Creating an Inclusive, Positive Sporting Environment Understand athletes’ characteristics Inclusion of all Athlete-centred approach

Athletes Characteristics Different physical –Fitness –Body build –Senses Hearing, touch or pressure, balance, visual, kinaesthetic Different personality –Attitudes –Values –Attentional Style –Anxiety –Need to achieve Different backgrounds Different communication styles

Basic Fundamental Emotional Needs The need to be accepted and to belong The need to feel significant The need to feel capable or competent The need to feel safe

Self-Esteem Belief in oneself, self-respect and self-liking Sense of self worth –Critical to learning –Self-esteem enables people to believe they are competent and worthwhile and more willing to take on new challenges –Helps to become more compassionate, responsible human beings –Affect health, relationships, competence, goals that are set and achieved, performance and happiness –Coach is a major contributor

Demonstrating that You Care for and Accept Each Individual Athlete Take athletes seriously Listen carefully Tell athletes you care for them Touch respectively Smile Use simple hand gestures Be sensitive to ethnic and racial terminology Be sensitive to pronunciation of names Provide sincere encounters

Encouragement Search for, identify and acknowledge the athlete’s strengths Display faith and confidence in the athlete’s abilities and judgements Give responsibility Avoid criticising mistakes, look for logic behind mistakes instead Recognise effort and improvement not just final achievements

Increasing Intrinsic Motivation Provide for successful experiences Give rewards contingent on performance Use verbal and nonverbal praise Vary content and sequence of practice drills and activities Involve participants in decision making Set realistic performance goals

Positive Reinforcement Choose effective reinforcers Ensure appropriate timing and frequency Select behaviours to reward –Successful approximations –Performance (not only outcome) –Effort –Emotional and social skills Provide knowledge of results Provide contingent, sincere feedback

Principles of Reinforcement Positive reinforcement –“If doing something results in a good consequence, people tend to try to repeat the behaviour to receive additional positive consequences” (Weinberg & Gould, p. 138) Negative reinforcement –“If doing something results in an unpleasant consequence, people tend to try not to repeat the behaviour to avoid more negative consequences” (Weinberg & Gould, p. 138)

Approaches Influencing Behaviour Positive: –Designed to strengthen desired behaviours by motivating participants to perform them and by rewarding them when they occur Negative: –Attempts to eliminate unwanted behaviours through punishment and criticism, thus primary motivation is fear.

Punishment “A consequence that weakens or suppresses a behaviour that produces it “ (Williams, 1998, p.31) Punishment works by arousing fear, if used excessively, punishment promotes the development of a fear of failure, (which equals a decrease in performance) Side effects: –unpleasant coaching situations that hinder the learning of skills –arouses resentment and hostility –coaches need to look at their role modelling for young people’s social development

Guidelines for Using Punishment Be consistent Punish the behaviour, not the person Allow athletes’ input for making up punishments Do not use physical activity as a punishment Ensure punishment is not perceived as a reward or getting attention Impose punishment impersonally Do not punish athletes for making errors in performance Do not embarrass individuals Use punishment sparingly

Training Session Management Preventive: –The coach avoids sources of disruption and maintains appropriate athlete behaviour Disciplinary: –The coach handles inappropriate behaviours as they occur Refers to any provisions that the coach makes to create an appropriate environment for learning

Training Session Management Preventive Management : –The proactive rather than reactive strategies coaches use to develop and maintain a positive climate in which minimal time is devoted to behaviours Managerial Task System –Establishment of a structure to create an appropriate learning environment. It establishes the limits for behaviours and expectations a coach has for his/her athletes

Preventive Management Control initial activity Start sessions promptly and on time Establish and practise signals and routines Coach proactively Use high levels of specific feedback Interact positively Avoid slow-downs and breaks Use management games Use brief and concise instructions

Skills for Preventive Management Routines Prompts and hustles Positive reinforcement Games

Rules and Routines Routine: –A procedure for performing specific behaviours within a class setting, behaviours that tend to recur frequently and unless structured, can potentially disrupt or delay the pace of a session Rules –defining acceptable or unacceptable behaviour

Routines Entry Warm-up Attention/quiet Home base Gain attention Disperse Equipment Retrieve Start Boundaries Finish Leave Housekeeping

Guidelines for Rules Short and to the point Appropriate language 5-8 rules Stated positively Consistently applied Consistent consequences Willing to enforce

Non-Managerial Activities Content-related instructions Explanation of a game, activity Explanation or description of a skill Individual or group feedback Athletes are practising a skill or activity or playing a game

Managerial Activities When the coach stops or interrupts an activity and then resumes or initiates a new activity Gathering for instruction Transition to new activities Telling personal stories, unrelated to context

Barriers that Condemn Athletes to Failure Having unrealistic athletic expectations of the athletes Evaluating young athletes’ social behaviour according to adult standards or evaluating the athletes on the basis of expectations that have not yet been achieved Criticising or “dumping on” athletes when they are already down. Talking too much and not allowing the athletes to discover useful explanations themselves Excessive directing Assuming the worst Maintaining standards that are too low

If you expect perfection from people, your whole life is a series of disappointments, grumblings and complaints