Guest Post by Brian Jones
I hope every coach has been given the opportunity to have a “team time” or “devotional time” with their players. This should be and is the most important aspect of coaching in an outreach program. Coach Jeff Usher puts it this way in his book Take Them By The Hand, “Lots of people can show up and run a practice or a game….but each one of us who accepts the larger challenge, we have a great opportunity to build character and help these young players grow into quality adults. To do that, you must find ways to shine the light on the lessons we are really trying to teach.” (this is a great book all coaches should read)
But when is the best time to have these team times?
As an outreach sports director, I have actually put a lot of thought into this. And I believe the timing of “team time” depends on the age group. If you are a coach of early elementary players you never want to have your team time first. The kids have been waiting for practice all day and when they get there they want to start practice not sit in a circle and talk. The best time I believe for this age group is at the end of practice. Have a hard, fun practice and get them tired so maybe, just maybe, they can sit still for 5 to 10 minutes.
If you coach upper elementary players, look at having your “team time” in the middle of the practice. You can use your “team time” as a mid-way point. Most coaches will incorporate half of the practice with drills and skills; the other half of practice, with some type of live game action or scrimmage. You can use your “team time” as a carrot “If everyone listens and participates in the “team time” then we will scrimmage the last half.
If you coach middle or high school aged players (I’ll pray for you) consider having your team time first thing. This age group needs an early reminder why they are out there and putting the “team time” first shows them the importance of it. For the older age groups, team time comes before practice!
Finally, Coach Usher urges us to consider building our practice around our devotional, not the other way around. For example, if your devotional is centered around sharing, try to come up with drills that can be used to enforce sharing. And stop practice anytime someone makes a great pass to emphasize your devotional topic.
I hope I gave you some insight on when is the best time to conduct your “team time” but gave you no devotional lessons to use.
If you need some or some devotional ideas contact me at bwj@wpcgo.com.
