According to research from two University of Washington professors, coaches who focus on creating a teaching environment fare better than those who focus on winning.
Dr. Frank Smoll and Dr. Ronald Smith, both professors of psychology at the University of Washington, say that their research indicates that when coaches focus on a mastery-motivation (learning) climate instead of an ego-driven (winning) climate the following benefits accrue:
- More positive coach-athlete relationships with greater mutual respect
- Increased the amount of fun participants derive from competition
- Reduces performance anxiety and fear of failure
- Increased athletes self-esteem
- Builds greater team cohesion
- Promotes greater mastery-oriented achievement goals in both sports and academic areas ***
- Decreases athletes dropout rates from 30% to 5% ***
- Produces positive effects on both boys and girls teams ***
A mastery-motivation climate is focused on positive communication between athletes and coaches. An ego-driven climate is more focused on being better than others and winning at all costs.
Their training program, Mastery Approach to Coaching, is the only scientifically validated coaching education workshop that has been proven to provide these benefits to an athletic program.
According to the professors website: YESports: Youth Enrichment in Sports
http://www.y-e-sports.com/index.html
the focus of the program revolves around encouraging parents to provide a mastery motivational climate that emphasizes a definition of success as self improvement, giving maximum effort, and enjoying the activity for its own sake instead of defining success as winning and besting others.
The Mastery Approach to Coaching is combined with the Mastery Approach to Parenting in Sports program to get all participants "on the same page" to benefit their children. In many sports programs, the constituencies of parents-coaches-children are often not on the same page.
According to Professor Smith, when this type of mastery climate is employed in youth sports programs, retention levels are improved. "It keeps them coming back," says Smith. "Retention is a huge problem in some youth sports programs, An important reason to keep kids involved in sports is that it reduces obesity by helping them be more active."
The other residual benefits listed above are important as well.
For more information:
Youth Enrichment in Sports website
http://www.y-e-sports.com/index.html
Mastery Approach to Parenting in Sports
http://depts.washington.edu/uwconf/earlylearning/presentations/Frank_Smoll_Resources.pdf
Physorg.com Article: Coaches can shape young athletes' definition of success
http://www.physorg.com/news177690530.html
American Psychological Association article: Coaching the coaches
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/04/coaching.aspx
Tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. - Romans 5:3-4
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