The Winning Youth Coaching Podcast: Youth Sports | Coaching | Parenting | Family Resources Craig Haworth: Youth Sports Coaching Strategist and Podcaster

Pat Williams, senior vice president of the Orlando Magic, shares personal stories from his time as a parent with youth sports as well as what he teaches regarding developing leaders through sports.



Pat's new book, CHARACTER CARVED IN STONE is about his discovery of the leadership virtues taught at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Duke University’s Coach K (a West Point grad) wrote the foreword.



Book: Character Carved in Stone















 

























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Dr. Jay Martin is the Ohio Wesleyan University Soccer coach and one of the nation’s winningest soccer coaches ever. He has written one of the books in the series for United Soccer Coaches titled, The Best of Soccer Journal: The Art of Coaching. It is seen as one of the best soccer books in their book store. Jay is an author of several books approved by the United Soccer Coaches national office and advises them on their Coaches education curriculum.



Book: The Art of Coaching















 

























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Chris Mance is a family coach who helps sports families pursue difficult goals while maximizing their happiness on their journey. Chris has a unique story from playing at football at West Point to becoming an entrepreneur, husband, and eventually a father of two young wrestlers. Through his experiences in leadership, Chris has been able to work with families to plan and execute their strategic plans.



Chris’s Website: chrismance.com



Chris' Twitter: @chrismance



Chris’s Instagram: @chairmance2















 

























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Coaching Your Own Kids



Chris was really hard on his first son from an early age. He has gone 180, with him now and with his younger son, he stays focused on being proud of them and just giving them a hug afterwards and de-emphasizing the winning/losing.



Cringe moment



At youth dual meets, early on in Chris' coaching, he was too focused on the scoreboard with the newer athletes instead of just working on technique and focusing on improvement.



Teaching skills & Keeping it fun



Reward kids for working hard with a fun game - sumo wrestling is fun.

King of the hill - start with smallest kid, whoever takes down other wins, and keep going working way up



Culture



Parents are a big part of it - keep them tied in and on board

Doing something like fantasy sports with the kids is a really fun way to build some comraderie within the players of the team



Travel sports



The biggest problem is the season never ends. In a perfect world, kids would only play a sport during its primary season, and then be able to enjoy other sports in the offseasons.



The one that got away



Chris' final wrestling match - he got beat someone who probably wasn't as good as him - but he had taken it for granted and not trained well that week.



Best stolen idea



Sports is a chess match. You always need to be 2 steps ahead, especially mentally.



Favorite books/quote:



Quote: 'Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard'

Book: Wooden (by John Wooden)



Parting Advice



Have a system, plan and prepare







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Gad Espinosa is a Certified High-Performance Mental Game Coach, and speaker who has been interviewed in numerous newspapers and radio shows.



He has been privileged to train and mentor athletes at all levels, from those just starting their athletic careers to others who have gone on to represent their country and succeed at World Championships and Olympic games.



As a former professional athlete, who has represented his country internationally, he knows first hand the psychological and emotional challenges a young athlete faces.



As a parent of two former competitive athletes he knows the difficulty of raising athletes and as a varsity head coach, he sympathizes with coaches and their responsibilities.



Gad is passionate about helping young athletes discover mental strength breakthroughs that allow them to maximize their development so they can take their game to another level and fulfill their athletic potential.















Website: coachgad.com



Instagram: @coach_gad



Twitter: @coachgad



Facebook: /Coach-Gad



 

























Listen Now:



Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

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Coaching Your Own Kids



It's a balance between smothering them and still coaching them and enjoying being a parent with them



Coaching a sport you didn't play



2 requirements: Enthusiasm and a passion to learn more



A-ha moment



Gad, as a player, rarely had coaches discuss the mental side of the game - so he has emphasized this as a coach



Concussion recovery



Time is the biggest key. Take the time to let your mind recover and don't rush it.



Mental toughness



It starts with letting your athletes know it's ok to fail. It's a very important part of the learning process.

Having a clear goal in mind helps build grit to keep working even if things don't do the way you want.



Teaching skills



Tag - they put a pinnie on each hip, and they run around and try to grab as many pinnies as possible from their teammates

Keep away - in a circle, 2 kids in the middle, try to keep ball away from the kids in the middle



Culture and captains



Leaders emerge amongst teams



'How do I Improve my Kid's Athletic Potential?'



Book on website: coachgad.com

WYC guest enter promo code 'WYC' and get 50% off book!

