Director’s Blog

A Sports Coach Dream

publisherpic Wouldn’t it be nice to have a team of all compliant kids who have natural abilities in the sport and are kind and courteous to their coach, teammates and opponents? Wow! That’s a tall order! I suspect that coaches only dream of that happening. I remember sending my child onto the field where most of the kids were athletic (or at least run in a straight line without tripping) and could understand the directions of the coach. My child, however, was not coordinated and had to be physically placed in his spot only to later wander to another part of the field. I hate to admit it now, but he may have been a coach’s nightmare! I fretted over whether I should tell the coach of my son’s challenges. Will he be ostracized? In the end, I decided it would be helpful to tell the coach a little bit about my child’s strengths and weaknesses. How the coach would handle those challenges would make all the difference between a fun or a disastrous season.

As a parent here are my tips for a coach that may have kids with learning differences on his team:

Give the coach some background on how your child learns best. Does he react negatively to loud sounds? Is it difficult to follow multi-step instructions? Does repetition help to reinforce the technique? Do visual cues work best?
Praise the child even when he makes a mistake. “Johnny, you were there, good try!”
Emphasize the child’s unique abilities. We all have strengths and weaknesses. Rotating the positions will help to identify those abilities. Remember parents can help reinforce any weak areas at home, so you need to “coach” them as well.
And most importantly, teach all the kids a sense of sportsmanship by teaching them how to accept victory and defeat.

Let’s face it, some kids are natural athletes and some aren’t. There are many kids with learning differences that fall in the natural athlete category. Fostering that ability can create greater self-esteem and help in other areas of his life. But there are many kids with learning differences who may not excel at team sports so, should we avoid participating altogether? Sure, it can be painful for the parent to watch your child struggle. Sports teams teach many ideals not found in the classroom: patience with turn taking, sportsmanship, team building, acceptable peer to peer interaction and how to win or lose. It’s worth it to try a few different team sports before giving up. Working with the coach to help understand your child’s abilities and personality is important.

Our family has had our share of dream coaches and nightmares. As my son gets older, he is able to handle a little more roughness in the approach, but he still needs the affirmation. A coach can make a big difference in the life of a child. Kids will remember their favorite coach forever if treated with dignity and respect.