It's My Game!

Welcome to It’s My Game!

Steve W — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 22:38:57 +0000

As it says on the home page, It’s My Game is all about putting the ‘F’ word (fun) back into kids football.

We have some ideas regarding how to do that but we’d welcome your ideas too!

Please feel free to contact us or post your comments here.

Raise your game!

Steve W — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 15:04:52 +0000

A Behaviour Management Tool for Year 8

Raise your game is a new behaviour management tool for identified year 8 pupils.

In the football programme children are engaged through six, one hour sessions with roughly half the time spent in the classroom and half on the pitch.

The behaviour management tool covers a weekly topic; Team Work, Communication, Setting Goals, Decision Making, Anger Management and Organisation.

The programme connects behaviour management in the school and home with a sport or activity (in this case football) through classroom presentations and exercises coupled with adapted games on the football pitch.

The programme was devised by Liz McPherson and Paul Cooper (Deer Park School)

For more information contact Paul Cooper at stpcooper@deerparkschool.net

Head Games and Youth Sports – from Huffington Post

Blog — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:30:30 +0000

Richard Senelick, M.D., a neurologist and Medical Director for Rehabilitation Institute of San Antonio provides some interesting medical and cultural insight into head injuries in kids. Recent research by the NFL into concussions and links to later-in-life disabilities is forcing a thorough rethinking of how we approach concussions in kids.

This is a must read for parents of kids in football and hockey!

Equal playing time….it’s a no-brainer!

Steve W — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 18:52:05 +0000

There’s nothing worse that watching a young child sitting on the subs bench for most of a match watching his mates having fun.

That sort of ‘child abuse’ is a reflection on the mentality of the coach – is winning so important to him that he has to make a child miserable?

And making children sit and watch instead of play the ‘beautiful game’ won’t do the team any good either.

Here’s ten reasons why you should give your players equal playing time (with thanks to Sports Esteem)

Avoids contention between coaches and parents. Parents will not objectively judge their own child’s abilities. No coach should expect objectivity from parents.
Avoids contention among parents. The resentments that can build between coaches and parents can often build among parents for the same reasons. More than a few youth teams have had successful seasons poisoned by hard feelings arising out of a coach’s game decisions.
Avoids contention among players. If players feel that coaches have favorites, they may stop trying their hardest.
Minimizes player fatigue. In tough physical games, coaches will lack skilled players if the top players are exhausted and lesser players have had limited game experience.
Maximizes player development. Without access to playing time and special situations, players cannot learn.
Simplifies coaching decisions. Coaches won’t have to guess which players are most likely to play well in a given situation.
Recognizes equal investments. Players and parents often make equal contributions away from the game in time and dollars and thus expect equal access to game situations.
Improves team chemistry. When players feel everyone is treated fairly, they are more likely to focus on working together. When players feel they can succeed by making someone else look bad or themselves look better, they are learning the wrong lessons about team play.
Wins mean more to everyone. When everyone contributes to a win, there are no lingering resentments that will interfere with the celebration.
Better reflects coaching abilities. Winning games with kids who are physically more mature is more a success of drafting than coaching. Winning games by developing all the kids on a team is a better test of a coach’s abilities.

Equal playing time really is a no brainer!

Here is a simple spreadsheet to help you work out how much playing time your players should get.

Playing time calculator (.xls)

What is the Lystedt Law?

Blog — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:12:38 +0000

Last summer, the state of Washington enacted a law that requires school districts and non-profits that use school facilities to adopt policies covering brain concussions. Named for Zackery Lystedt, a 13 year old, who suffered permanent brain damange and physical impairments after returning to a football game after being hit and suffering a brain concussion.

It is likely that over the next few years a majority of states will enact similar legislation. Many of the provisions are just common sense and were discussed in an earlier post on this site. Brain concussions happen more often in youth sports than most are aware. Hopefully, this law will make a lack of understanding about concussions a thing of the past.

Click here to learn more about the Lystedt law.

A Survey of Youth Sports Finds Winning Isn’t the Only Thing

Blog — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:56:13 +0000

Over the weekend, there was a great article in the New York Times about why kids participate in sports.

"Adults may lean toward turning children’s games into an approximation of professional sports. But ask young players what they want, and the answer can be disarmingly simple. More than training to be a Super Bowl star, more than even winning, youngsters play sports for fun — at least they do in Darien, Conn."

Read the full artilce at the New York Times

Why Education Matters

Blog — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 02:35:17 +0000

A recent article in Sports Illustrated shows the problems that former athletes face. Just two quick facts from the story:

By the time they have been retired for two years, 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress because of joblessness or divorce.
Within five years of retirement, an estimated 60% of former NBA players are broke.

This is not the happy ending most kids expect when they dream of a pro career.

Who Cares if the Coach Knows Everything About the Sport?

Blog — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 15:28:17 +0000

Although a coach can have a tremendous amount of knowledge about his sport, the two most important considerations for a coach are:

Can he teach what he knows?
Can he motivate his players to do what he teaches?

According to the Wikipedia, "a teacher is a person who teaches; a person who guides, instructs, trains or helps another in the process of learning knowledge, understanding, behaviour or skills, including thinking skills."

Although a coach may have tremendous skills from playing sports, their ultimate success will come more from their teaching skills. Coaches who want to be successful must complement their playing skills with the necessary teaching skills. Otherwise, a coach who knows everything about his sport will often find himself losing to coaches who know far less if he cannot teach what he knows.

New Coaching & Parent Video

Blog — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:20:11 +0000

This video that ResponsibleSports.com, the Positive Coaching Alliance, and Liberty Mutual put together on developing parent/coach relationships is a pretty good overview of how to work with kids in youth sports.

Self-discipline

Blog — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 10:34:17 +0000

“Self-discipline is a form of freedom. Freedom from laziness and lethargy, freedom from expectations and demands of others, freedom from weakness and fear — and doubt.” - H.A. Dorfman

From the book: The Mental ABC’s of Pitching