Youth Sports Administration 101: Lead The Charge
How to run an effective coaches meeting
By Jason Schaitz
To participants in a program, coaches are its face, so it is imperative that the goals and expectations be engrained in them. A coaches meeting is the kick-off to a season, and teams generally begin practice shortly thereafter. This is likely the only time all of the coaches will be in the same room, so make the most of it. Make the meeting mandatory—even for returning coaches. Here are some other suggestions for a successful meeting:
© Can Stock Photo / serrnovik
Set expectations. Make them clear and concise. All recreation sports leagues should be about teamwork, skill development, positivity, sportsmanship, and fun—not winning. Review the code of conduct as well as league policies, and have coaches sign it. Have a no-tolerance policy on unsportsmanlike conduct.
Review the rules. Don’t use this time simply to take out the rule book and read it to coaches. To save time, require them to read the rules ahead and come to the meeting with questions. Bring in referees to assist with this gathering, so coaches can get their perspective and note what they are looking for when they make calls. Go over key points, and leave the rest of the time for questions.
Have a Powerpoint presentation. Hit the hot points and stay on track. If a Powerpoint isn’t possible, create a detailed agenda.
Bring in other coaches. Bring in local high school or college coaches to address the group. They can go over how to plan a practice, provide examples of drills, and talk about coaching philosophy, such as how to teach kids, etc. These coaches can also be great advocates for the program and a resource for brainstorming.
Use videos. These will aid in teaching and help support the overall message. Several great organizations have coach-training programs, and you can find some decent training videos on YouTube as well.
Talk about practice. The skill development of players will relies heavily on well-organized and effective practices. Whether you provide the practice space or coaches find it on their own, it will be limited, so be sure to stress the importance of having a plan for each practice. Scrimmaging the entire time or doing the same low-level drills will not be beneficial to kids’ development, so provide coaches the resources to get the most out of practice.
Provide resources. Offer resources that coaches can use on their own, such as where to find additional training or drills for practices, how to create a practice plan, guides to teaching young athletes, etc. Many new coaches may not know where to find quality resources. Stress that the more coaches put into their teams, the more they will get out of the experience.
Address other topics. You don’t have to talk only about rules and policies. Other important topics to address are league goals and expectations, rosters, organizing a team, parent/coach meetings, managing team parents, facility-maintenance guidelines, etc. Use the time effectively to go through the entire program.
As the league administrator, it is your job to provide as many resources as possible for the coaches. If you have great coaches, you will have a great league!
Jason Schaitz is a Parks and Recreation Director with 15 years’ experience managing youth sports and recreation programs. He also created and manages www.leaguesource.com with the goal of providing free resources for any type of youth-sports program. Take your league to the next level by visiting League Source to check out our League Management App, League Resources, Youth Sports News, and Youth Sports Administration 101 educational series.