Month: December 2014

December 18, 2014

WYC 029 Performance Training – Scott Jones from AthleteOnFire talks Weekend Warriors to Mount Everest climbers

What does it take to be a winning youth coach? Listen in as Scott Jones shares stories and discusses his journey to becoming a successful sports entrepreneur.

Scott runs Athlete On Fire, which is involved with equipping and training athletes all over the world – he also hosts a podcast called Athlete On Fire, in which he has interviewed over 100 top athletes from around the globe. Athlete On Fire was started to bridge the gap between amazing athletes all over the world and everyday athletes with inspiring stories, resources, and tools. Scott is married and has 2 young sons, ages 3 and 1.

Website: athleteonfire.com

Athlete on Fire Podcast: – AthleteOnFirePodcast

Twitter: @Athleteonfire

Facebook: /athleteonfire

Listen Now:

Listen in ITunes: Itunes link

Listen in Stitcher: Stitcher link

Coaching/Leadership Quote

‘I don’t even count reps until I’m burnt out, then I’ll do 20 more’ – Muhammad Ali

My ‘Ah-Ha Moment’

Consistency in coaching – don’t show favoritism – Output/effort is always what is rewarded
Do what’s best for the kids, not what’s best for your wins/losses

Teaching Children & Keeping it Fun

HUGE IDEA #1 – When teaching a specific skill – DON’T GUESS! Ask for help from a high school coach or local community college, or even Youtube. If you don’t know if they’re doing it wrong – Don’t correct them

When you do know how the skill – be consistent in not allowing bad habits to form.
One way to correct during a game – as a coach bring a notepad with you and make notes then work on it during practice

Athlete On Fire

The biggest takeaway Scott has taken away from the athletes he has interviewed is that it is less about athletic ability and more about the fire and persistence they possess
Muhammed Ali quote: ‘I don’t even count reps until I’m burnt out, then I’ll do 20 more’
Check out everything at: athleteonfire.com
Podcast: – AthleteOnFirePodcast

Mental Peak Performance

First, understand expectations. Is the parent pressuring a kid to make a team, or is the child’s true passion?

HUGE IDEA #2 – Best way to minimize performance anxiety is practice: ‘For every minute of a presentation, you need 1 hour of preparation’

Favorite Quote/Book

Book: J.D. Rockefeller’s attention to details – Titan
Book: ‘The River of Doubt‘ – about Teddy Roosevelt dealing with defeat by challenging himself to a huge audacious goal
Book: Ed Viesturs (summited Everest 7 times without oxygen) ‘No Shortcuts to the Top‘- speaks to patience

Parting Advice

It’s a game! Teach them something that will last beyond the game they are playing

Interview Links / Promotional Partners

AthleteOnFire.com

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

December 12, 2014

WYC 028 Strength & Conditioning – Robert Taylor from SmarterTeamTraining.com talks Doing One Perfect Rep Ten Times

What does it take to be a winning youth coach? Listen in as Coach Robert Taylor shares coaching stories and discusses his journey to becoming a successful coach.

Coach Taylor runs Smarter Team Training, which is involved with equipping and training athletes all over the world – his clients include Super Bowl champions, World Series champions, and players who have been drafted #1 in the NBA draft. Coach is married and just had his first daughter.

Website: smarterteamtraining.com

STT Podcast: Coach Taylor hosts a radio show on iTunes and iHeart Radio – Half hour released every Sunday – interviewing coaches and athletes around the world – Join the 37,000 subscribers listening to over 280 episodes – STTpodcast.com

Twitter: @SMARTERTeam

Facebook: /smarterteamtraining

Listen Now:

Listen in ITunes: Itunes link

Listen in Stitcher: Stitcher link

Coaching/Leadership Quote

‘At the youth level of sports – you don’t want more reps- you want better reps.’

click to tweet!

My ‘Cringe’ Moment

One thing they don’t teach you in college is how to value and develop relationships – with the athletes, the parents, your coaches

My ‘Ah-Ha Moment’

Stop chasing the word success and start chasing the word impact

Teaching Children & Keeping it Fun

Keep it fun!
Don’t expect perfection – instead enjoy the process of incremental improvements
Have very few rules
‘We don’t do 10 reps. We do one perfect rep ten times’

HUGE IDEA #1 – ‘At the youth level of sports – you don’t want more reps- you want better reps.’ More leads to drudgery and hating the sport. Better leads to excitement and loving the sport.

Best Stolen Idea/Advice from another Coach

Praise in public. If needed criticize in private.

Discipline

Have the kids take a picture of their bed made in the morning and send it to one of the coaches – ‘You can’t start the day undisciplined then expect to be disciplined the rest of the day’
Coach doesn’t like making them run as a punishment – we want them to love exercise and running – so don’t use it as a punishment. ‘If they miss a layup – don’t have them run – have them practice layups!’

Reward and Recognition

Count high-fives during a practice. Then try to beat that number in a future practice.
At the end of practice – have players say something positive about a teammate.
Spend one practice evaluating players’ GPA – Good Positive Attitude. Are they giving a high-five coming off the field; are they picking up a teammate’s water bottle, etc. If there’s a bunch of 4.0’s – the team spirit is good, if not – think of ways to recognize those who have the best GPA to encourage the whole team to raise the GPA level.

