I’ve followed sports coach consultant and author James Leath for a couple of years now. I haven’t read any of his previous books as I didn’t see them directly applying to my youth recreational sports focus area. In my understanding, James’ material seemed more appropriate for high school sports. His new book, Coaching With Purpose – Five Fundamentals for Every Youth Sports Coach, is different. I bought the book, both to see where it fit with youth recreational sports AND because I’ve recently been coaching at the high school level. I found it to be a quick, easy, and informative read. I recommend it for every prospective youth sports coach’s library.
As the title suggests, Leath provides five fundamental principles every coach needs. Before he gets into the five fundamentals, suggests what a new coach should say at their first practice. I LOVE that one of his recommendations is “Remind them they are responsible for their attitude, effort, and work ethic“. Attitude and effort…sounds familiar, right? Here are the nuggets I pulled from each of the five pillars:
- Lesson One: Get Organized. I totally agree with his “one golden rule for practice: No lines. Ever”. Historically, research shows that one of the reasons kids stop playing youth sports are boring practices. Too much standing around between repetitions is boring. With regards to planning practices (something I cover extensively in my clinics and upcoming book), he has an abbreviation that helps: BTEOTDIWBAT. This stands for “By the end of the day, I will be able to…”. This is in line with my recommendation that every practice should have a goal. What are the players supposed to learn or get better at during this practice? Then, plan the practice around that.
- Lesson Two: Set Expectations. This chapter is about setting expectations with parents, with the team as a whole, and with each individual athlete. Generally speaking this recommendation is in line with what I’ve written and said in my clinics regarding communicating expectations. A quote from this chapter I like: “the scoreboard at a youth game is for the parents and coaches, not the athletes“. I like to say that you don’t have to tell the players what the score is at the end of the game – they know it. The point is that you don’t need to go over the score after the game. I recommend going over how they did against the goals for the game. Another quote I really like (and intend to borrow) that speaks to every player giving their all in every practice: “On this team, we don’t have back-ups. We have individuals that have each other’s backs“.
- Lesson Three: Believe in Yourself. This is a chapter that encourages coaches when they might otherwise think this coaching kids thing is too hard for them. Excellent recommendations. Recently, I was asked why I wanted to be a high school coach. I paraphrased Leath’s encouragement to youth sports coaches regarding what we’re really trying to accomplish:
“It’s about building people – strong, resilient, confident people”
- Lesson Four: Define Success. Leath doubles down on this position with another quote regarding how coaches should measure the season: “Ultimately, your job as a coach isn’t just to help kids win games. It’s to teach them how to work hard, learn from failure, and walk away from every experience knowing they gave it their all“. PREACH!
- Lesson Five: Think Like a Teacher. This chapter is completely in line with my belief that teaching is my favorite part of coaching. Leath provides solid recommendations, examples, and stories that make the point that every coach is a teacher.
- Bonus: My Coach Backpack. I have a sticky tab at the beginning of this bonus chapter. Leath’s recommendation to have in a coach’s toolbox for every practice and what he says should be in that toolbox is something that I will be referring to in my upcoming coaching seasons.
As with many of the youth sports coaching books that I read, I am reading to see if someone has already written my book. I procrastinated publishing my own coaching guide so long that I am paranoid that someone will beat me to it. I can rest easy that Leach’s book is not my book. A great deal of the content in Coaching With Purpose complements the practical tools, techniques, and best practices I teach at my clinics and will be addressing in detail in my upcoming book.
Hustle & Attitude 