When you need to change leagues...

There comes a time when good things come to an end. ...and sometimes, that means you have the need to change sports leagues for your child. This could be for many reasons...

• You're moving
• The kid outgrew the old league
• You're changing sports

Or, the league is no longer meeting your needs and expectations. That's the problem I have. For many years, we have been running our kids through the current program each season. Started with the oldest, and now with the middle - and planned to have the youngest there too. But then things got weird.

Instead of "regular" games, we have "tournament-style" games, where you play little mini games, and a bunch of them - instead of 1 game, or the occasional double-header. Instead of pre-announcing the schedule at the beginning of the season, we go crazy on Friday or Saturday morning figuring out game times. Sound confusing? It's not the half of it.

I've been coaching my kids in parallel all season. Those in charge of the schedule are well aware of this - and, of course, they "value their volunteer coaches". Like hell. I can count how many weeks my kids games haven't overlapped (and there's no need for them to...) - 1. Exactly 1. If all of that weren't enough, the guys running the clock are confused, and the refs assigned to the 8-9 year-old basketball games have been marginal. Ok, so they've gotten way better, especially lately, but still...

Thinking back to when we first started, there was a time we were changing sports directors like we changed socks... almost on a season-by-season basis. Even that was probably better. So, perhaps we'll try a different route for the fall sports.

It is truly unfortunate when adults ruin kids sports - through whatever behaviors, bureaucracy, or what have you. Maybe the kids should run their own leagues?

Structure of Practice

I was watching a little NFL Network tonight, and of course it's Training Camp season... The commentators were dissecting the practices of several teams, and they made a good point.

Practices are structured to move from the individual drills to the full-team drills and work. This allows the coach to stress individual skills (and fundamentals - imagine that), and the player to work and concentrate on the mechanics of particular skills. From there, the next set of drills might be small group drills, or offensive or defensive-specific work. Moving to the small group allows for more repetition, but in a more realistic setting.

Saving the full team drills or a scrimmage for the end makes sense - this is where everything can come together, whether it's offense against defense, full-court, full speed, etc. By this point, the players have had the maximum amount of time to work on their own - and it is now their time to shine. Usually, the full team drills are also what the kids look forward to most. If you started with them, you might see less effort as practice went on instead of more.

Good luck!

Summer Sports

Hello again. I've been distracted a bit lately with other things, but it's time to get back to writing about kids and sports. Today's topic: Sports leagues in the summer: To Play, or Not To Play?

Summer is a unique time of the year... school is out, families go on vacations, and the weather is nice - unless you're in Arizona, where it's sunny but brutally hot. Do you enroll your kids in sports for the summer season, or not?

On the "Yes" side of the argument... it's good for the kids to keep playing - it gives them less of a chance to forget the rules or skills of a particular game. It obviously also exposes them to more practice time... It could also mean a chance to try a different sport. Luckily, here in Phoenix we do get to play sports indoors - but weather could always be a factor - whether heat or storms, depending on your location.

On the "No" side of the argument... not nearly as many kids play in the summer, sometimes creating weird scheduling issues for the league. There's also a lot of missed practices, and missed games due to vacations and such - putting the coach in the tough spot of trying to juggle and cover for the games or practices. The level of coaching also tends to be a little poorer, sometimes resulting in less competitive games.

I think it's great to have the kids playing - even in summer. But, if you're planning a long vacation, or just want to take a break - summer may be that time of year where it's "ok" to sit out for the season. But if that's the case, be sure to throw the soccer ball in the back of the van, or make sure to take the football to the beach. After all, fall is right around the corner.

Off the court frustration...

It is a challenging enough job to get a team of kids together to play as a team in a sport. There's a lot to do - learn the rules, teach the basic skills, teach strategy... Realistically, everything only comes together after the first few games, if that early. If you've hit your stride by the middle or end of the season, that's not so bad.

So what happens when the league you're playing in takes some liberties with the schedule and the format of the games. Liberties like, "it's always been a certain way, and now everything is totally different"... And not just before the season - during the season! First the games are 12 minutes, then they're 8, then they're 12 again, and now there's 4 and not 5. Wow.

