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CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT OF POSITIVE
EXPECTANCY FOR YOUR ATHLETES AND TEAMS
by Bill
Utsey
 One
of my many duties within our school
district is to serve on teacher evaluation
teams. In so doing, team members are
trained to look for specific items that
make teachers highly proficient. We
have eight performance dimensions to
look for, and one of the most important
is the classroom environment. The critical
ingredient for a high mark in the environment
dimension is the degree of student engagement
in the classroom activities. Of course,
the greater the degree of engagement,
the greater the learning, retention,
and achievement the students will receive.
Take a moment
and think back to your days as a student
in school. Think not of the teacher
or coach you liked the most, but the
one from whom you really learned the
most. What was this teacher's classroom
like? What did it look like? What did
it feel like? What was its karma, its
action? I have no doubt that you will
recall a teacher or a coach that got
you to reach deeper, work harder, understand
more, and at times made learning activities
and practices fun. Most of all this
teacher or coach made positive things
- learning, achieving, realizing, and
the tapping of your potential - happen.
I also will bet you that when you walked
into this teacher's classroom or this
coach's practice there was one thing
that was communicated to you…this
teacher was "On-a-mission,"
meant business, and you had better be
ready and willing to work and learn!
Let me first
refer you to the October, 2010, pelinks4u
edition and the article "Promoting
Your Physical Education and Sports Programs
Through Reliance on Key Core Values,
Principles, and Beliefs." The
October article sets the table for the
subject of this article. Having a set
of core principles and values is a key
ingredient if a coach is to create an
environment of positive expectancy among
his or her players and teams.
As a district
athletic director with eighteen middle
and fourteen high schools, I get to
see a lot of practices, games, and I
go into a lot of locker rooms, weight
rooms, and coaches offices. This experience
presents me with wide open views of
coaching environments of every description
- positive, negative, and everywhere
in between. Allow me to share a personal
story of an earlier, more revealing
story of the power of creating an environment
of positive expectancy:
As a high
school basketball player, when we
played at other schools we usually
dressed in some other locker room
in the school's gym area. One school
put us in their football locker room
that still had the leftover remnants
from its just completed season. It
gave me my first lesson in coaching.
As we went in to select a place to
dress, each of the football dressing
stalls - wood with wire mesh between
each - still had the player's name
and jersey number on it. What was
most unique, though, was each player
also had a motivational affirmation
at the top of the locker ("When
the going gets tough, the tough get
going," "The difference
between good and great is a little
extra effort," etc.). The year
was 1964. The locker room was Summerville
High School. The coach was (and still
is) John
McKissick who has won more football
games by far than any coach at any
level! Motivation and creating an
environment of positive expectancy
was a fundamental part of Coach McKissick's
coaching back then, and apparently
it has served him well.
Do an online search with key phrase
"power
of affirmations" and see what
John
McKissick was doing with this practice,
and how it can contribute to creating
an environment of positive expectancy.
Doing little things like affirmations
on each athlete's locker can, and will,
make a statement with your athletes
and with your team. The locker room
is where your athletes spend a minimum
of twenty or thirty minutes every day,
and it is with their teammates. It is
where they first begin their practices
and where they will put their uniform
on before competitions. Team members
will see that affirmation every day
and the psychological theory of spaced
repetition will do its work. Is anything
of a positive, productive nature happening
in your locker room? Use your locker
room as a place where you can start
cultivating an environment of positive
expectancy.
Another great place to use environment-generating
phrases and mottos is your school's
strength and conditioning room. Is not
this the room where you want your athletes
to make strong commitments, spend hours
of time, and give huge physical efforts?
If so, then make it inviting and rewarding.
Positive affirmations posted on the
walls will do wonders in setting the
tone for your weight room. By doing
this, your athletes will be building
not just their muscles, but their minds
also.
