Middle School Athletics - Implications for Coaching

Coaching middle school sports is not easy. There are many different priorities competing against one another. In a way coaching middle school is like walking a tight-rope. Coaching requires clear vision, balance, and patience. If these are not in place, confusion and conflict often follows. Based on the vision of middle school athletics from the following posts, here are some implications and guidelines we follow here at Covenant Life School for coaching at this level.

1) Coaches should stay safe. Let's remember that players are changing physically at this age. Many have little experience with the game you are coaching. Most adolescents regularly do not participate in vigorous physical activity. Let's assess the physical abilities of each player before pushing them hard physically. Find out where they are and work up from there. Obviously players need some degree of physical conditioning to play, but don't set the bar really high and find out who can perform at that level. Players get freaked out and hurt by that approach. In other words, we should not come into tryouts assuming they are ready physically to compete in a game situation. Gradually prepare them physically for the first game. Make sure your athletic director schedules your first game at least three weeks after tryouts!

2) Coaches should develop well-rounded players rather than positional players. In other words, coaches should emphasize the fundamentals (knowledge, skills, strategies, physical requirements). Middle school really is the beginning of adolescence - the period of growth from childhood to adulthood - so athletics in this period should be fairly simple and straightforward. Help players understand the basics of every position. Players will need that knowledge to succeed. Don't be surprised when you need to explain something as basic as a "throw in" for soccer, "traveling" for basketball, or the number of outs in an inning (I have seen confused middle school players not sure what to do in each of these situations). Many players have played only in recreation leagues. Let's assume players know very little about the game and help them develop the necessary skills to enjoy the game for a lifetime. Make a list of basic terms you want to teach to your team throughout the season. At this level knowing the rules of the game can give your team a decided advantage in a close game.

3) Coaches should encourage players to explore and test different talents and positions. For example, if a player shows interest or signs of talent, let them try goalie or point guard. Generally I think we should avoid leaning toward specialization at this age. Simultaneously I think coaches can play someone primarily at one position, especially for critical positions. (e.g. goalie, point guard, catcher). However I still think coaches should challenge players and parents to try other positions as well. The style and sophistication of varsity athletics comes with experience and growth.

4) Coaches should help players take risks rather than avoid failure. This implication ties in with the previous one. We should obviously set up players for success and avoid putting them in situations where they will fail miserably. However, let's encourage them to take risks and test something (including themselves). As Christians, this implications sets up many opportunities to trust God, rely on his strength, and grow as courageous men and women.

5) Coaches should play everyone. Obviously players will have different levels of talent and because middle school sports is competitive, everyone should not play equally. However, players need experience in games in order to grow more comfortable and confident in competitive situations. They need pressure in order to grow comfortable with pressure.

6) Coaches should have fun with their players. Having fun should be a constant theme in sports at every possible level because sports is playing a game. Emphasizing fun at this age helps players grow more comfortable with the competitive elements of athletics; it also helps us to not take ourselves so seriously.

Middle School Athletics - Preparing Players

In the last post I explained the first objective for middle school athletics: introducing players to this world. Now I want to talk a bit about the second and more obvious objective for middle school sports: preparing players for the next level.

Preparing players for the next level of interscholastic athletics means developing the necessary fundamentals of the game so they can succeed in JV and varsity athletics. I think this aspect of middle school athletics is more evident and pursued than introducing players. While middle school athletics should not be as competitive as varsity, middle school sports still is competitive. An increasing amount of players in middle school have experience playing on club teams. The average skill level in middle school is increasing. Many players and parents understandably expect more knowledgeable coaches to train them in the fundamentals. These fundamentals include knowledge of game (i.e. rules), skills and techniques, tactics and strategies, as well as the physical conditioning to meet the demands of the sport. In this way I think we can think of middle school programs like a feeder program for varsity. I also think varsity head coaches can have a role in designing middle school programs (more about this later, though).

Middle School Athletics - Introducing Players

Middle school athletics should accomplish two objectives: 1) introduce players to interscholastic athletics and 2) prepare players for the next level of interscholastic athletics. In this post I want to explain what I mean by introducing players to interscholastic athletics.

Introducing players to interscholastic athletics means getting them acquainted with the convention of competitive athletics between schools. Pretty obvious, huh? However, I think this aspect of middle school athletics is far less evident to coaches and parents. I remember how surprised (and honestly disappointed) I was in my first year of coaching middle school soccer by how little the players knew about the game. I realize now that I should not be surprised. After all, I invested 16 years of training in soccer before I coached. Many players did not have 10% of my experience yet.

In some ways middle school athletics should resemble the highest level of interscholastic varsity athletics. Most of the rules of the game are the same. Teams represent schools against one another. Seasons have championships. At the same time, though, middle school athletics should differ from varsity because of the students playing. They are beginning adolescence. They are generally weaker physically. They are more awkward and insecure. They have less skills and experience. Because of where they are developmentally, middle school athletics should be less intense, less organized, and less stressful than varsity. I think middle school athletics should allow a broad range of players because middle school is a season of broad and unique changes. In other words, athletics in this season should be as broad as the players coming out to play. Of course athletics at this level and all levels should also be fun. We are playing a game after all. Here's the bottom line: middle school athletics lays a foundation upon which JV and varsity build layers of sophistication and intensity.

Another way of saying all of this is that middle school athletics should not be elite. How can it be elite when many of the players have not developed enough to know whether or not they can perform at an elite level?

Middle School Athletics - Fish out of Water

I was cut from a team for the first time when I was 12 years old. I was in eighth grade and I tried out for my middle school basketball team. I had played recreational basketball for many years. I knew how to dribble and how to shoot. I knew how to not travel with the ball. But I was surprised how much about basketball I did not know. I did not know how to set or use a pick. I did not know how to do a layup properly. I did not understand how to move without the ball. I thought I knew the game, but in many ways I was lost on the court during those tryouts. I was devastated when I was told that I did not make the team. It was my first experience with interscholastic athletics and I felt like a fish out of water.

Many middle school students feel like a fish out of water. They feel out of place. They do not know if they fit. They feel this way not just in athletics but in virtually every area of life. In this season of growing, how should we think about athletics and competition? What ideas should help us steer adolescents through this period of development and change from childhood to adulthood? I want to share some thoughts from my experiences as an athletic director and principal in these middle years. I hope they help coaches primarily understand the goals God has for their players in this season as well as some strategies to accomplish those goals.