I’m going to write on some “home cooking” today.
I was recently made aware of the study above, the State of Play Portland Report by Project Play of the Aspen Institute. While TeamsOfMen is headquartered in Salem, Portland is just an hour up I5 and many of our client programs and coaches are in PDX school districts. So when my colleague Erica Quam of the Positive Coaching Alliance shared the date with me earlier this week, I knew an examination would lead to a 30 Seconds entry of some sort and here we are.
I intentionally picked two screen grabs from the 66 page report, beginning with the one above. My reasoning behind this first “share and examine” is so much of the work in both the world of violence prevention AND reimagining masculinity asks us to “meet them where they are” (with the “them” referring to whichever group you happen to be working with that day). This bubble chart is a window into teams in the PDX area and literally tells coaches the “why” of their kids showing up…and if you dig deep enough, you recognize that they WANT their sport experience to give them reps in the very skills TeamsOfMen is begging coaches to onboard.
Creating bonds
Crafting positive mindsets and self images
Treating others with respect
Accountability
All of these score highly according to the report, yet how often are coaches practice plans reflecting intentional time to rep AND reflect on those skills via their sport? I would argue far too infrequently.
Next, this page of the report (pictured above) mentions the scope of the work of an initiative called “Beyond The Scoreboard” the aim of which is investing intentional development time and planning for coaches. I have taken the 3D Institute online module mentioned above and think the work is sound and impressive. I would, as the founders of this initiative Pete Lukich and Tom Bendt state, that the fact training after year one disappears for a lot of coaches IS a significant problem, but would add a very ToM slant analysis to the statement.
Their access to continued growth doesn’t vanish…their willingness to engage in any version of it that isn’t X’s and O’s dominant does. As a coach in any sport, there are numerous clinics around your scheme, around your practice plan and around your ability to be innovative in the tactics of the sport.
There are virtually ZERO that tackle what TeamsOfMen believes is the most important aspect of the job: Your ability to sequence information and reflection on character traits of the heart and soul.
And that's where I think the challenge lies. We have to stop treating the development of these skills as some accidental byproduct of playing sports and start intentionally building them into what we do every day.
The kids are telling us what they're getting out of sports. Imagine what they COULD be getting if we were as intentional about developing their humanity as we are their athletic abilities.
That's the work. And it's ours to do.
Coaching Prompts
- When you examine your last five practice plans, how much intentional time was devoted to developing your athletes as people beyond the technical and tactical demands of your sport?
- Think about the last three coaching development opportunities you participated in. How many focused on your ability to develop character, emotional fluency, accountability, or healthy relationships among your athletes?
- If your players were asked what you've intentionally taught them about being better human beings this season, what specific lessons or experiences could they identify?
Player Prompts
- What is something you've learned about yourself or your relationships with others through sports that has nothing to do with your athletic performance?
- Which of the skills identified in the report—making friends, believing in yourself, resolving conflict, understanding emotions, or taking responsibility—do you wish your coaches spent more time helping you develop?
- If you could add one activity to your team's weekly routine that would help everyone become better teammates and people, what would it be?
