A former football player for Auburn University, Brian Shulman Auburn, http://brianshulman.org/, has a lot of experience when it comes to playing team sports. His athleticism has been on display since an early age, and he’s kept the strong passion going by engaging in high-intensity interval training and coaching youth sports.
“I have coached little league baseball, flag football, and youth hockey,” he says.
During his active playing years, Shulman drew inspiration from his coaches. As a beneficiary of some good coaching (he played during Pat Dye’s tenure at Auburn), he’s used his experience to help other young players learn how to discover their athletic potential. The following are a few tips youth sports coaches can keep in mind.
Positive reinforcement
Kids are sensitive to negative criticism, so using positive reinforcement is encouraged. Sure, it will take a while to teach an 8-year old how to wrap up, but when done in a positive way, they are more likely to accept the message, become confident in themselves, and more receptive to constructive feedback.
It’s the simple things
The key to getting kids to play well is to focus on the fundamentals. Work on enabling them to understand the core skills to success, rather than draw up plans and strategies resembling what you see on Thursday Night Football.
Respect the relationship if your child is on the team
For coaches whose children are part of the team, you have to be mindful of the relationship. You have to learn what works best. Your child might respond better if you coach them one-on-one, or you may have to take a step back and let another coach offer feedback to your child. Ultimately, maintain objectivity and identify the right approach that lets the child develop.
His playing days firmly behind him, Brian Shulman, http://brianshulman.org/, is now managing director at Princeton Capital Partners.