How about posters! Posters on nutrition,
health and safety warnings, of positive
role models, and of proper technique
(especially in your weight room) all
add to creating an environment that
is conducive to producing a positive,
productive atmosphere. These quality
measures for a locker room, weight room
and training room all help to cultivate
an environment of positive expectancy,
and one that will show your athletes
that you care about them (remember,
"Kids won't care unless they know
you care").
Use your bulletin boards and empty
walls to post team goals and charts.
This is also a great place to post team
and player statistics and records. We
had a track coach at one of my schools
that posted each athlete's personal
best in each event, and the goal that
athlete had to achieve before each track
meet. This was a powerful tool in that
points toward earning a letter were
awarded if a goal was achieved. Performance
charts and top ten boards in your team
rooms are great motivators, and at the
same time set high expectations for
your athletes.
One of the more popular things coaches
do every year is to select a team motto
or saying that projects a theme for
the team’s upcoming season. This
is an excellent practice and many coaches
use this approach putting the motto
or theme on a t-shirt, practice jersey
or shorts. I see this on practice jerseys
at sports practices and, most often,
on team t-shirts. Again, think of your
locker room. Put your theme on a poster
or banner in your locker room or on
the door leading out. I have seen locker
rooms with three or four theme-promoting
signs that their players will see every
day. Not only do team mottos and themes
contribute to a positive environment,
they help to develop a strong team personality.
Don't forget teachable
moments. These are the moments before,
after, and sometimes during practices
where you stop everything and teach
your athletes a lesson of life and the
value of character. If you are going
to have themes, and use tools such as
affirmations on lockers, make sure you
take advantage of teachable
moments before and after practices
and competitions to talk about these
themes and quotes, to reinforce their
importance and their relationship to
character and life. Emphasize what they
mean for your athletes and teams in
the present, and in their future endeavors.
Again, by doing this small task, you
are fulfilling the mission of interscholastic
sports, and at the same time communicating
positive expectancy and showing your
athletes that you care about them as
human beings.
Enough about signs, let’s talk
about the discipline within these special
rooms. Remember, your athletes will
be spending a lot of time in these team
rooms. Is your locker room, weight room
and training room inviting? Do these
rooms show character and integrity?
Do these rooms give your players an
“On-a-mission” message?
To communicate these intangibles, these
rooms must have the discipline of positive
traits and practices such as:
- Cleanliness: Are
these rooms cleaned daily? Are there
practices in place that will help
maintain cleanliness? Coaches who
engage their athletes in making sure
all lockers are secured and everything
is off the floor, on a daily basis,
have great success and cultivate responsibility
and ownership within their athletes.
Are procedures in place for keeping
all team rooms free of MRSA
and other bacteria? Are lockers, equipment,
training tables, etc. wiped down daily
with a general disinfectant? Do you
have a protocol in place in case of
a MRSA
outbreak?
-
Rules, Routines, and Procedures:
Do the athletes have a set of pre-determined
and well-communicated rules, routines
and procedures to follow for all team
rooms? If a locker room, do you designate
where your players will place their
shoes and equipment within the locker?
Did you assign lockers (doing so negates
clique development, and good placement
promotes mentoring and teamwork)?
How is the locker room kept in order
(players or coaches assigned to do
so)? Are rules posted where required?
In our school district, posted rules
and routines are mandatory for weight
rooms and training rooms due to safety,
health and liability reasons.
-
Supervision: Are your coaches
supervising? Supervision is critical
for safety and liability. However,
being present in team rooms is not
just about supervision. Adult presence
ensures order and discipline is maintained
at all times. The added impact to
positive expectancy is that coaches
in your locker and weight rooms offer
excellent opportunities to show kids
that they care about them. It is these
opportunities where coaches can give
quality time, positive feedback on
player performances, and those figurative
hugs to those players a coach may
have been down on in practices.
All of the above are little things
that make a big difference in your environment,
and set the table for presenting to
your players high expectations and atmospheres
with class and professionalism.
