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Post by dlundberg on Jul 1, 2014 17:18:11 GMT -6
How do you guys go about motivating your kids to work hard? The kids are good kids and do what we ask, but lack intensity. I don't want them to do it because I say.. I want them to want it. I want to establish that culture. Am I expecting too much?
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Post by brophy on Jul 1, 2014 17:23:49 GMT -6
I want them to want it. I want to establish that culture.  |
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Post by natenator on Jul 1, 2014 17:41:55 GMT -6
^^^And for those of us that don't have that ability with the kids we coach?
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Post by freezeoption on Jul 1, 2014 17:42:31 GMT -6
I would love to have that much space in my weight room.
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Post by brophy on Jul 1, 2014 17:59:02 GMT -6
^^^And for those of us that don't have that ability with the kids we coach? how is that possible? youth club? |
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Post by dlundberg on Jul 1, 2014 18:08:24 GMT -6
Maybe I am misunderstanding, but I am not following. This post was mostly directed towards the weight room. I guess I should have stated that.
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Post by natenator on Jul 1, 2014 18:14:46 GMT -6
^^^And for those of us that don't have that ability with the kids we coach? how is that possible? youth club? Summer league. I wish I could get kids involved in weight room but barely able to get them committed to practicing for 4 hours/week let alone watching our game and opponent scout video |
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Post by s73 on Jul 1, 2014 18:48:37 GMT -6
Vince Lombardi, obviously one of the great motivators of all time, was once asked "how do you motivate people so well? "
His response was "I surround myself with people who WANT to be motivated".
I never believed this more than this year. Last year I had a group of kids that had I given the greatest speech in the history of sports followed by an Olympic Torch processional followed by a parade followed by the opposing mascot being crushed w/ a giant hammer followed by my head exploding like a pumpkin - in return - crickets.
This year I say practically nothing and these guys are wound up and ready to go. They don't just love football they love the process. Not sure you can do much more about that. If they LOVE it they will come around. If they don't, it is what it is. JMO.
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Post by dlundberg on Jul 1, 2014 19:00:07 GMT -6
I've found that self motivation in a team is directly related to leadership. I guess we need more of it. Can't make kids lead though, another thing they have to want
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Post by s73 on Jul 1, 2014 19:14:43 GMT -6
I've found that self motivation in a team is directly related to leadership. I guess we need more of it. Can't make kids lead though, another thing they have to want As I stated above, I think we as coaches can lead and motivate those who want to be motivated. But, I also believe that our generation of coaches is treading in some dangerous waters here. I personally do not believe it is my duty and or responsibility to motivate a young man who willingly joined the team. IMO it is my duty to coach him to the absolute best of my & his ability, while being careful to develop a program that does not "de-motivate" individuals through burn out, etc. But my expectation is that you WANT to be here. That's why you are here. If I have to start each year with kids showing up and their expectation of me now is "okay coach, I'm here, now make me excited about it".......well let's just say their will be alot more than American FB programs in decline in this country IMO. |
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Post by coachorm on Jul 1, 2014 19:35:41 GMT -6
Competition, I feel goes a long way to motivating kids. Make everything competition. This year we had players vote on a leadership committee. Then we had that committee have a draft of all remaining players to form platoons. Those platoons compete constantly. Events, fundraisers, lift-a-thon, conditioning, attendance. You name it we compete in it. Platoons get points for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. For attendance you get points when everyone on your platoon is present for the workout. Peer pressure is a wonderful thing when used appropriately.
The ultimate reward this year in the fall will be the winning team having an ice cream social while the rest of the platoons do conditioning one day at practice. The losing platoon, gets to clean up the mess left from the ice cream social after conditioning.
