Viking Coach

http://www2.oprah.com/videochannel/videochannel_player.jhtml?video=1178&category=31

Do you want to be inspired? Go to the above web site!!!

This site shows clips from one of Oprah Winfry's shows. This particular clip has the "Last Lecture" of Professor Randy Pausch. Pausch is a college professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He is dying of cancer and he share his final thoughts.

After you watch this video, I challenge you to consider the following things:

A) If your child isn't getting exactly what they want out of sports are you still encouraging them to participate because the experience still has great value?

B) Are you raising your child to pick up the "sledge hammer" when they run up against the "Brick Walls" in life or do you try to solve their problems for them or even worse allow them to quit when times get tough?

C) Are you a Tigger or and Eeyore?
**Are you working hard to support not only your child but also your child's team?(Tigger)

**Do you instantly go into a negative, complaining or whining, mode when your child becomes disappointed with his or her role on the team(Eeyore)

**Do you stay upbeat and positive in your discussions with your child as you help them find the best way in which to handle the "downs" of sports?(Tigger)

D) When it comes to your child's participation in sports, do you need a "Jackie Robinson" clause put into your parent contract.

Helping your child handle the challenges of sports in the same manner as Professor Randy Pausch hopes his boys live their lives may not lead to the playing time, the starting spot or the "star status" that your child desires. . . or that you may desire for your child. . . but the lessons learned will help them live a better life!

I totally believe that professor Pausch has it right when he says if you live life like a "Tigger" the Karma will come. . . the dreams will come. . .

Think about it!

Our junior high season begins on October 15th!!! I'm finally finding the time to start mentally preparing for the October to March journey that is the basketball season.

Times have changed in the junior high sporting world. The experience of junior high basketball is much different than when many parents trotted onto the court for the first time.

The biggest change is the fact that kids are being introduced to the game of basketball at a much earlier age. An elementary team can pretty much find a youth basketball tournament to attend every month of the year.

Junior high used to be the time for kids to experiment and see if basketball was a sport to their liking but now the junior high season has become an athlete’s "second step" in their growth as a player. By the time a player has reached seventh grade basketball, he/she has already played organized basketball for two to four years.

This has caused me to wonder how competitive we should be at the junior high level and do we need to have a paradigm shift when it comes to junior high sports?

I really believe that in order to be highly successful at the varsity level you need to start instilling a winning attitude at the junior high level.

CLARIFICATION: Sports are totally wrapped around competition so I am writing this with the belief that winning is one of the higher goals of sports. If winning wasn't one of the main objectives of varsity sports, they wouldn't have scoreboards or keep track of wins and losses in the paper.

UNDERSTANDING: I am not saying that there are not a number of other important aspects to sports. The lessons you can learn from sports is immeasurable no matter if you are on a winning team or not. Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee, noted that the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well." So yes I believe that winning isn't everything but I also know that losing can be detrimental to a program.

By playing to win at the junior high level, you risk the possibility that there will be players who get discouraged. This discouragement develops out of the imbalance of playing time that would occur. To go along with there will also be some parents who will also become frustrated if their child is not getting equal playing time. This will occur quite naturally in parents and in the athlete because of the desire for the child to experience success.

There will even be parents who buy into the philosophy of playing the better players in an attempt to win ball games until they see that their child is one of the players who receives less playing time. I'm not saying that this "fip-flop" in feelings is wrong. I think it is a very normal reaction for a parent to want more for their child. In fact, I have a lot of empathy for the athlete on the bench and it comes from my own personal experiences.

Growing up in Mahnomen, Minnesota my experience in junior high basketball would make some of today's parents have the athletic director on speed dial. I played a lot. . .when we were comfortably ahead or if we were way behind. I was the player who got into the game in the last two minutes. I doubt if I was happy about it and I am sure my coach was "totally wrong" for not playing me more but that was the way it was. I'm sure I became outwardly frustrated at times and I am sure I shared or at least showed these frustrations with my mom. (NOTE: My father died when I was seven years old of a heart attack, he was 48 at the time.)

So I do know what life is like on that end of the bench. Now, however, I am on the other end of that bench. I now have the responsibility of deciding who plays and who sits. I do not take my position as head coach or the decisions I have to make about the program lightly. I know that my decisions make a big difference in the lives of young peoples. My rational for my belief that junior high teams should try to win games is basically because of this:

Losing at the lower levels does not generate the desire in our athletes so that they become "eager" to work hard on their skills. Why? Because losing isn't much fun and why work hard at something you are not being successful at.

