positive vs. negative reinforcement

Negativity is easy, and it comes natural. You have to beat it for at least a 3 to 1 favor (positive to negative), so the odds are stacked against it. You're gonna have to cram and find creative ways to deliver a positive message.

Positive = quantity
Doesn't have to be detailed or warranted, just lather it / heap it on as much as possible ("great effort", "we look good", "it is a good day to get better", "bobby, you got better on that rep right there", "how is it gonna feel when we beat City High?")
Develop a 'performance' relationship with your players

Negative = quality
If you are going to make an unpositive comment make it specific and direct it to the problem (which spells out the solution).
(instead of saying, "you dumbshit! you didn't reroute!" try "remember, we need to control the stem of the receiver with the heavy hand, use the hands not the feet" addressing the same action, but one delivered something of substance)
Don't reinforce unpositive images.
It should never really be personal either. Address the behavior (lack of effort) not the person exhibiting the behavior ("you're better than that, Trey! That effort will get us beat against North High. Lets amp up the intensity and make the plays / be the star you are")
great ways to destroy your players

Its all about perspective / how we frame the experience. Coaching/instruction is something we do FOR the players, not TO the players.

Be aware that your message isn't just what you SAY. It is the entire package, how you act, the energy you delivery, your body language, and how you interact outside of football

There is also a difference between punishment and discipline. While the link below is not about coaching, it does explain the desired outcome of discipline.

extension.missouri.edu/extensioninfonet/article.asp?id=2100

This is always gonna vary between coaches but here's my view

Negative- I only ever use negative at training. And even then, its never "johnny, your a useless f*#& " its always either constructive criticism or punishments (personal favourite for linemen is burns, have them drop into 2 point stance but so their thighs are parallel to ground and stay there for a minute) use a position relevant punishment. Linemen don't get anything out of doing laps, get them doing push ups, sprints or burns.
This said, I try to never end training on a bad note (even if its as little as saying good training to every single player.
Positive - at training, don't let guys get away with mistakes, let them know if they make mistakes. However, come game day always be positive. If your receiver misses a catch,chances are they will be harder on themselves then you could ever be. I run with the attitude of "next play". Obviously if said receiver misses most his catches on a game, you need to do something at training about it but don't destroy their confidence, if anything, try and get their confidence back up.

Hope this helps

Hammer, Hammer Hammer, Hug. Hammer, Hammer, Hammer, Hug. .....

After teaching BD students for almost 20 years, a few things have become clear. Fair does not mean equal. Trust your gut. When dealing with parents, be honest. When teaching players.... teach them. Scream for motivation only. Love em. Hug em. Be honest. Never disrespect.

The rest will take care of itself.

My idea of being negative is different than yours. If you are yelling at a kid for being lazy, slow to the ball, just generally giving the player a hard time, that is negative. If the player is using bad technique and you correct it, its not being negative its coaching. JMO

Be positive but demanding - "No way we can fail because we're too good, unless we beat ourselves."

Kids know they will get azz chewed for lack of effort and mental mistakes. Will get corrected (coached) on fundamental or technique flaws. Will get high praise for good plays, especially second-effort ones.

Here's the way I do things, it's worked well for me;

1. Lots of SPECIFIC positive reinforcement. When they do something right, I make sure I let them know EXACTLY what they did right and praise them for it. "That was a great first step; nice strike and drive." I am a very, very upbeat and loud in this aspect. I use a fair amount of GENERAL positive reinforcement; "Nice hustle, great job." etc I stay away from too much of this because it just gets redundant; in one ear and out the other.

2. When it comes to correcting a mistake, I still use SPECIFIC positive reinforcement as much as possible. When they screw up, I tell them what they did right within the progression; "That was a great job of popping your hips on that tackle and working hard, but WE need to work on grabbing a hold of jersey." I use the term WE a lot because they understand that I'm not laying it all on them; that the two of us are going to work on it. I used to use a lot of GENERAL positive reinforcement ("Nice hustle, but let's work on _____") The kids get tired of this quickly; they just start focusing on what they did wrong in terms of skill because you're not telling them what they did right.

3. The only time I used negative reinforcement is when a kid is being lazy or disrespectful. As far as being lazy goes, I always make sure that they know what they're doing and that they're just playing slow. It's taken me a while to pay attention to the entire skill progression to see if they know what they're doing. A lot of times, they're playing slow because they don't know what they're doing or haven't gotten enough reps at the skill to play fast. I generally give the kids the benefit of the doubt here. If they're being rude, it's self-explanatory.
However, I never raise my voice with the kids in these situations; I keep my tone neutral and calm. I lay out the consequences of their actions in very simple terms; this crap keeps up, you won't play, period. I used to come down on them hard because I figured that I was providing enough positive reinforcement but I realized that I was really coming across as Jekyll and Hyde and overly emotional. The kids know I'm severely p-ssed off when my tone becomes flat. I was so angry with a kid last year that I sent him to the locker room, in the middle of a game, to change into his street clothes because of his attitude towards his teammates. But, I never raised my voice once, I told him to get his gear off, that he wasn't playing and that I didn't want to hear another word out of his mouth.

4. I don't use punishment; there's just simple consequences for actions. If you're being a cancer or being lazy, you don't play. It's not a punishment; it's the simplest consequence of one's actions. You want to play the game, you need to work hard, be respectful, and pay attention. If not, then you haven't earned the right to play. If it's something very serious, they're gone, kicked off of the team. I NEVER punish the kids (especially the whole team!!) for skill mistakes they make for several reasons:
-Punishing the kids for something one or two kid do doesn't build teamwork; it sets the stage for resentment for them and for you as a coach.
-It's your job to coach them and teach them the game; if they're screwing up a skill consistently, you have to fix it.
-It wastes practice time; I used to make the OL and DL do up-downs or go for runs for jumping off sides and other stuff. I realized in a hurry that I was p-ssing away about 20 minutes of practice time a week by doing so. Plus, again, it's my job to coach them; instead of wasting those minutes of practice time punishing them, we could have been working on getting it right.

I know a lot of coaches that punish kids for making a mess on the bus or in the locker room. The solution to me is very simple; MAKE THEM CLEAN IT. I won't let kids get off of the bus until I go through it and make sure that it's spotless. If the locker room is trashed, they'll stay after practice and clean it top to bottom including the shower and the toilets. I'll get cleaning gear from the janitor and they'll go to work. Several years ago, I had to meet with my AD right after practice, came back to the locker room, the kids were gone and it was trashed. I picked it up because I didn't want to leave a mess, but you can bet your a-- those kids cleaned it the next day. They swept, mopped, wiped down the walls and mirrors, cleaned out the toilets, etc.. It never, ever happened again.