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Post by dlundberg on Jul 1, 2014 20:32:04 GMT -6
Competition, I feel goes a long way to motivating kids. Make everything competition. This year we had players vote on a leadership committee. Then we had that committee have a draft of all remaining players to form platoons. Those platoons compete constantly. Events, fundraisers, lift-a-thon, conditioning, attendance. You name it we compete in it. Platoons get points for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. For attendance you get points when everyone on your platoon is present for the workout. Peer pressure is a wonderful thing when used appropriately. The ultimate reward this year in the fall will be the winning team having an ice cream social while the rest of the platoons do conditioning one day at practice. The losing platoon, gets to clean up the mess left from the ice cream social after conditioning. Did this once in college. Went from 5-5 to a conference championship. Had a lot of good leadership |
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Post by spreadpowero on Jul 1, 2014 20:52:26 GMT -6
Lou Holtz said the best way to motivate people was to get rid of the people who didn't want to be motivated. Easy to do when you can recruit.
For our school, its all about keeping the tradition going and trying to one up previous teams. As for individuals, we tell the seniors that the only way that they start is if they are the best guy on the field. If an underclassman is just as good as you, he will start and you will not. We also tell them that all of the JV players starting on varsity are here for one reason only, to take your job, and we hope they do. This of course puts a bullseye on the freshmen and sophomores, but that's exactly what we want. Seniors who will not take it easy, and it gives us a chance to see if the young bucks can handle the mental and physical aspect of the varsity level.
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Post by coachc45 on Jul 7, 2014 10:14:51 GMT -6
One thing I have to say is that the most successful "motivators" I have ever laid eyes on do not do special things to motivate. They motivate by their attitude. They show up fired up every day and they model the behavior they expect. If you are fired up, then the kids will be fired up.
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Post by newt21 on Jul 7, 2014 19:07:58 GMT -6
I tell the kids why they do things. If they know what it'll improve and the reasoning behind it, they won't view it as just faceless conditioning. Something else is to ask them who the best player on the team is and why, you'll get answers like faster/stronger/bigger. Then you ask them what THEY can do to improve themselves in those areas so they can BEAT that person.
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Post by otterbox on Jul 7, 2014 19:50:49 GMT -6
We take a 1 week after the last game for team meetings for returning players. This is coach led but the players do most of the talking. We reflect on the previous season, we set team/personal goals, we develop a plan of action to achieve the goals, start team building activities, vote on a leadership council, derive an oath, and have kids sign it. We post the oath and team goals in the locker room. The players must know where they are going in order to be motivated to do the work. We give them ownership and remind them from time to time about what they discussed in the meetings, staying focused and on path. We were 1-9 the 1st year and 7-4 this past year(2nd season).
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Post by gammelgaard on Jul 8, 2014 7:16:56 GMT -6
What if you have one very mature, leading player? He definately leads by example, attitude and vocal, but can I do anything to make the team follow?
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Post by coachc45 on Jul 8, 2014 9:28:32 GMT -6
When we 1st got to the school we are at the kids were non-enthusiastic, they were unmotivated, and did not encourage each other. Very negative attitudes all around.
The 1st day of offseason(boot camp)we knew we were gonna have to model the behavior we expected. In order to gain access to a drill each group had to "earn" their way into the drill by showing enthusiasm and excitement. They were told this before we started. When the 1st group showed up, they were half-heartedly showing any enthusiam at all. I had to jump in with them and show them what enthusiasm looked like. The hold-over coaches looked at me like I had 3 heads. I was jumping around and high-fiving and having a blast. once the kids saw me, they started joining in. I let them into the station and the enthusiasm immediately stopped. So back outside we went. I then modeled how they were to act inside the room. Took 2 days and the kids knew the expectations and showed genuine enthusiasm.
Our coaches model enthusiasm and excitement everyday. Starts with the coach leading stretches and continues with every coach. It works.
I noticed a long time ago that we have bad practices on the days our coaches are not energetic and enthusiastic. They follow their leaders. If we are enthusiastic, excited, and fired up they will be also.
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Post by coachc45 on Jul 8, 2014 9:29:10 GMT -6
We take a 1 week after the last game for team meetings for returning players. This is coach led but the players do most of the talking. We reflect on the previous season, we set team/personal goals, we develop a plan of action to achieve the goals, start team building activities, vote on a leadership council, derive an oath, and have kids sign it. We post the oath and team goals in the locker room. The players must know where they are going in order to be motivated to do the work. We give them ownership and remind them from time to time about what they discussed in the meetings, staying focused and on path. We were 1-9 the 1st year and 7-4 this past year(2nd season). Great Post! |
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