COACHING EDUCATION NEWSLETTER // P. 1

March 2015

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Women in Coaching 1

Parents and Practice 2

Webinar Series 2

Team Icebreaker 3

Online Marketplace 3

Learning From NGB’s 3

Career Development 4

Featured Book 4

Nutrition Tip 4

The USOC’s coaching education department is committed to supporting

NGBs by providing cutting-edge information and training opportunities to contribute the expertise necessary

to direct Team USA athletes to national and international success.

Counting the Smaller Wins When Women in Coaching is Struggling to Thrive

Shattering the Ceiling Louis Ojeda Jr., FOX Sports Southwest February 12, 2015- A year ago, Jennifer Welter became the first woman to play a non-kicking position in a men's profession-al football league. Now, she's the first to coach in one. The Texas Revolution of the Champions Indoor Football league announced that Welter will coach linebackers and special teams, making her the first female hired to coach in men's pro football. "Jen is incredible and she proved that last year," Revs general manager and 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Tim Brown told FOX Sports Southwest. "It's going to be a challenge for her, but I think she's going to be great." “I have 14 years of experience playing professional football," Welter said. "If Tim Brown, coach Davis and my team feels good about me, then it shouldn't matter if I'm a man or a woman.”

Read the full article here.

Ojeda, L. (2015, February 12). Texas indoor pro football team first to hire woman to coaching staff. Fox Sports Southwest. Retrieved from http://www.foxsports.com/southwest/story/texas-indoor-pro-football-team-first-to-hire-woman-to-coaching-staff-021215 The Darker Side of the Story Dana Hunsinger Benbow, USA TODAY Sports February 23, 2015- On the courts and fields, women college athletes have made great strides. But in the coaching ranks, something drastically differ-ent is happening. Female coaches are losing ground. Since Title IX, the percentage of women coaches at the college level has dropped precipitously. Forty-three years ago, 90 percent of all women's teams were coached by women, according to Acosta and Carpenter's Women in Intercollegiate Sport study. Today, that number is 40 percent, according to NCAA Research. The number of women coaching men's teams is minuscule with fewer than 300 nationwide — less than 2 percent. The numbers are causing pause — and pondering — in the collegiate sports world. Why, in a day when women are making great gains in other careers, are women in coaching falling back?

Read the full article here. Benbow, D.H. (2015, February 23). Why has number of women coaches fallen since title IX?. USA TODAY Sports.Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2015/02/23/women-college-coaches-title-9-ix/23917353/

35th Anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice”

All 19 living members of the U.S. team that went on to beat Finland and claim

the gold medal attended the event. The event included a panel conversation and video clips through four segments: “The

Journey,” “The Steps,” “The Miracle” and “The Gold.”

COACHING EDUCATION NEWSLETTER // P. 2

Human Kinetics Coach Education Leadership

Webinar Series

Led by renowned coaching education expert Dr. Wade Gilbert, this free series of three leadership-focused webinars are designed to help coach-es understand what motivates them as coaches, how to draw the best out of their athletes, and how to build team cohesion.

Webinar 1: Demonstrating Core Values

and Clear Purpose in Coaching

Watch this webinar here!

Webinar 2: Putting Athlete’s Interests

First for More Powerful Coaching

Wednesday, February 25 1:00 to 2:00 pm EST

Watch this webinar here!

Webinar 3: Cultivating Mutual Trust and

Cohesion on Teams

Wednesday, March 25 1:00 to 2:00 pm EDT

Register now!

Even if you know you can’t make the live event, go ahead and register for the webinar anyway. You’ll be added to a list of registrants who will receive an automated email containing a link to the recorded webinar. The email will be sent later the same day.

March 2015

6 Reasons Parents Should NOT Watch Practice By: Skye Eddy Bruce, SoccerParenting.com

Skye Eddy Bruce is a former All-American goal keeper, professional player and colle-giate coach. She holds a USSF “B” License and USSF National Goalkeeper License. She is also a youth sport coach and mom of a soccer player. She is the founder of Soc-cerParenting.com in which she provides expert soccer advice to the community. Being a coach and parent gives Skye a unique perspective into the demands of sport on both a parent and an athlete. In Skye’s blog, she recognizes that watching her child’s practice made her feel good, but what she didn't recognize was how it didn't make her child feel the same way. After deciding to not watch practices, she began to see the benefits of keeping her distance. Below are six reasons Skye gives for parents to NOT watch their child’s sport practice. 1. A parent’s role in their child’s sports endeavor is to be supportive and encouraging. When parents watch practices – it leads to comments outside of this role. We find our-selves saying things such as “You should pay better attention to the coach when they are talking” or “You kept passing to the other team, you need to be more focused”. When we watch practices, we open the door to talking about a part of their sports en-deavor we should not be talking about. 2. Sometimes it’s better not to know. It’s better not to know if our child isn’t paying attention, or if our child is struggling with the speed of play and giving the ball away. It’s better not to know because when we do know these things, the stress creeps in. What our child needs to receive from us is our support, not our stress. 3. When we watch practices, there is a clear shift in the dynamic between our child and their team and coach. After all, as parents, we are the most authoritative figure in our child’s life. Naturally, they will feel different when we are watching practices. We limit our child’s ability to be a teammate when we insert ourselves into their team dynamic, even if it is from the bleachers or from a distance. 4. Being a teammate is an honor and a responsibility. Our children must learn to play for their teammates and their coach, not for us. When we are in attendance, they are naturally playing for us. We need to allow our children to concentrate not on winning our approval, but rather on winning the approval of their teammates and coaches through their personal level of commitment. 5. Our child’s commitment to their team needs to be a decision they make; it can’t be anything we try to facilitate. If we are involved in this decision, our children will eventually burn out or lose interest. If we want to support our children as they develop an identity as an athlete and team member, we must allow their commitment to their team to come from within them. 6. Parents should have better things to do than watching practice. If we put our chil-dren front and center in our lives, we are putting too much pressure on the them. We are quietly telling them that our happiness, in some way, depends on their perfor-mance. That’s too much pressure. Our happiness should depend on us – on the walk or run we could take, on the book we could read, on the other things we could accom-plish in the hour and a half of their training.

