SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — According to the National Youth Sports Strategy, 80% of parents believed their kids playing sports helped them learn about discipline and getting along with others.
Lauren Weise has been coaching youth girls soccer for 28 years and at Syracuse Development Academy for 15 years. She coaches 9- and 10- year olds. Throughout her time, Weise has noticed kids grow to be more social after being involved in a sports team.
“I just think with socialization aspect they’re so much more advanced, I think, when they get to middle school and high school,” said Weise.
With sports it’s a long process of getting better as a player and it requires a lot of patience. Weise believes breaking the game down to small pieces can help a player work on their weaknesses better.
“Teaching them that yes, the end result will matter if they decide to play in college the level of competition escalates a little bit,” said Weise. “But we just try to teach them what it’s like to win a small battle and those small battles can add up to the big battle later down the road.”
Sometimes kids may not be playing well and it’s hard for them to get playing time. While that can be tough on a child, Weise says it’s important to be straightforward.
“We have player evaluations where we sit down and talk with the player and their parents and we go through the four facets of soccer,” said Weise. “The tactical, the technical, the psychological and the physical. And we are straight up right off the bat before tournament time where they stand.”
The best way for youth coaches to get the best out of their players, Weise says, is to show they care about the athlete but also to be firm when needed.
“These kids have to know that they’re important and they need to know you want them to succeed,” said Weise. “You have to do the compliment sandwich you got to be firm but also let them know you love them.”
