Pat Colliton's Tips for new Coaches in Fairfax, VA

This is Patrick Colliton from 6528 Heather Brook Ct., McLean, in Fairfax VA and I am back with some more pointers on how to reach out to your younger players. Over the past seventeen years I have coached youth soccer, basketball and lacrosse and my advice can be applied to virtually all sports. Today I want to talk about keeping everything you say positive.

I am that type of coach that has a loud booming voice and is not afraid to use it. When I first started coaching I know for a fact that kids on both teams were a little frightened of me because of my voice. I have learned over the years that if you can keep it fun and friendly (even joking), you can turn this determent into an asset.

One of my secrets is to turn a mistake into a positive. In Pee-wee soccer more often than not there are swings at the ball that draw nothing but air (a clean miss). My favorite response to that was always “great fake, great fake” which would bring chuckles from the parents and smiles to the kids faces.

Another secret is to complement the OPPOSING team’s players. Simple comments like “Be careful of # 13, he is a magician.” (Basketball and/or soccer) or “Watch out for # 4 - she has a BIG FOOT” or “We need to box out John – He is a Beast on the boards.” These comments can do wonders for all players involved and without question, the kids all love it. I can’t tell you how many complements I have also received from opposing team’s parents on our good sportsmanship.

As a former college football player, I also found that with the younger players, my size was very intimidating. I learned at an early coaching clinic that a big help in communicating with the little guys (and girls) is to get down on one knee when talking with them. This brings you to their eye level and gets them more comfortable and it actually helps them pay more attention to what you are saying.

All of these tips really apply to the younger, beginning kids and they are meant to keep it light and fun. This will keep the kids coming back which should always be our goal. My next blog will talk about how you can reach out to the kids as they get older and more competitive. This is Pat Colliton signing off from Fairfax, Virginia.