by lnetwork | Apr 18, 2018 | Blog
Thousands of youth sports organizations exist all across the country. They cater to all sports and come in all sizes. Some are well-funded and sponsored while others need the collective efforts of its community to ensure that it thrives. Big or small, youth sports leagues all have a common goal – to ensure that young athletes have fun playing sports in a safe environment that promotes sportsmanship.
For any youth sports organization to be successful, league administrators must be proactive. Here are 6 tips for sports league admins to achieve success:
Provide Online Registration Option
Registration doesn’t need to be a chaotic time, especially in this digital age. Streamline the process by giving parents the option to register their child online and conveniently pay with credit cards. Invest in online league administration software that not only allows for online registration and payments but helps you manage the teams’ scheduling, results, stats, and communication of your league.
Involve Parents
Coaches don’t have to do everything. In fact, many parents look for ways to become more involved. Delegate tasks to parents such as making snacks, organizing team picnics or end-of-season celebrations. You can even ask some parents to be admins on the teams’ social media groups to ensure that the pages are updated with announcements and photos.
Raise Funds
Not all leagues will need sponsors or raise funds, but it certainly helps. Additional funds could mean relieving some parents of the financial burden of buying sports gear such as shoes which can be quite expensive. The cash could also be used to give the kids prizes. Funds can go to better uniforms and equipment. It can even cover travel expenses for teams who want to compete out of town or state but worry about the costs involved.
Have a Dedicated Office
While you should definitely offer the option to register online, a well-organized office dedicated to the management of the league is still necessary. It will be where parents can speak with admins and coaches in person. It can also be where league officials can hold their meetings or conduct interviews with volunteers.
Ensure Safety and Security of Players
It is your top priority to keep your athletes safe. This means finding fields and courts that aren’t hazardous to play on and conducting background checks on coaches, volunteers, and anyone else who is involved in your league. Due diligence will ensure that all your athletes will be surrounded only by people who have the best intentions.
Promote a Fun Environment
Youth leagues lose too many kids every year who quit because the sport is no longer fun for them. The pressures of the “win-at-all-costs” mentality have caused many young athletes to walk away from playing the game.
As a sports league administrator, don’t forget what your league’s mission and vision are for these children who join sports looking to create lasting memories, make new friends, and enhance their athletic skills. Help them take away an experience that is competitive, challenging, and most of all, fun.
by lnetwork | Apr 11, 2018 | Blog
Many parents today hear stories about how Tiger Woods swung his first golf club at age 2. Then there’s Serena Williams who picked up her first tennis racket at just 4 years old and Shaun White who, at the age of 7, already had a snowboarding sponsorship.
Parents with young kids dream about their kids being the next Tara Lipinski who won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics at the young age of 15 or Michelle Wie who qualified for the USGA Amateur Championship at just 10 years old.
It would seem that the secret to reaching professional athlete success is to start your kids young. However, parents with big dreams for their kids may want to take caution and consider all the caveats of signing up a 2-year-old for professional lessons or asking a preschooler to give up playtime to practice drills instead.
There are enough warnings that come with having your child participate in a sport too young, let alone have them attend lessons and practices that already expect them to master certain skills to prepare them for competition.
There are some sports that kids can easily take up at any age such as swimming and gymnastics. These sports will still be viewed by the child as “play.” Learning to swim at an early age is not only a fun activity but a necessary skill that everyone should learn as early in life as they can.
Introductory gymnastics is also great for early ages. Kids as young as 2 can benefit from gymnastics as it helps them develop balance, agility, and coordination. Gymnastics also teaches skills that children can use later in other sports.
Kids are typically not ready for competitive skills that require more dexterity and capacity to comprehend the rules and fundamentals of the game until they are at least 5 or 6. Remember that sports like soccer, football, and basketball can have complicated rules that not all children will quickly pick up right away.
Swimming and gymnastics as a fun pastime at the tender age of 2 or 3 is one thing, but to expect kids to compete at this level is another. This is the part that many do not realize when it comes to famous athletes. While they may have picked up a racket, a gold club, or put on their skates at a very early age, they would not compete until many years later. The parents of these successful athletes saw a gift in their children and simply nurtured it.
Forcing a young child to compete at a very young age may lead to them to eventually resent the sport, burnout, and give it up altogether early on. The fact remains that kids will be kids and many of them will not want to focus on anything too serious, especially during a time while they still have short attention spans and haven’t quite figured out who they are, let alone their passions.
