One Word for 2015-16: Partnership
August 20, 2015
By Kevin Wolma
Hudsonville athletic director
One word. Every year before the school year starts I choose one word to help me focus on what is important and shed all the other clutter in my life. I try to choose a word that will help me in my professional and personal life.
The word I choose for the 2015-16 school year is partnership. After choosing my word, I realized the word partnership can further enhance our already strong athletic program too.
Often roadblocks are put up in athletic programs that do not allow the program to reach its fullest potential. This creates a separation within a program where all the partners involved detach themselves from the goals/values set by the organization. We see this in every organization, but this article is going to specifically discuss the partnerships between parents, coaches, student athletes and officials.
When I first started coaching basketball, I encountered a situation where parents were unhappy about what they thought was a reduced role for their student athlete on the team. He was a starter his sophomore and junior year, but the dynamics of the team his senior year required that I move him because he was one of my best offensive players that could help the second unit. He would play about the same number of minutes, but his role would change.
As a coaching staff, we believed this change helped the team and the student athlete by allowing him to use his strengths as an offensive player. He would have more opportunities to score than he would have if he was a starter. We were trying to do what was best for the team and individual but the parents did not see it that way.
Reasoning only made the situation worse as they felt he was entitled to start. They did not appreciate the fact that we were trying to give him more opportunities to reach his fullest potential. The parents went as far as starting a petition to remove me as head coach along with telling anyone who would listen how bad I was as a coach. This lack of partnership hurt our team. The student athlete complained openly to other players on the team, which created a negative atmosphere in the locker room, and the parents created a negative atmosphere in the stands. Needless to say that was a tough season to build a cohesive group.
This story provides insight on how one isolated incident can have an impact on so many other partnerships. The parent/coach partnership was strained along with the player/coach partnership. This inhibited the growth of the team to become the best it could because of the negative culture created. The parent/child partnership was also directly affected because the parents took on the role of an agent or defender and not one of a supporter or advisor. Just think if the parents talked to their child and said, “This is a great opportunity for you and your team. You could see a lot of benefit by supplying the scoring load off the bench. If this makes the team better, you should embrace it.” The outcome and season could have had an entirely different feel by handling the situation differently.
During the season there is going to be some adversity and “why” moments, but having an open and positive communication line with the coach and your child is the key to forming positive partnerships. You don’t have to always agree with the decisions, but how you handle the “why” moments will have a profound impact on your child and the team he or she plays on.
The other type of partnership that is not described in my story, but is becoming more and more fractured every year, is the parent/fan/official partnership. Last year I had a group of officials ask me to sit in the stands of an opposing team section because of how degrading those fans were toward the officials. On more than one occasion I had to talk to a group of fans and ask them to keep it positive. Most of the time they looked at me as if to say, “You can’t tell me what I can and can’t say.”
The one thing that people do not understand is that yelling at an official has no bearing on the game. An official has never changed a call based on what a fan has to say. In the last two years there has been a steady decline of officials leaving the profession and very few officials entering the profession. Do you blame them? Who wants to work 2-3 days a week and get yelled at for two hours.
Let's be different. To improve this partnership, let’s give them applause when the officials are introduced for each contest. After the game thank them for their time and efforts. I encourage anyone out there who has an interest in officiating to give it a try. You can have a powerful impact on student athletes.
Partnership is a very important part of high school athletics. I encourage everyone to make my word for 2015-2016 a part of your experience with high school sports as well. Together, let’s cheer on your teams and make this the best year yet.
Wolma has served as Hudsonville's athletic director since 2011 and previously coached boys varsity basketball and girls varsity golf among other teams. He also previously taught physical education and health.
Teaching ABC's of Pressure Situations
October 30, 2013
By Eric Martin
MSU Institute for the Study of Youth Sports
Coaches have seen the signs: Athletes having too much or not enough energy prior to a game, quickening breathing, sweating more than usual, being unable to focus on important details, and having their minds wander from the present to “what if” scenarios and past mistakes.