Team practices are the most critical
of all areas for creating an environment
of positive expectancy. Below are areas
where coaches can make a big difference
in setting high expectations:
- Practice schedule posted:
A posted daily or weekly practice
schedule is actually a legal duty
of coaches. Players need to know what
is expected of them at practice in
advance. Written practice schedules
also provide a disciplined guide for
coaches. Most of all, posted practice
schedules communicate to your players
that you mean business and cultivate
an "On-a-mission" tone.
Like good teachers, it will be necessary
for you to have the essential objectives
that must be accomplished, or that
must be achieved, in order for your
players and athletes to meet their
goal for the week or upcoming competition
- to defeat their opponent or to achieve
a personal best. Putting these essential
objectives at the top of the written
practice schedule reinforces high
expectations.
-
Pre-practice routine: At
one of the schools where I coached
the practice field was some 300 yards
from the locker room. One of my coaches
came up with the idea of putting a
"Go" post about 150 yards
away. When the players reached the
"Go" post, they had to run
to the practice field. This was one
of the best things we did and it made
a difference in the attitude of our
practices. Often I go to practices
where players arrive on the field
early with no plan or procedure in
place. They stand around and do nothing
of any productive nature. What your
players do when they arrive early
should be a planned routine with a
clear objective. This could be a strength
or conditioning routine, or a basic
skills or technique session until
the official start of practice.
-
During practice routines and procedures:
Set high expectations by demanding
that your players sprint everywhere
they go in practice when periods end,
or sprint when they are going from
one place to another. At one of my
schools the basketball coach had a
routine of never allowing his players
to sit at any time once they entered
the gym. They were only allowed to
take a knee if not in action on the
court. Additionally, this coach would
never allow his players to be behind
him when he talked. They had to be
in front of him with their eyes focused
on him, and if a ball was in their
hands it had to be held (Woe to the
player who wanted to dribble or just
move the ball from one hand to another
while he was talking!). Needless to
say, this coach was highly successful,
and I learned from him that little
things made a big difference in raising
expectations.
-
Effective and efficient practices:
Do this by engaging all of your players
all of the time. This takes lots of
planning and organization. Use more
implements, have more lines in drills,
and rotate players on a more regular
basis. The objective is to increase
the number of repetitions for all
players, not just the starters or
stars. The second objective is to
decrease the amount of "stand-around"
time for all players. The result of
achieving these two objectives in
your practice has a great by-product
- that of communicating to your players
that everyone is important, and that
everyone needs to be paying attention
to what is going on.
By keeping
more players active throughout your
practices you set the expectation
bar higher. This is not to mention
the long term results on improving
experience and keeping all of your
players fully engaged throughout
your practices. When you stop a
drill or practice session to give
a key coaching point, make sure
all players stop, look, and listen
to every word you say. Before you
talk to your players command their
attention; make sure they are all
paying attention and looking directly
at you.
If you thought coaching was just about
teaching skills and implementing strategies,
you can now see yet another area of
coaching that needs your leadership
and an area begging for attention. How
big of an impact you can make with a
collective effort in this area of coaching
is totally up to you. This article gives
you only a light over-view of the many
ways you can touch the lives of your
athletes and enhance your coaching effectiveness
by focusing on developing positive atmosphere.
Your creativity and your own research
can produce many more ideas and methods
that can be utilized in this critical
area of developing an environment of
positive expectancy.
BILL
UTSEY: Bill Utsey, CAA, is the Director
of Athletics for the Greenville County
Schools, Greenville, SC. He is a graduate
of The Citadel (B.S. Physical Education)
and holds a Masters in Physical Education
and Educational Leadership degrees from
The University of South Carolina. His
experience includes four years as a
high school principal, twenty years
as a school athletic director and head
football coach with head coaching stints
in other sports to include basketball,
track, cross country, and golf. He is
serving his ninth year in his current
position. |