As a parent asking yourself “how young is too young?” – the best advice would be for you to think about whether enrolling your child in sports in more for you or your kid. Have they expressed interest in the sport? Do they have a natural skill that you feel needs to be cultivated? Are you supporting their dreams and ambitions?
by lnetwork | Apr 5, 2018 | Blog
Years of practice and dedication – that’s what it takes to be a successful baseball pitcher. While it’s true that some naturally have the gift. They didn’t reach professional level without polishing their skills and developing good habits to avoid injury and improve their technique.
Because young athlete’s bodies are still developing, they’re more susceptible to injury when they push themselves too hard. And that’s why any kid who aspires to be a star baseball pitcher should be establishing their technique early on and gradually building their bodies.
Understanding how to accomplish that may require the guidance of a coach or mentor who knows the demands of pitching. Here are 7 baseball tips for the young athlete who has ambitions to become a Major League baseball pitcher:
Have Fun
Don’t let the potential of fame and fortune overshadow the fun. You can’t dedicate yourself to a sport that you’re not passionate about. It’s important that you love playing the sport, above anything else. Learn the fundamentals first and sharpen your skills next. Remember that it’s still just a game.
Throw with Purpose
Whether you’re just playing catch, throwing the ball around during practice, or pitching for your team, always throw correctly and with purpose. Always throw at competition-level to help condition both your body and mind that you are going to throw the ball with control and consistency each time.
Get the Basics Right First
Start with simple movements and gradually move your way up. Basic motions will eventually build with force and precision. Technique doesn’t have to be established immediately. It sounds cliché, but you need to walk before you can run.
Mix Things Up
You still have time to grow and find yourself. Experiment with 4 or 5 pitches. Test them out at practice and find which 2 or 3 feel right. Once you’ve figured out which pitching style suits you best, work towards developing their level of accuracy, release, and speed. It’s better to perfect 2 or 3 pitches than be execute multiple pitching grips that aren’t as effective.
Be Realistic
Don’t spend hours watching video of your favorite pitcher and expect that you’ll be able to perform at the level right away. Pitching demands patience, and it also requires you to think rationally about your own capabilities at this point. Don’t beat yourself up when you can’t quite master that spin or speed that you’re aspiring to achieve.
Focus on Accuracy, Before Velocity
While clocking a pitch at 105 mph is impressive, there’s really no point if it doesn’t hit your mark. In your early years, you should be more concerned about hitting your target than speed. Remember that a good pitch is a combination of many elements – not only does it have to be fast, but it must be smart and deceptive and yet, delivered squarely in the catcher’s mitt.
Maintain Confidence
Don’t get cocky. The more you practice, the more you improve. This doesn’t give you the excuse to become arrogant or stop working towards your goal. Even professional athletes fall into slumps and only a strong sense of well-being and self-awareness can get them out of it.
by lnetwork | Apr 2, 2018 | Blog
As parents, we naturally want to protect our kids from heartbreak and disappointment. We want to shield them from harm and making wrong choices. But as much as we want to guide them, making mistakes are a part of life. Our children need to fail in order for them to learn and grow. And we need to let go and allow them to make their own mistakes and sort out their problems if we want to them to become stronger and wiser.
Your child will experience failure in some form at some point as an athlete. They can’t always win, and there will be times that the loss is devastating. They may blame themselves or feel so bad that they feel discouraged to ever step back on the field or court. Your child’s confidence and self-esteem can take a hit each time they lose. Failure can make them hesitant, paranoid, and a bit depressed.
But as much as failing stings, those feelings after a loss are often temporary. With guidance and emotional support, kids can emerge from defeat feeling stronger. Instead of feeling fearful, they feel more motivated. They’ll come out of it wiser with experience after having recognized what went wrong and would they could have done differently.
But instead of dwelling on what caused the failure, they’ll take that insight and apply it to the next opportunity to correct the action and hopefully, enjoy a more positive outcome. And while it won’t always work, they build the resilience and tenacity they need to keep going and keep trying.
When kids experience failure and learn how to accept it, they recognize the valuable lessons that they can take away. This doesn’t mean that they welcome failure or look for ways to lose so that they can learn from it. It does, however, say that they are prepared and won’t find themselves debilitated by a loss or defeat.
It’s important for parents and coaches not to punish kids for their mistakes. There’s no need to take them out of the game or bench them unless of course their fault was behavioral and could cause harm to other players. Youth athletes will make errors in judgments or perform poorly. Reprimanding them only makes them feel as though that mistake defines them.
Instead, parents and coaches should use moments of failure as opportunities to offer feedback. Allow them to work through their feelings without being judgemental. Kids won’t always recognize the lessons right away. And they will need your support as they figure out how to forgive themselves for their faults.
