3 Ways To Encourage Teamwork From The Sidelines (For Parents & Fans)
Sometimes as a parent, or fan, it can be difficult to be on the sidelines. But it can also be a lot of fun and you can help the team. The next time you are at a game, have a great time by supporting the entire team and encouraging teamwork. Here are three easy things that you can do to help create a positive team atmosphere from the sidelines.
Support The Entire Team
When it comes time to cheer during a game remember that your child (or the child who you are watching), is not the only player on the court or playing field. Depending on the sport, there are several more players out there so make sure to cheer for them too. Encourage teamwork by being a team player yourself.
Make the extra effort to learn the names of all the players on your child’s team. Cheering for everyone can make a huge difference for the young athletes themselves and the team dynamics. If parents work to broaden their thinking, and cheer for all of the players, they will see that their support can affect the team and strengthen team mentality.
Cheer For Teamwork and Skills, Not Just Scoring
If a player hears several parents congratulate them on a nice assist, they will feel good about it and be inspired to help their teammates with more assists. If a player hears clapping and cheering after they play tough defense or get a steal, they will be encouraged to work on all parts of their game.
Some parents only cheer when points are scored, but there is a lot that happens, before and after points are scored, that is worth cheering for. The next time that you are cheering at your child’s game think about all of the things that happen on the court or playing […]
PEACELOVEBASKETBALL: How to Make the Fast Break Second Nature
Pushing the ball up the court is second nature for me. It was drilled into my head as a high school and college player, and I did my best to instill the same fast break mindset into the players that I coached. A run-the-ball mentality doesn’t happen over night, but by using drills that focus on the fast break, and consistent encouragement, your team can learn to move with ease into transition offense.
A Fast Break Mentality
Make sure your players know from day one, that they are going to be a fast break team. Explain what it will take to become a great running team and the advantages they will gain from the effort they put in. How they can get easy baskets and win games.
Set the Expectation of Hustle
To be an excellent fast break team your players need a different mindset. They need to hustle throughout practice. To sprint when they meet you at the baseline for instructions, and when they line up for drills. They need to make hustling a habit. Not only will this help get them in shape, it will build their fast break mindset.
Push The Ball
We ran our transition offense up the middle of the court, but many teams run sideline breaks, they key is to move the ball up the court quickly. Normally one thinks of a fast break happening after a shot is missed, but a fast break mindset will help even after your opponent makes a shot. If your inbounder is trained to get the ball out of the net and hit a guard right away, you can often beat your opponent up the court and score before they can set up defense. Push the ball!
Start With The Rebound
You can’t run the ball if you don’t have it. Teach your players how to […]
PEN TO PAPER: Sonya’s Writing Tips
While I was writing this week, I came across a list of writing tips on my computer that I’d given out in a Write On! Workshop that my friend Jenny and I taught years ago. We had put the workshop together to inspire other writers. We shared what we knew about the process, ways to stay accountable to writing goals, and enjoyed an evening where writers gathered to learn and create. Magical.
The fact that I found the list, was a sign for me. A reminder of what I need to do to get my stories on the page. I haven’t written much lately, but after taking in my own advice, I’m eager to get to work. I even added to the list. PUT DOWN YOUR PHONE! Then I printed it and hung it by my desk. So, I figured that I would repost it (with the addition), for anyone looking for inspiration to get back to work.
1. Make plans to go to “The Office”
Is it difficult for you to work at home? Are there dishes to wash and laundry to clean? Does life always seem to get in the way? Then make plans to go to “your office.” Designate a space in your house as your office, and if possible go in and close the door. If you can’t find a quiet space in your house where you can focus, find a café, a coffee shop, a nearby park, an open seat in your car, or any space that takes you away from your daily chores and allows you the freedom to write. A new space may even spark creativity and enhance your writing. Bottom line is, find a place to write. Find your “Office”.
2. Put down your phone!
Phones have changed significantly. Emails, texts, social media. All […]
PEACELOVEBASKETBALL: Lesson Young Athletes Learn From Sports
I played basketball because I love the game. Little did I know that the lessons that I learned on the court would one day save my life. When I was twenty-four, I was nearly killed when the car I was riding in was hit by a train. Knowing how to work through challenges and set goals helped me to make it through the most difficult time in my life; to set goals, to commit to physical therapy, to handle the stress, to believe in myself and to go on living.