A mental program for coaches and athletes



The one that got away



Gad had specifically reminded the team about a specific thing to look for in the game, and 1 minute into the game this situation happened, and a player didn't do what they just had talked about. Gad regrets that he immediately took the player out of the game and didn't play him much more that game.



Best stolen idea



Preparedness



Favorite books/quote:



Quote: 'If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes.' - John Wooden



Parting Advice



Take a step back and remember how you wish you were coached when you were younger







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Susan Stout educates coaches specifically about working with kids who have ADHD, learning differences and/or anxiety.



As a former swim coach and now a mom to an avid young athlete with ADHD and dyslexia, Susan wishes she had known when she was coaching what she knows now about how to recognize the differently wired kids, manage the challenges and bring out the best in these athletes.















Website: ownbeatathlete.com



Twitter: @SusanStoutOBA



 

























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Finding invisible differences



It all starts with just getting to know each kid

Some symptoms to look for:



Can't sit still

Talk back

Interrupt

Can't remember what you just said, especially with multi-step directions

Inconsistent in their performance

Poor sense of time (can be late)

Poor emotional control







Practical tips to coach kids with invisible differences



Don't talk for long periods of time(no diatribes!)

Routines help

Give them a responsibility to keep them engaged

Let them fidget and move

Try to be patient - give them a minute to cool off



Own Beat Athlete



Website: ownbeatathlete.com

Blogs, profiles of successful players and coaches with ADHD, letters from players

Tools for coaches and facts to know about kids with invisible differences



Cringe moment



When Susan was first coaching, they lost a meet because the backstroke flags were the wrong distance. Susan was worried about over-coaching girls who had previously been her teammates. She learned she needed to be the coach first and not worry about trying to impress them or be their buddy.



Keeping training fun



Relay races are always a great way to compete and have fun while conditioning



Achieving peak performance under pressure



They start meets with cheering and getting energy up. Then she would have the athletes come and check in with her before their events to chat one-on-one. The coaching is finished at this point - instead reinforce them and tell them - 'you've done it, the work is done, now go have fun and show what you can do'



The one that got away



As a swimmer, for 3 years Susan was trying to break 36 seconds. 3 times she got 36.00. She still had a great time, just wishes she could have got a 35.99. :)



Best stolen idea



Building a culture of being a family.



Favorite books/quote:



Quote: 'A common mistake amongst those working in sports is to spend a disproportionate amount of time on X's and O's as compared to time spent learning about people.' - Coach K

Quote: 'When I was a young coach, I used to say treat everybody alike. Instead- treat everybody fairly.' - Bear Bryant

Book: Getting to Us by Seth Davis



Parting Advice



Build relationships. Get to know the kids, what do they dream about, what excites them, what do they like doing outside of sports.







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Sean Conlon is the founder of We Make Footballers, a football(soccer in the U.S.) prep school to prepare athletes for playing at academies. With a background with the Chelsea club, Sean has the passion and vision to help young athletes improve their game on and off the field to reach their dreams.















Website: wemakefootballers.com



Twitter: @wmfootballers



Instagram: @wemakefootballers



 

























Listen Now:



Listen on iTunes: iTunes link

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Learning on the playground



Sean didn't play for a formal team until he was 13 years old. This has pros and cons - a lot of creativity can be developed, but mixing in a bit of coaching can help the guided discovery process.

Emphasizing fun at young ages and training parents to recognize development vs. just wins and losses is key.



We Make Footballers



14 franchises across England, have prepared 170+ players who have gone on to join academy teams

Focus is preparing players for academies



Website: wemakefootballers.com

Great fun skill building games



Stuck in the mud - Get in a square, everyone has their own ball, dribbling. Make one player the sticker - he runs and tries to tag the other players. When tagged, they hold their ball over their head, and if other players kick their own ball between a frozen players' head, that player is freed.

Snake - In a square. 2 players have to hold hands, they are the snakes. The rest are the mice. Players don't have a ball, they just run around. As players are caught, they join the snake.



The one that got away



In the cup final, Sean looks back on a couple of changes he could have made earlier. Thinking clearly in high energy moments is critical. Be decisive and take action.



Best stolen idea



Make every practice fun, regardless of the age group.



Favorite books/quote:



Book: Alex Ferguson's Leading

Quote: 'In football, the worst things are excuses, excuses mean you cannot grow or move forward.' - Pep Guardiola



Parting Advice



Utilize the internet and forums to continuously learn







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Reviews are the lifeblood of the podcast!- If you like the podcast- please take 2 minutes to write a review! Click here

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