Think of the things you are not very successful at in life.

It's only natural for a person to not want to work hard at something in which they are not experiencing much success. However, in a sports program, the key to the eventual success rests in the athletes desire and eagerness to make a commitment to that sport.

Winning creates excitement. It gets kids to buy into the philosophy that hard work pays off and it makes them want to be a part of the success. Winning gets athletes to start believing in themselves and teaches kids how to be competitive.

Does this mean that I think junior high programs should totally abandon getting quality playing time for all the players?

I guess my answer would be “yes and no”.

I still want our junior high participants to experience game situations as often as possible. If an athlete is coming to practice and working hard they deserve to get playing time during games.

However, I feel if the opportunity to win a game present itself. . .junior high teams should go for the win. This may mean that there will be unequal playing time but I personally feel that it is better for the over-all health of the program if your teams are winning more than losing.

SIDE NOTE: Often times extra quarters can be played to allow all players to get “game time” experience. I know it isn't the same as the real game but the kids do get to be a part of a winning situation. My hope is that being a part of something successful will give the athlete the boast they need to work more on their skills and become a larger contributer to the success.

Many of you may be thinking that by going for wins I will not be giving kids a fair chance at success. I totally disagree. Kids all get the same amount of practice time during the season and they all have the same amount of time to work on their games in camps, on traveling teams, at open gyms or in their driveways at home. When you think of it. . . the amount of time spent in games is really small.

I don't see "playing time" as something that a player is ENTITLED to. Playing time is something that is competed for and earned. All things being equal. . .shouldn't players who work harder on their skills get rewarded for their efforts?

I understand that some players are more gifted than others and sometimes these gifted athletes don't have to work to hard to be one of the best on the team. These athletes do get rewarded for the gifts they were naturally given. But, isn't that the same in almost all areas of life?

My oldest son has been blessed with a mind that works better than most. As a junior high student he was tested and was placed in a 9th grade Algebra class that will one day give him the possibility to take math classes that others won't be able to take.

He has, in effect, gained "academic playing time" because he possess some natural talent.(Add to this that he's a hard worker too) My youngest son is doing well in school but he probably won't be one of those who earns this opportunity. I wish he would be able to make this "team" but I will understand if he doesn't. And this is where I think we need to make a paradigm shift when it comes to sports.

Why is sports so different? In every phase of life we are given opportunities to experience new things and test out your talents. In some areas we may flourish and we are rewarded and in others we find that we aren't really able to succeed so we move on. We all generally stick with those activities that bring us success.

Junior high sports are still there for kids to experiment and test the waters. I believe a junior high program can place an emphasis on winning and still be able to give those who try out for the sport a good experience. With the right guidance by coaches and more importantly. . .with the right encouragement by parents. . . a child can grow from the experience.

For those of you that feel that many players will end up just quiting because of the unequal playing time I want you to think about this:

By the time I was a sophomore in high school I was starting on the b-squad and dressing varsity. By my junior year I was starting on varsity.

Why didn't I quit after my 7th or 8th grade year?

Why didn't my friends who were sitting on the bench with me in 7th and 8th grade quit?

What made me work harder?

What caused me to move from being a two minute sub to a varsity player?

This is where parents can be so valuable. . .In fact I challenge parents to follow my mom's lead when it came to me in my activities!

My mom never said a negative remark about any aspect of my athletic experience. . .I knew she was proud of me and loved me no matter what my status was on the team.

I have to believe that her handling of the my frustrations and my situations helped me to not totally give up. Maybe the fact that she didn't know a lot about sports so she stayed positive was a sports blessing for me. She just did what she knew. . .she knew how to be a great mother. It was in her nature to love and support me. I knew that she was proud of me for who I was and did not have any conditions based on how well I did as an athlete. I have to believe that was the key reason I continued to keep striving.

Sports, by their nature, are competitive. Teaching kids to be competitive is an important step in their progress as an athlete. By no means should junior high sports be strictly about winning. . .it still should be a learning situation for all players and all players should be given opportunities to play in games.

Winning, however, should not be looked at with an evil eye.

*Last Thought. . .Parents, you play the biggest role in your child's sports decision. How you handle the ups and downs are crucial to their desire to stay with a sport.