Monday, August 24, 2009
Summer recess
The summer has brought a long recess to the EPEG effort. There has been some activity with the Positive Coaches Alliance while some of the other important groups have been vacationing. School will be starting again soon and we can only hope that we can continue the dialogues previously started and continue the work of bringing stuent athletes the best possible experience from their high school days.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
AD responds to PCA info
The Athletic Director did respond with the following:
"Thank you for the email and we are very excited about the development of our Captain's Academy for fall 2009. As far as parental involvement, we are going to be inviting parents in for the end of the program. Also, thank you for the info on the Positive Coaching Alliance. Hope all else is well and talk to you soon. "
We can only hope that they will explore the PCA website and contact Rich Pruszinski. The PCA provides group workshops for an organization's leaders, coaches, parents and athletes that emphasize character-education and life lessons through sports. Please visit the website yourself and see www.positivecoach.org.
In the end, is it about a winning season for the coach or educating student athletes??
"Thank you for the email and we are very excited about the development of our Captain's Academy for fall 2009. As far as parental involvement, we are going to be inviting parents in for the end of the program. Also, thank you for the info on the Positive Coaching Alliance. Hope all else is well and talk to you soon. "
We can only hope that they will explore the PCA website and contact Rich Pruszinski. The PCA provides group workshops for an organization's leaders, coaches, parents and athletes that emphasize character-education and life lessons through sports. Please visit the website yourself and see www.positivecoach.org.
In the end, is it about a winning season for the coach or educating student athletes??
Thursday, June 25, 2009
PCA Materials forwarded
We sent some PCA materials to our Athletic Director, Superintendent of Schools, and the Assistant to the Superintendent along with a brief letter. Here is an exert from our letter:
"During the AAU season we came in contact with an organization that would be a very good resource for the ______ sports programs. The Positive Coaching Alliance, or PCA, was developed by the Department of Athletics at Stanford University. This is a national organization, and we have been in touch with one of their representatives, Rich Pruszinski. He has forwarded some information which is attached to this e-mail. The PCA program can serve our district by providing a tested methodology that helps schools transform the culture of youth sports to give all young athletes the opportunity for a positive, character-building experience. Rich would welcome the opportunity to provide you with more information or answer any questions directly. Rich’s phone is 414-242-8125; his e-mail is http://www.blogger.com/. The PCA main website is http://www.blogger.com/. Please consider investigating this program extensively.
On a separate note, we would like to congratulate your efforts in creating the Captain’s Academy. We believe this is a good first step in opening communication between coaches and players. We might suggest adding parents to the Academy, as they are another party that should be represented. Parents’ insight and experience provide another perspective and source of information that could be beneficial. Thank you for your concern and dedication. We look forward to hearing your opinions about the PCA. "
"During the AAU season we came in contact with an organization that would be a very good resource for the ______ sports programs. The Positive Coaching Alliance, or PCA, was developed by the Department of Athletics at Stanford University. This is a national organization, and we have been in touch with one of their representatives, Rich Pruszinski. He has forwarded some information which is attached to this e-mail. The PCA program can serve our district by providing a tested methodology that helps schools transform the culture of youth sports to give all young athletes the opportunity for a positive, character-building experience. Rich would welcome the opportunity to provide you with more information or answer any questions directly. Rich’s phone is 414-242-8125; his e-mail is http://www.blogger.com/. The PCA main website is http://www.blogger.com/. Please consider investigating this program extensively.
On a separate note, we would like to congratulate your efforts in creating the Captain’s Academy. We believe this is a good first step in opening communication between coaches and players. We might suggest adding parents to the Academy, as they are another party that should be represented. Parents’ insight and experience provide another perspective and source of information that could be beneficial. Thank you for your concern and dedication. We look forward to hearing your opinions about the PCA. "
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Positive Coach
Just found a group that is transforming youth sports (and school sports) through Positive Coaching. The organization teaches coaches, players, and parents how to work together to bring a positive experience to student athletes.
Positive Coaching Alliance Mission Statement:
Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) is a nonprofit organization founded at Stanford University with the mission to transform youth sports so sports can transform youth. PCA was created to transform the culture of youth sports to give all young athletes the opportunity for a positive, character-building experience.We have three national goals:
1) Replace the "win-at-all-cost" model of coaching with the Double-Goal Coach®, who wants to win but has a second, more important, goal of using sports to teach life lessons;
2) Teach youth sports organization leaders how to create an organizational culture in which Honoring the Game is the norm; and
3) Spark and fuel a "social epidemic" of Positive Coaching that will sweep this country.
There are many people in this nation who want to change the culture of youth sports, but they do not feel equipped to do so. Positive Coaching Alliance has developed practical tools to change the culture of youth sports and is making them available to coaches, parents, league organizers and others who will fire this movement.
Please check out their website at http://www.positivecoach.org/ and let us know what you think. Or better yet, let your school's Athletic Director know what you think.
Positive Coaching Alliance Mission Statement:
Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) is a nonprofit organization founded at Stanford University with the mission to transform youth sports so sports can transform youth. PCA was created to transform the culture of youth sports to give all young athletes the opportunity for a positive, character-building experience.We have three national goals:
1) Replace the "win-at-all-cost" model of coaching with the Double-Goal Coach®, who wants to win but has a second, more important, goal of using sports to teach life lessons;
2) Teach youth sports organization leaders how to create an organizational culture in which Honoring the Game is the norm; and
3) Spark and fuel a "social epidemic" of Positive Coaching that will sweep this country.
