Sean Ford

This past February I attended a Positive Coaching Alliance seminar hosted by the Mass Bay Youth Lacrosse League and it was time well spent.

The PCA seminar was held at Gillette stadium and lasted approximately 2 hours. The PCA presenters covered subjects such as positive reinforcement, recognizing and rewarding effort, redefining the concept of “winning”, and equal playing time for our youth players. In addition to the presentations, there were “breakout” discussions covering the topics of “how to handle game time conflicts” and “what to say to a team prior to a tough game”.

I feel that the lacrosse program in Walpole is a leader in this area of coaching training and I think every program in town would benefit from this type of training. When it comes down to it, the coaches are the face of every youth sport, and we all want to make the best impression when we can. Positive coaching training not only benefits the youth sports programs, it benefits the very youth that we claim to want to guide towards victory in our various endeavors.

So often we see coaches and parents become so engrossed in a youth game that they will sometimes lose touch with what is really important about youth sports and the adults will actually lose their temper over a perceived slight or injustice on the field. Let’s face it, coaches will sometimes yell at players, parents will occasionally yell at referees, and when it gets really ugly we find parents yelling at other parents. What are we teaching our youth athletes with this type of behavior? What sort of example are we setting?

Youth sports are a wonderful way for children to learn how to cope with the disappointment of a loss, and also how to be gracious after a win; it’s character building. This is where positive coaching can really shine; lead the players by example, show some class, and never lose your temper or enter an argument when the players are present because it’s a losing proposition every time.

It’s been said that the only thing wrong with youth sports today is adults. Walpole should be different and Walpole should lead the effort to show that adults don’t have to ruin youth sports. Adults should set the example, show the players how to win, lose, or draw with class and with dignity. I see this sort of example leadership every day, and thankfully, the bad examples are few and far between. Walpole is extremely lucky to have dedicated adults who volunteer their time and effort for youth sports, now let’s take that next step and become the town with the best coaches possible. Let’s move beyond a simple CORI check and let’s actually get some coaches training.