The experts at Positive Coaching Alliance recommend these steps to get started:
1. Develop a Mission Statement
A mission statement is a short, direct expression of the vision. It takes some time and reflection to really understand and articulate your vision and mission. (The experts at Positive Coaching Alliance help youth sport organizations develop these statements as part of their overall work to help organizations get off the ground and running.)
Here’s a draft mission statement created by PCA that can help you get started on creating your own:
(YOUR organization’s name) aspires to be an outstanding educational-athletic organization that provides a high-quality experience to every athlete and coach. A high-quality experience is one in which every player
- Has fun playing the game
- Feels he or she is an important part of the team regardless of performance
- Learns “life lessons” that have value beyond the playing field
- Develops and learns as an athlete with a deepening understanding of the skills, tactics and strategies of the game
But it’s not enough to simply have a vision written in your mission statement. The key is to share this mission statement with parents, coaches and administrators so that everyone understands what they are collectively working towards.
2. Write a Coach Job Description
Coaches, just like anyone else, want to know what is expected of them before you evaluate his or her performance against those expectations. It’s only fair. So before you have parents providing feedback through the Responsible Sports Season Evaluation Tool on whether the coach fills players emotional tanks, Honors the Game and coaches with an Mastery Approach, you need to both educate your coaches on these concepts and let them know that they will be evaluated against these criteria.
To get your coaches familiar with the concepts, consider requiring all of your coaches to review the
Responsible Coaching Guide. For a more in-depth look at these concepts and to certify your coaches, consider enrolling your coaches in a Double-Goal Coach® course at
www.positivecoach.org.
Next, create and distribute a Coaching Job Description. This description should include the three principles included in the Season Evaluation:
- Filling Emotional Tanks
- Honoring The Game
- Coaching For Mastery
The job description should also include your other expectations for your coach.
The experts at PCA encourage leagues to not only distribute job descriptions, but also have coaches sign their job description to ensure that they agree to the parameters you’ve set forth.
3. Give Parents an Evaluation Heads-Up
Finally, let everyone – parents, coaches and administrators – know that you will be conducting evaluations at the end of the season. We've drafted a
Pre-Season Parent Letter you can use as a start to your letter or email. Whether you use our letter, or your own version, let your parents know that the survey covers the following topics:
- Sideline Safety
- Facilities and Equipment
- Coaching for Mastery
- Filling Emotional Tanks
- Honoring The Game
- Overall Communication
Lastly, there are a variety of resources available to you to help you as you begin this process.
- Review the Responsible Coaching guide
- Review the Responsible Sport Parenting guide
- Consider partnering with PCA to conduct coaching workshops for your organization
- Consider working with PCA if you’re just launching an organization and need help with everything from mission statements to creating your board to securing facilities and establishing a positive, responsible sports environment for youth athletes
- Visit our Resources Center for videos, podcasts, articles and books all designed to provide support