There are many people in this nation who want to change the culture of youth sports, but they do not feel equipped to do so. Positive Coaching Alliance has developed practical tools to change the culture of youth sports and is making them available to coaches, parents, league organizers and others who will fire this movement.
Please check out their website at http://www.positivecoach.org/ and let us know what you think. Or better yet, let your school's Athletic Director know what you think.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Follow up letter to Directors
We wanted to send each of you a sincere thank you, albeit belatedly, for taking the time out from your busy schedules to meet with us regarding our “Every Player, Every Game” idea. We think that the meeting proved to be very productive, as each of us gained insight to the others’ perspectives. It also confirmed for us how fortunate we are to live in a School District, where the administration truly cares about the quality of each child’s school and sports experience.
There are still, however, a few areas of concern. The point was made at the meeting that varsity sports were the equivalent of “AP Phys Ed”. We can appreciate the advanced nature of each sport and level of competition at the varsity level. But to complete the analogy, every AP student in any AP class gets to participate in the labs or tests. No one is asked to sit out of a particular chemistry or physics lab because the concept being illustrated might be beyond their skill level. The elite musical ensembles offered at schools allow each band member to play each piece. Not every player expects to get a solo, however. The same should be true of sports.
As for the surveys conducted in past years at the end of each sport’s season, the survey identified the problem perfectly: the team members that get to play, love the sports program. Team members that don’t play, are dissatisfied. We couldn't have said it better ourselves. It’s not that the surveys were uninformative, on the contrary, they were dead on. What needs to happen next is to find ways to improve the satisfaction level of those on the lower end of the survey spectrum. It is exactly this problem that led us to developing the “Every Player, Every Game” concept. More playing time would be an obvious solution to those that are disgruntled with the current system. Another positive step would be the student/team-captain board to which we alluded at the meeting. Removing, or at least distancing, the coaches from the “complaint department manager” function would certainly be well received by the coaches. Players and parents would also appreciate the elimination of the emotional and confrontational nature of voicing suggestions, opinions or complaints directly to the coaches.
With open dialogue, open minds, and a willingness to keep each student’s success at school and in sports as a primary goal, we feel confident that these issues will be fully addressed and overcome.It was a pleasure meeting and working with each of you, and we look forward to assisting in any way possible to achieve this worthy goal.
There are still, however, a few areas of concern. The point was made at the meeting that varsity sports were the equivalent of “AP Phys Ed”. We can appreciate the advanced nature of each sport and level of competition at the varsity level. But to complete the analogy, every AP student in any AP class gets to participate in the labs or tests. No one is asked to sit out of a particular chemistry or physics lab because the concept being illustrated might be beyond their skill level. The elite musical ensembles offered at schools allow each band member to play each piece. Not every player expects to get a solo, however. The same should be true of sports.
As for the surveys conducted in past years at the end of each sport’s season, the survey identified the problem perfectly: the team members that get to play, love the sports program. Team members that don’t play, are dissatisfied. We couldn't have said it better ourselves. It’s not that the surveys were uninformative, on the contrary, they were dead on. What needs to happen next is to find ways to improve the satisfaction level of those on the lower end of the survey spectrum. It is exactly this problem that led us to developing the “Every Player, Every Game” concept. More playing time would be an obvious solution to those that are disgruntled with the current system. Another positive step would be the student/team-captain board to which we alluded at the meeting. Removing, or at least distancing, the coaches from the “complaint department manager” function would certainly be well received by the coaches. Players and parents would also appreciate the elimination of the emotional and confrontational nature of voicing suggestions, opinions or complaints directly to the coaches.
With open dialogue, open minds, and a willingness to keep each student’s success at school and in sports as a primary goal, we feel confident that these issues will be fully addressed and overcome.It was a pleasure meeting and working with each of you, and we look forward to assisting in any way possible to achieve this worthy goal.
Meeting with the administrators
We did have a meeting with the Superintendent of Schools, the Assistant to the Superintendent, and the Athletic Director. Everyone expressed their ideas and concerns regarding the Every Player, Every Game concept and the current status of high school sports.
Areas of concern included how this might be implemented in sports such as golf, tennis, or track. The expectations of parents and the community to provide a "winning" program. And the pressure each coach faces to meet these expectations. How varsity sports were deemed to be the competetive level of sports while JV and Freshman sports are instructional.
It was highlighted that the NYSPHAA Code of Ethics makes no mention that schools are required to provide a winning program nor to make Varsity sports a highly competitive program.
The discussion lasted for about 45 minutes and concluded with some ideas that the Athletic Director will be introducing next year. All agreed that the meeting was very beneficial and that all parties are interested in making the athletic program the very best, a well rounded and rewarding experience.
Areas of concern included how this might be implemented in sports such as golf, tennis, or track. The expectations of parents and the community to provide a "winning" program. And the pressure each coach faces to meet these expectations. How varsity sports were deemed to be the competetive level of sports while JV and Freshman sports are instructional.
It was highlighted that the NYSPHAA Code of Ethics makes no mention that schools are required to provide a winning program nor to make Varsity sports a highly competitive program.
The discussion lasted for about 45 minutes and concluded with some ideas that the Athletic Director will be introducing next year. All agreed that the meeting was very beneficial and that all parties are interested in making the athletic program the very best, a well rounded and rewarding experience.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Board of Ed update
Our local Board of Education did not contact us for a while so we contacted them. We called and left a message for the Superintendent of Schools and one of his assistants called back. The assistant was very helpful and we had a productive discussion for over twenty minutes. The Assistant thought the idea held enough merit to schedule a meeting with herself, the Athletic Director, and indicated that the Superintendent might sit in as well.
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