Shane Smith: Our challenge as adult coaches is to look at coaching through the lens of the child

Children thrive on positive reinforcement. They want to hear “that’s brilliant”, “great effort”, “you are doing so well”.

Government buildings just after 6pm. Taoiseach Micheál Martin had just unveiled the most recent amendments to lockdown measures. He had just picked up that all too familiar government document and turned to face those all too familiar steps. Then my phone beeped. A message from a friend, “Great news, we’re back training on the 26th, my lads have a lot of catching up to do, any advice?”. Another eager, yet similar conversation took place a few days after with another friend, “Back training soon thank god, they’ll be half the players they were”. The teams were U12 and U10 respectfully.

The enthusiasm shown by the coaches probably illustrates just how much they’ve missed coaching. Haven’t we all. We love it. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t do it! In the meantime, we have been upskilling our knowledge with coaching books, webinars, and coaching podcasts. We have been finding ways to improve and explore new coaching concepts and ideas. Many now have an array of new warm-ups, games and skills sessions ready to go. They have been hastily scribbled on notepads during Zoom coaching presentations and now we can finally put them into action. We are looking forward with optimism.

But all of this is looking at coaching through the lens of the coach. Our challenge as coaches to children in sport, is to look at coaching through the lens of the child. When they walk onto pitches next week, can you imagine their excitement of seeing friends again? As coaches, we can help to create and foster a welcoming environment. We can encourage conversation and socialising, key aspects of why many children actually play sport. Not every child who arrives to training next week has ambitions to play in Croke Park, Wembley or the Aviva.

Some simply want to play with friends, have fun and enjoy the outlet that sport offers. Our role as coaches is to ensure all children are afforded equal opportunity in our clubs, and that begins at training. Now more than ever, we must facilitate the majority and not just develop the minority.

The first few sessions hould not be used to showcase our new ideas and all we have learned over the lockdown. We will have time for that in future weeks. Our immediate role is to welcome them back to a fun, carefree environment. There may be an understandable, enthusiastic desire to over coach, but hold off, there’s no rush.

For now, focus on play. Consider fun games that can be played in a non contact setting: relay races, throwing, catching and fun skill development challenges. You could set up an obstacle course incorporating running and jumping. Kicking games such as crossbar challenge, goal-scoring and target practice are always popular and help create a positive atmosphere. In an environment of non contact training, we have to be imaginative and think outside the box.

Some may also be hung up on fitness and may feel that running should take precedence in the initial few sessions. Avoid falling into that trap. In 20 plus years of coaching, I have yet to hear children request a fitness test, laps or aimless running without the ball. What I have heard are words like “play and score”. Can we play races? Can we play a fun game? Can we score goals? Can we score points?

Meet their needs through play and park the perception about fitness. A product of an environment of fun will generally be retention. And with retention, we will naturally develop fitness over time.

Our language will be so important too. It’s been many months since children were training so the last thing that they want to hear is negative words like, “don’t do it that way”. Children thrive on positive reinforcement. They want to hear “that’s brilliant”, “great effort”, “you are doing so well”.

Some might argue that they are not improving this way, but they will have a better chance of improving if they know that you regularly spot the good. Words are powerful, use them wisely. As they arrive at the pitch and we send them off in their little pods, you could do a lot worse than let them have a chat for a few minutes. And if you’re anything like me and your mind is racing with coaching ideas, take a breath and realise that we are coaching children, not mini adults

I have a great friend who offered me a piece of advice after a coaching session that I delivered a few years ago. I have tried every day to apply it not just to my coaching, but to my teaching, to my parenting and to life in general. He said, “Remember to catch them doing good”.

And I hope as those excited little faces arrive in the gate on the week of April 26, with shiny new boots and spades full of enthusiasm, that you have many opportunities to catch them doing good.

-  Shane Smith is a primary school teacher, sports scientist and coach.