games. So why do so many proclaim that self-directed play is largely a thing of the past?
The Culture of Self-Directed Play
Pickup basketball games are alive and well at my local YMCA for a couple of reasons. First, the Y provides kids with a central gathering place. It’s a semi-supervised, safe setting in which kids can play basketball the way they want and need. The YMCA also serves a second purpose—the culture of playing pickup basketball is passed on within its walls. Older kids watch adults play pickup games and younger kids watch teenagers do the same. This transfer of culture and experience fuels the pickup game engine.
Unfortunately, things have changed in other sports (and settings).
Neighborhood games in baseball, basketball, and football once had the same transfer mechanism at work. Younger kids played with older kids, emulating their play. The culture of pickup play in the "big three" sports was continually passed on within neighborhoods. But not so much anymore. Basketball rims are still plentiful in driveways and streets, but the kids are not.
Other team sports in the USA—such as soccer, hockey, and lacrosse—never shared this same rich tradition of neighborhood pickup play. Kids have always played these sports mainly within adult-run organized programs. (One might even argue that youth soccer's growth helped fuel the overall cultural movement in the USA toward organized sports play.)
But even in these sports, there's evidence that the culture of pickup play both exists and is beneficial to the development of young players. A 2010 article, Dempsey a poster child for casual play, describes how Clint Dempsey—one of the USA's best soccer players—developed his creative style by playing "street soccer" in his youth. Other articles have discussed how soccer excellence in countries such as Brazil stem from a wide base of youth who play pickup.
So despite a healthy culture of pickup basketball at my Y, there's little doubt that the traditional pickup culture in several sports has diminished over the last few decades. And in those sports (soccer) where pickup games always played a minor role, organized sports continue to be the preferred form of play. Considering the benefits of self-directed play, why has this happened?
Are Parents Limiting Opportunities for Self-Directed Play?
We've all heard about how our world has changed and how it's affected youth sports. Neighborhoods are more dangerous; stay-at-home moms are an anachronism; and many kids prefer their electronics to pickup games. To some degree, these observations are accurate. But are they the cause of self-directed play's reduced role in sports play?
In talking with a good friend who is the father of a young boy, he made an astute observation: "One of the biggest problems is that kids are over-scheduled. They don't play neighborhood pickup games because they're all off participating in organized activities. I would like my boy to play more pickup, but I also don't want him sitting around by himself playing games on his XBox."
Despite a neighborhood full of kids, no one is around to play. As a result, my friend feels he needs to sign his boy up for multiple organized sports.
Over-scheduling children in organized activities is but one example of how parental choice affects self-directed play. Other examples include limiting self-directed play because of safety concerns and choosing organized sports because the "experts" says this is the best developmental approach.
Whether these choices are rooted in parental fear, a misguided belief that all knowledge must come from adult instruction, or some other motivation, it is about choices. It's about how parental choices affect a child's opportunity to experience sports.
Are Today's Kids Different?
What about the kids themselves? Is this generation that different from past ones? The above video would suggest otherwise; it certainly seems that the core issue isn't kids who just want to play on their computers and XBox 360 all day.
Kids still want to play pickup in sports like basketball. And there's no inherent reason why they can't also do so in other team sports. Each sport has its small-sided games and other variations of play that can readily provide neighborhood fun for kids. Expensive equipment is not needed to engage in this type of sports play.
So let's put aside the mistaken notion that kids have inherently changed, that technology has corrupted their desire to play sports on their own, or that our "new" society has irrevocably changed what we can and should value.
What today's kids do need is more exposure to each sport's respective culture of pickup play. And just like kids from past generations, today's kids need the opportunity to engage in self-directed play.
Seek Solutions
As I've discussed in other articles and in my book, The Joy of Youth Sports, pickup games provide kids with many benefits—ones not easily replicated in an organized sports setting. Because of this, let's not casually toss pickup games on the scrap pile of history along with our VCRs and Walkmans. Let's instead seek some innovative solutions to strengthen this valuable form of play.
Technology can work for and against self-directed play. Although it may draw some kids away from playing sports, it also potentially provides answers to some of today's problems that inhibit self-directed play. Texting and social media provide kids with tools to more easily communicate and organize pickup games. For parents concerned about safety, mobile phones provide parents with easy access to their child and his or her location. Inexpensive cameras can also provide additional monitoring where needed. Consider how these technologies might be used to create safe play environments in neighborhoods with fewer stay-at-home parents. Like the semi-supervised setting of basketball at my YMCA, is there an opportunity to create similar settings for other sports?
Beyond technology, youth sports advocates and parents should step back and reevaluate their perspective on various issues related to children's play. Consider whether safety is a real issue in your child's play environment, or one driven more by our society's expanded awareness of every tragedy that occurs. Reevaluate the risk/benefit ratio and the best way to manage the risk component.
We also need to better understand why boys readily engage in pickup games, but girls do not. With the emphasis on getting more girls involved in sports via organized activities, have we distorted how they experience sports? And more importantly, have we distorted parents' view of how all children should play sports?
Pickup games are too important to let them casually fade into the night. Let's do all we can to create the best, most balanced opportunity for kids to enjoy sports.
Do you have any innovative ideas on how to promote self-directed play and pickup games?