Read the full blog post here. Bruce, S.E. (2015, February 16). 6 reasons parents should note watch practice. Soccerparenting.com: Expert advice you can trust.

Retrieved from http://soccerparenting.com/2015/02/16/6-reasons-parents-should-not-watch-practice/

COACHING EDUCATION NEWSLETTER // P. 3

New Season, New Team: Helping Your Athletes Get to

Know One Another

“ What are some of your favorite “icebreakers” to help teammates get to know each other?”

PCA Response by Joe Scally, PCA Trainer–Chicago

Keys to picking an icebreaker include your comfort level with the exercise. If you’re not comfortable explaining and possibly participating in the icebreaker it won’t go so well. Another is group demographics such as age, gender, competitive level, and developmental level. Consider how well teammates already know each other. This will affect their willingness to invest in certain activities, such as sharing personal information. Most importantly, consider the goals you hope to achieve by doing the icebreaker. These range from having fun, to getting to know each other, to fostering communica-tion, to trust building and many others. Icebreakers should always be chosen to promote a positive team culture that engenders respect for teammates and promotes the values of the team.

TEAM BINGO

One of my favorites: I prepare “bingo” cards where each square has a description that would apply to one or more team members. Each player gets a bingo card and tries to fill it with names of teammates who match the descriptions.

For more information, click here.

Scally J. (2015). Icebreakers: PCA development zone. Positive Coaching Alliance. Retrieved from http://devzone.positivecoach.org/resource/article/icebreakers

March 2015

Team USA Online Marketplace

The USOC is pleased to offer a new service aimed at providing cutting-edge information

and training opportunities to help direct Team USA athletes and coaches to national and in-

ternational success. Please visit our new online marketplace that will provide various re-

sources to coaches everywhere.

Learning From Each Other

USA Swimming’s website offers a tips and training section that provides resources for coaches on a variety of training tips.

USA Swimming’s website offers a tips and training section that offers coaches resources on a variety of training tips. While

some of the resources are specific to swimming, there is awe-some information on best coaching practices overall. Instead of re-creating the wheel, learn from your fellow sport organiza-

tions. Check out their page here!

Has a brother

Likes to swim

Likes to read

Been camping

Plays in club

Morning person

Born in diff.

state

Is an only child

Has a 3.0

Plays video

games

Has a pet Likes the

beach

Is a leader

Is a sen-ior

Fav . color red

Fav. Meal is lunch

Has green eyes

Has rode a horse

Likes to run

Plays other sport

Is a lefty Likes pizza

Played 3+

sports

Afraid of height

Is team player

COACHING EDUCATION NEWSLETTER // P. 4

March 2015

NUTRITION TIP

CONTACT US Please send NGB coaching news and updates to CoachingEducation@usoc.org with the subject line “Coaching Newsletter” for inclusion in future editions. USOC Coaching Education CoachingEducation@USOC.org 719-866-2245 Chris Snyder, Director Christine Bolger, Manager Ben Leopold, Coordinator

About the Program: Team USA is pleased to present the first annual Career Development Forum: The Business of Sport, a workshop for sport industry professionals. This exciting, three-day event is designed to help foster the next generation of leaders in the Olympic and Paralympic movements. Participants will be exposed to the business of Olympic and Paralympic sport, and learn from industry leaders through informative breakout sessions and panel discus-sions on various topics such as strategic planning, data-driven decisions, digital content and leading beyond the title. Human resources professionals also will be in attend-ance to discuss networking, interviewing and resume-building skills. The forum will conclude with an opportunity to identify and network with representatives from the U.S. Olympic Committee, National Governing Bodies and other local organizations at the Team USA Career and Intern-ship Fair. The 2015 Team USA Career and Development Forum: The Business of Sport will be held May 25-27 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Registration: Complete the online registration form by May 10, 2015. The first 110 people to register for the Gold package will have the opportunity to live like an Olympian and Paralym-pian and will be housed at the Olympic Training Center. Payment is due at the time of registration and no refund will be issued. Team USA proudly accepts Visa cards on-ly. Once you submit your registration, you will receive an email to confirm your attendance.

Expanding Your Mind: Featured Book

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

By: Carol Dweck

World-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, in decades of research on achievement and success, has dis-covered a truly groundbreaking idea–the power of our mindset.

Dweck explains why it’s not just our abilities and talent that

bring us success–but whether we approach them with a fixed or growth mindset. She makes clear why praising intelligence and ability doesn’t foster self-esteem and lead to accomplishment,

but may actually jeopardize success. With the right mindset, we can motivate our kids and help them to raise their grades, as

well as reach our own goals–personal and professional. Dweck reveals what all great parents, teachers, CEOs, and athletes already know: how a simple idea about the brain can create a love of learning and a resilience that is the basis of great ac-

complishment in every area.

Find out more here!

2015 TEAM USA CAREER DEVELOPMENT FORUM:

THE BUSINESS OF SPORT MAY 25 - 27, 2015