Transforming youth sports starts with coaches

My high school basketball coach was one of our PE teachers. My junior high algebra teacher was the junior varsity coach. One of our language arts teachers coached volleyball.

Every coach for boys’ and girls’ sports in our school system had become a teacher first. Their purpose was to help kids learn, in the classroom as well as on the field or court.

Good test scores or winning seasons were celebrated, but something was learned even when those goals fell short. 

In the decades that followed, the number of sports offered in schools and the number of participants grew. There weren’t enough teacher-coaches, so schools began to hire community members to fill coaching vacancies.

At the same time, the mission of club sports began to influence the expectations parents and kids had for school sports.

Pressure to win grew, especially when a team achieved high-profile success. If one school team made it to “state” then they all should.

The purpose of the game became confused with the goal

Coaches watched their commitment grow from the season to the off-season and in some cases, year-round. Many parents and coaches believed more was better. That longer practices, more practices and specialization would lead to success. But greater demands and unrealistic expectations led to many coaches leaving the profession.  

We now have a youth sports climate that makes it difficult to find coaches (and referees) who are willing to fill these roles necessary to providing a positive experience for kids.

But the demands take a toll on kids as well; many quit playing before they even get to high school. Because something important has been lost.

We forgot that playing school sports is really about learning. Learning the game. Learning about ourselves. Learning about others.  

Changing the culture

Former NFL player, Joe Ehrmann explains the difference between the purpose of playing and the goal in his book “InsideOut Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives.” He encourages coaches to be transformational by being mentors and teachers, rather than transactional coaches focused only on the win.

Some state athletic associations are following his lead.

In 2017, led by Associate Director Jody Redman, the Minnesota State High School League kicked off training for 80 high school athletic administrators for the “Why We Play InsideOut Team” with the goal of reclaiming the educational purpose of sports for their student athletes. Redman and Ehrmann are co-founders of the InsideOut Initiative which officially launched in February 2020 with partners that include the Minnesota Vikings.

Minnesota is one of 10 states joining the initiative. The Minnesota program reminds both coaches and parents to focus on the reason kids play in the first place.

With the support of parents, schools and community members more kids can have rewarding experiences from sports and continue playing through high school.

Interested? I can’t explain it near as well as this Why We Play video. But I’m definitely cheering them on.

Learn More

Read about Joe Ehrmann’s “InsideOut Initiative”

Read “InsideOut Coaching” by Joe Ehrmann

Watch the Minnesota High School League Video “Why We Play”

Minnesota High Schools Make Commitment to Transform the “Win-at-all-Costs” sports culture