What you learn on the court, rink, diamond or whatever playing field you take when you participate in your sport, will be with you the rest of your life and shape the person who you become.
Belief In Yourself
You can define this as resilience or developing a never give up attitude. Your time playing sports will teach you to believe in yourself and understand that you are capable of more than you think you are. When you participate in sports, you have setbacks and learn more about yourself. You loose games, you deal with injuries, you find that life is not always fair. But you also learn how to overcome these obstacles. This is a powerful lesson.
Set and Work Toward Goals
You overcome obstacles on the court, diamond or sports field by setting goals and working toward them. You learn what steps to take and how to adjust along the way to reach your goals. When you loose a game you, and your team, will work on drills in practice so that you improve. If you get injured you will do physical therapy so that you can play again. Setting goals and working to reach them is part of life; it’s how you reach your dreams.
Commitment & Work Ethic
To reach your dreams […]
Meet Sonya
Meet Sonya
Sonya Elliott’s memoir, Back on the Court: A Young Woman’s Triumphant Return to Life, Love & Basketball, is her story of finding hope in the wake of tragedy after she and her fiancé were hit by a train. She blogs about writing, basketball, and life and is currently working on a Young Adult Novel and a Non-Fiction Coaching book. Stories of her career as a fashion model are woven through her memoir, as both the Soloflex and Easy Spirit Shoes commercials were filmed during that time period, and this unique and intriguing business continues to be a part of her life.
Sonya played basketball at Eastern Washington University and was a starter for the Big Sky Champion team that went to the 1987 NCAA tournament. She coached for almost 25 years and was voted Seattle Times Coach of the Year, Seattle Officials Women’s Basketball Association Coach of the Year, and twice voted Metro League Coach of the Year. She loves the game of basketball and is thankful, not only for her husband and kids but for her ability to continue to get back on the court.
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3 Ways To Encourage Teamwork From The Sidelines (For Parents & Fans)
Sometimes as a parent, or fan, it can be difficult to be on the sidelines. But it can also be a lot of fun and you can help the team. The next time you are at a game, have a great time by supporting the entire team and encouraging teamwork. Here are three easy things that you can do to help create a positive team atmosphere from the sidelines.
Support The Entire Team
When it comes time to cheer during a game remember that your child (or the child who you are watching), is not the only player on the court or playing field. Depending on the sport, there are several more players out there so make sure to cheer for them too. Encourage teamwork by being a team player yourself.
Make the extra effort to learn the names of all the players on your child’s team. Cheering for everyone can make a […]
PEACELOVEBASKETBALL: How to Make the Fast Break Second Nature
Pushing the ball up the court is second nature for me. It was drilled into my head as a high school and college player, and I did my best to instill the same fast break mindset into the players that I coached. A run-the-ball mentality doesn’t happen over night, but by using drills that focus on the fast break, and consistent encouragement, your team can learn to move with ease into transition offense.
A Fast Break Mentality
Make sure your players know from day one, that they are going to be a fast break team. Explain what it will take to become a great running team and the advantages they will gain from the effort they put in. How they can get easy baskets and win games.
Set the Expectation of Hustle
To be an excellent fast break team your players need a different mindset. They need to hustle throughout practice. To sprint when […]
PEN TO PAPER: Sonya’s Writing Tips
While I was writing this week, I came across a list of writing tips on my computer that I’d given out in a Write On! Workshop that my friend Jenny and I taught years ago. We had put the workshop together to inspire other writers. We shared what we knew about the process, ways to stay accountable to writing goals, and enjoyed an evening where writers gathered to learn and create. Magical.
The fact that I found the list, was a sign for me. A reminder of what I need to do to get my stories on the page. I haven’t written much lately, but after taking in my own advice, I’m eager to get to work. I even added to the list. PUT DOWN YOUR PHONE! Then I printed it and hung it by my desk. So, I figured that I would repost it (with the addition), […]
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