This type of situation falls into those buckets where you may have to just throw your hands up. There are things you can control, things you cannot, and then things that just irritate you to no end. This could easily be either of the latter two, or both. Sometimes, league officials may be influenced, and see the light. Other times they will not. In these situations, it is difficult - but likely the best course of action is to roll with the flow as much as possible. Keep in mind, youth sports are about the kids, and having them learn and enjoy the sport in a positive way. It is not about parents, adults, or league officials getting their air time. As a coach, you can very much influence the tone of the practices and games which - despite what else may be happening - can mean all the difference.

I say all of this, and I hope I mean it...

Enforcing Rules

I was looking back on the post from May 4th (Titled "Rules")... I smiled to myself at the Big Lebowski reference - and here's that topic again. Rules.

This time, though - when is the right age to start enforcing the rules during a game? We're about mid-season now with the basketball and soccer teams this summer, and that question is front and center. Not for the 5-year-old soccer league - where they've been doing great. ...except for the one team which likes to try to slide in front of other players... The issue is the 8 and 9 year olds playing basketball.

In basketball, there are a lot of rules. Not a lot like baseball, but quite a few. Traveling, double-dribble, and then a bunch that are a lot more picky - 5 seconds, over-and-back - not to mention fouls. About this age, most leagues start to enforce the rules - resulting in turnovers or free throws... This is a good thing - the kids are old enough to start to follow the rules, and the games look more like "real" games.

All works well, until different "refs" work the games each week, and call wildly different games. Is it so hard to have some consistency - and some basic guidelines? I'm not talking about calling things to the letter - but if someone takes more than 2-3 steps... that's traveling when you're 8. If you're dribbling with 2 hands, or constantly picking up your dribble and restarting, that's double-dribbling.

Why? At this age, cheating actually gets you somewhere. Look how fast you can be if you don't need to dribble - or if you can pick up the ball whenever you want. And if not now, when? Some schools start playing competitively in 5th grade, and I know traveling teams start in the 3rd and 4th grades...

My apologies for the rambling this time. If your son or daughter is 8 - or older - and their games don't begin to resemble "real" games... it's time to ask questions.

Commitment

I think sports teach many lessons. Some will be valuable as the players or coaches move along and face increasingly talented competition. Some are really life lessons, that translate well into a bunch of other situations. Of course a few are both.

One of the lessons sports taught me was commitment. When I was a youngling, Mom and Dad always let me go out for pretty much whatever sports I wanted. I was always excited about the seasons, and usually had no problem motivating myself to get ready for practices and games. But sometimes, during the middle of the season, or after a bad game, it was tempting to take a step back. I was reminded that I had signed up (and they paid "good money") to play, and that it was my obligation to do so.

When you join a team, you've taken on a task - a job. It's your job to learn your role, practice it, and go out and execute to the best of your ability. Now, there's a lot that goes into this for a 5-year-old... Mom and Dad have to make sure they have equipment, and drive them to practice, and sign the waiver... but, that said, once the administrative stuff is taken care of, and the season starts - the coach and the team are counting on everyone to do their best. It is not acceptable - save extenuating circumstances - to quit. In doing so, you let down your team and everyone associated with it.

Sport should always be treated as such - as a game, as competition. Naturally, that is fairly light-hearted and free... but... when you've decided organized sport is for you, there is some level of expectation. You expect the coach to be present, teach, and reinforce concepts. You expect the league to provide facilities. And the player is expected to play - at least to the best of their abilities that day. Being part of the team - counting on and being counted on - is one of those things you can apply daily. It's a bad thing when the lack of commitment impacts sport - or worse, life.

The forgotten joys of "Turnaround"

One of my favorite soccer drills is "turnaround".

As the name implies, the kids start out dribbling the ball, and then when the whistle blows, they stop the ball and turn it around. This is not the first time I've discussed this drill - nor will it be the last - since it is probably one of the most useful things I do at practice with the 4-6 year olds.

I was amazed at the enthusiasm the kids had for this drill in the heat. They think it's funny when you blow the whistle (when normal people would be yelling back at you!)... The benefits, of course, are many. First, you're able to yell "turnaround" in a game, and they all know what to do. It also reinforces stopping skills, and keeping the ball under control and close by for a quick change of direction.

After seeing this wonderful drill tonight at practice, I felt it deserved a mention. Again.