Coaching Young Athletes

How do you salvage a coaching session that is slowly slipping away from you? Here are some strategies that may just work.

Have you ever considered the type of things you are doing when you are at your happiest and performing your best as a coach? Here is a list of actions and habits that enable effective coaching.

The choice of possible warm up activities that can be used when working with kids is huge. So how do you choose what to use? This episode of the Coaching Young Athletes podcast discusses three key considerations to help coaches plan a warm up for young athletes.

Learning can sometimes come from the most unexpected sources. Many of these are not what we would usually consider as conventional coach development opportunities. Some we might prefer to avoid and some we may even fear. This episode of the Coaching Young Athletes podcast discusses 5 unexpected sources of learning that can ultimately enhance your coaching journey.

Particularly when coaching kids, the skill level within a group can vary considerably. The larger the group, the more levels of capability you are likely to encounter. This episode discusses how youth sports coaches can cater for different capabilities within a group of young athletes.

It takes a courageous youth sports coach to maintain a development focus with an "important" competition pending. Learn about how development can be delayed when a focus on the fixture is favoured.

How To Build Up Hours Without Breaking Down Kids. 7 tips to give kids a greater exposure to sports practice without putting them into a specialised formal single sport program.

How can we facilitate a learning environment that encourages young athletes to have a go and persevere? If the factors that contribute to positive experiences for children can be identified, the challenge for youth sports coaches is to deliberately attempt to replicate these factors within a coaching session. This podcast identifies eight ways to deliberately create an environment that will encourage kids to try and persist.

I've purchased a range of fancy coaching aids over the years - some quite expensive. Funnily enough, some of my favourites are the most basic and inexpensive of these - and probably those that you would least expect. Check out these inexpensive coaching aids that every coach of kids should carry.

Research indicates that external cues are better than internal cues for learning and performance. Knowing this and being able to apply this knowledge can be a game-changer in coaching. From playground swings to sport, learn about the power of external coaching cues and some tips about how to apply them most effectively.

The best coaches of kids are are discerning about what they include in their program. Any activity that appears within a session should have passed through several filters prior to being delivered to the kids. Learn about the 3 questions that you need to ask about your coaching content.

One word can make a big difference. Taking time to craft your language to resonate with your audience will make you a better coach. Learn about 5 C's of great coaching cues and how to use them.

What would you say is the most important ability that a youth sports coach needs to possess in order to be effective? I will let you know my thoughts and also discuss three broad categories in which I classify coaches according to their ability in this area.

I am regularly asked what type of training kids should do for a particular sprint or running event. Here I discuss my "running coaching curriculum". In other words - how I coach kids to run.

8 warning signs of really bad youth sports coaching. What NOT to do when coaching kids.

Five of the top things that I have learnt on my coaching journey so far. Part 5 of a 5-part series.

Five of the top things that I have learnt on my coaching journey so far. Part 4 of a 5-part series.

Five of the top things that I have learnt on my coaching journey so far. Part 3 in a 5-part series.

Five of the top things that I have learnt on my coaching journey so far. Part 2 in a 5-part series.

Five of the top things that I have learnt on my coaching journey so far. Part 1 in a 5-part series.

When should young athletes specialise?

How to measure your success when coaching young athletes.

Learn how to develop a "Top Ten Fun Chart" by finding out what "fun" means to your athletes.

3 of the Best Sports Coaching Articles I Have Read This Year