Mental Edge

HUGE IDEA #2 – How do you de-emphasize the importance of the moment? One method is a trigger mechanism – something you have practiced and evaluated what works with each individual – something to get the player to smile and realize it’s just a game. Maybe it’s slapping your leg. Maybe it’s a teammate saying ‘Spongebob is ugly’, etc. But you have to practice putting kids in those situations during practice!

The One that Got Away

Coach Taylor believes in living/playing present – so doesn’t get caught up in reliving wins and losses in the past.

Favorite Quote/Book

Books: ‘The Hinge- the importance of Mental Toughness‘ by Dr. Rob Bell; ‘The Talent Code‘ by Daniel Coyle; ‘Lead for God’s Sake‘ by Todd Gongwer; ‘The Sports Gene – Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance‘ by David Epstein
Authors: Brian Cain, Graham Betchart

SmarterTeamTraining

SMART – Speed, Movement, Agility, Reaction, Technology, Education, Resistance
Work with teams and individuals – do clinics and can revenue-share
Teach coaches
Check out the awesome results their clients are seeing: smarterteamtraining.com
STT Podcast: Coach Taylor hosts a radio show on iTunes and iHeart Radio – Half hour released every Sunday – interviewing coaches and athletes around the world – Join the 37,000 subscribers listening to over 280 episodes – STTpodcast.com

Parting Advice

If you want more, you must become more.
If you want your kids to give more, you need to give more to them. If you are their lacrosse coach, go to one of their football games or band concert.

Interview Links / Promotional Partners

SmarterTeamTraining.com

Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter:

December 3, 2014

WYC 027 Youth Football – Mike Frederick talks High School Football, the NFL, and Joe Ehrmann

What does it take to be a winning youth coach? Listen in as Mike Frederick shares coaching stories and discusses his journey to becoming a successful coach.

Mike played 5 years in the NFL, including a Super-Bowl run with the Tennessee Titans, 1 year with the original Cleveland Browns, and 3 years with the Baltimore Ravens. He is now the head football coach at his alma mater, Neshaminy High School in Philadelphia. Mike is married and has four children.

Neshaminy H.S. on Twitter: @neshaminy

Neshaminy H.S. Website: neshaminyfootball.com

NFL Player article on Mike: nflplayerengagement.com

Listen Now:

Listen in ITunes: Itunes link

Listen in Stitcher: Stitcher link

Coaching/Leadership Quote

‘The reason I coach is to make each player feel valued – from the top player on the roster to the bottom’

click to tweet!

The Music City Miracle

This was a play they practiced every week all season – so the team was prepared, the coach did not panic, and even though it didn’t go exactly as planned – the players were prepared and executed the play successfully.

My ‘Cringe’ Moment

Pulling players immediately after they make a mistake – you teach your players to play in fear instead of aggressively

My ‘Ah-Ha Moment’

HUGE IDEA #1: ‘The best time to implement change is after a win’ – players are in a good mood, your voice will come across less irritating, studies show kids are apt to listen more after a win. After a loss is when you need to be more encouraging.

Teaching Children & Keeping it Fun

Each kid responds to different types of teaching – and the only way to figure it out with each kid is trial and error
Change things up: Play loud music during practice(learning to communicate in a loud setting); set fun goals: if our running back out-rushes their running back then we get ice cream(great goal b/c it affects the offense and defense)

Best Stolen Idea/Advice from another Coach

‘The reason I coach is to make each player feel valued – from the top player on the roster to the bottom’

Recommended Resources

HUDL – allows him to watch film with his coaches while at their own home. Also they exchange 3 films with each team they play- so they physically don’t send any scouts to any games. You can also track how long players have been on HUDL – so they try to catch their players doing something right and recognize players that are putting extra time in.
Other coaches – if you’re struggling with something – call up some other coaches and ask for a few tips

Discipline

4 step process for a player who has a concern or is upset:

Talk to your position coach
Talk to your coordinator
Talk to the head coach
If there is still a problem – then the head coach can pull in the parents if needed

Reward and Recognition

Mike asked the players if there were any ‘entertainers’ in the group (artistic, musicians, rappers, etc.) – told them to prepare something – and on the last 3-a-day of the summer – they skipped the last practice and let the players ‘entertain’ the team

Inspiring Story

Joe Ehrmann has been a personal mentor to Mike, and Mike has implemented Joe’s philosophy of how to love these kids.
Mike shared a story of a kid from Haiti who didn’t have much money or insurance, but when he turned 18 he purchased his own 4-month insurance rider and is playing for their team his senior year. Very inspiring to Mike and the whole team. ‘That’s why I coach’

Winning/Goals for a Youth Coach

HUGE IDEA #2– Priorities for a Youth Sports Coach:

Top priority: teaching safety techniques
Next priority: Avoid specialization – play multiple different sports – not only are their mental benefits(keeping things fresh) but also there are physical benefits(mixing up which muscles you are using)

The One(s) that Got Away

Mike shares a high school memory of fumbling on the goalline in a game they lost 7-6. The thing he remembers though is ‘I am glad it was me.’
Mike also shares a story from college football at Virginia where they let a game get away from them against a team they normally should have beaten. The QB got hurt and the backup QB came in and did well – b/c his team had done all their preparation for the starting QB.

Favorite Quote/Book

Books: Joe Ehrmann books: InsideOut Coaching; A Season of Life

Parting Advice

Embrace the differences in kids and keep it fun – make them love the sport! The majority of kids stop playing sports by 3rd grade – we’ve made it too serious and taken the fun out of it.

Interview Links / Promotional Partners

HUDL