Children need strong role models who will help them realize how failure can be empowering because it gives them life experience. Your youth athlete needs to be able to look up to their parents and coaches and know that the mistakes they make aren’t being used to define who they are as people or players.
by lnetwork | Mar 28, 2018 | Blog
Team sports offer more than just physical benefits for kids who participate. It also helps them emotionally and mentally. And there are also social aspects of team sports that children will enjoy.
Here are just a few of the many benefits that your child can enjoy when they participate in a team sport:
Develops Self-Esteem
A high-five, pat on the back, thumbs up, or even a nod of approval – these are simple gestures that can help build confidence in kids. You’ll often see these signals come from teammates and coaches when they want to recognize someone for a job well done. Kids also develop self-confidence the more they learn about themselves and their abilities.
Regular Exercise
Tell a child to exercise and they may up a fight. Exercise does, after all, sound like work. But tell a kid to go out and play with their friends, and you won’t get an argument. When kids play sports, they probably don’t even realize how much healthier they are becoming. They are building stamina and endurance. Their hearts are getting healthier thanks to all the aerobic activity, and they’re maintaining a healthy body weight which will help them ward off diseases associated with obesity.
Teaches Leadership Skills
While team sports require team effort, kids still learn about leadership. They learn about responsibility as they recognize the vital roles they play on their team. Leadership isn’t always about who is the best or on top; quiet leadership is about being accountable for your actions and being a role model for sportsmanship.
Teamwork
The ability to work well with others is a skill that youth athletes will learn playing sports and they will bring it with them throughout their entire lives. It will benefit them when they get older and prove to be beneficial when they have to work with others at their jobs.
Stronger Relationships
Because of the social aspect of team sports, kids learn how to handle themselves better in social situations. They develop a sense of camaraderie and community, allowing them to maintain and nurture stronger relationships.
Better Communicators
Team sports put them in many social situations where they need to express themselves. Because team sports promote teamwork and foster relationships, kids also become better at communicating. And because sports also instill self-esteem, children not only communicate better but they do so with confidence.
Teaches Respect
Sports don’t just teach kids the fundamentals of playing, but it also instills respect for authority and rules. At a very young age, children who play sports learn the consequences that come with not following the rules. They are taught to respect their coaches who guide them and the officials who work to ensure the games are fair. They also learn good sportsmanship and to treat their opponents respectfully, win or lose.
Time Management
Youth athletes have been observed to be better students. Through sports, kids learn about time management and discipline. Teammates often support each other on and off the field, helping one another keep track of schedules and academic responsibilities.
by lnetwork | Mar 19, 2018 | Blog
There are so many amazing reasons why parents should sign their kids up for sports. And if your child has shown interest in becoming a student-athlete, then you should absolutely support them. Sports offer a slew of benefits that cover everything from physical to emotional to social.
One of the most wonderful aspects that young athletes enjoy when they join sports is the camaraderie created among the team. Camaraderie brings a sense of closeness that forms a strong bond between teammates. Ultimately, it is this friendship and loyalty that they have for one another that helps them work together towards a common goal.
As a coach, one of your primary goals should be to cultivate camaraderie within your team. The mutual trust and friendship that your young athletes develop while playing sports will give them memories to last a lifetime, allowing them to build stronger relationships in the future. Teamwork will also pave the way for team victories. Here are other reasons why camaraderie produces champions, both on and off the court:
Leadership
Leadership in teams can take many forms; the team captain may not always be the leader. Because camaraderie is something teammates enjoy on and off the field, different leaders can emerge depending on the situation. One teammate might be better with their academics and can help the others stay on track with their studies. Another team member may deal with loss better and uplifts the team during times of defeat. Because camaraderie nurtures relationships, people become more self-aware, and their natural leadership skills arise.
Accountability
Camaraderie instills mutual respect which allows each player to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of their teammates. They understand the unique roles that they each play and how to complement one another when needed. They not only celebrate the wins together but also collectively work through the challenges.
Support and Trust
Teams can’t function without trust. A team full of strong players could easily go off and do their own thing, only thinking about their own desires to win. A team that enjoys camaraderie supports one another, understanding the unique strengths that each player possesses. They trust one another to let one do what they do best while the other should pull back. Teams who understand each other are better at team dynamics and the complexities of push and pull when it comes to winning championships.
Communication
When teammates have that special bond, they naturally communicate better. In some cases, they know each other so well that there’s very little verbal exchange involved. And teams who have a connection with one another are more likely to execute plays well.
Furthermore, teams who communicate well also resolve conflicts effectively. No matter how close a team is, issues will arise; however, a team that trusts each other will be more equipped to work through their problems together.
Ultimately, teams that don’t have this special bond rarely ever enjoy true success. They may win thanks to a handful of key star players. But without that bond, even “winners” don’t quite feel like champions when their team isn’t there for them to celebrate the achievement.