Athletes deal with pressure in many ways. Although some handle it well, many do not have the tools to perform to their full abilities in these situations. Most athletes place a high importance on succeeding in sport, and when athletes reach regional, district, or state championships, the pressure they feel may become overwhelming.
How athletes handle this increased pressure can often mean the difference between winning and losing. Therefore, helping athletes deal with it is something coaches should consider prior to athletes encountering these high-stakes situations.
Unfortunately, there is no magic elixir for helping your athletes work under pressure. But if these ABC’s of pressure situations are followed, your athletes will be much better equipped to cope, and the chances of their performance levels dropping significantly will be reduced.
1. Act the Part
How you as coaches act influences your athletes. For better or worse, athletes notice your emotions in response to these situations and take cues from how you handle pressure.
You are a demand on your players’ attention – you can add or reduce your players’ perceived stress by how you act. Understanding the demand you place on players requires self-awareness. How do you respond when a key call goes against you? Do you have nervous habits that athletes may notice? What messages are you providing to your athletes – both verbally and non-verbally? Athletes pick up on these non-verbal cues, so you must be aware of how you respond to these situations.
It is important to remember emotions are not always negative – rather acting differently than normal can be a signal to your athletes that you are stressed. Strive to be consistent in your actions – whether you are coaching during a preseason match or championship contest. These situations are stressful for you too, but you need to be the constant your athletes look to for stability.
2. Breathing – Remember to do it
It seems like a simple thing, but when athletes’ emotions are running high, they forget how to breathe – or, at least, forget how to breathe properly. Worse, they often think they are breathing normally but don’t notice breaths are becoming shorter and shallower. Teaching athletes to breathe properly when not in pressure situations will help them have the tools to rely on when they encounter more intense scenarios.
For proper breathing, athletes need to do so from the belly and not the chest. The pace of this breathing should be 6-2-7; that is, have athletes take a deep breath from the abdomen for six seconds, hold for two seconds, and then finally slowly exhale completely for seven seconds. This breathing strategy is ideal for pregame situations to quiet nerves and help athletes get ready to play, but a condensed version (3-2-3) can also be used for quick breaks in the action like a timeout or court change.
3. Control the controllables
During times of high pressure, athletes sometimes feel they do not have control over their own performances. It is important to help athletes focus on things they can control and not worry about those that cannot be changed or are outside their influence.
Instead of athletes dwelling on aspects that are out of their control like unusual game times for championship finals or a referee’s bad call, help them focus on completing their warm-up preparations and how they can respond to poor calls. Helping focus athletes’ attention on things they can control will help them better handle pressure situations and leave them feeling less helpless
Athletes’ emotions are typically out of their control, but how they view them and respond to these emotions are under their control. Author and preacher Charles R. Swindoll said, “Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it!” Be sure your athletes know how to respond when difficult situations arise.
Conclusion: Fearlessness is an assembly
Not all athletes react to pressure situations in the same manner, but all athletes can benefit from these simple suggestions. Remember to ACT THE PART of how you want your athletes to act, teach your athletes proper BREATHING techniques, and help athletes focus on CONTROLLING THE CONTROLLABLES.
Good preparation is the key to performance. Increase self-monitoring and give athletes the tools to succeed in pressure situations; they, in turn, can be in a better position to succeed. However, like any skills, they must be practiced accordingly, and one session will not solve all issues. Devote the time to train athletes in these skills, and when the need arises they will have them ready to use.
Good luck this season!
Martin is a third-year doctoral student in the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports at Michigan State University. His research interests include athlete motivation and development of passion in youth, sport specialization, and coaches’ perspectives on working with the millennial athlete. He has led many sessions of the MHSAA Captains Leadership Clinic and consulted with junior high, high school, and collegiate athletes. If you have questions or comments, contact him at [email protected].