The Importance of Sportsmanship in Young Athletes

Having good sportsmanship is about more than knowing how to win the right way, it’s also about knowing how to represent your team and/or yourself with dignity if you DON’T win.  Learning good sportsmanship from an early age is so important. If it is taught early and properly, it is something that a young athlete will carry with them throughout their sports careers.

There are some great ways to teach young athletes to embrace good sportsmanship.  It doesn’t mean that they have to be happy about not winning.  Everyone who competes in anything wants to excel and they want to win.  But it doesn’t always work out that way, and the sooner a young athlete learns how to handle themselves in the face of disappointment, the sooner they will grow even more in their chosen sport. 

Remember that You Are an Example

Coaches and parents of young athletes can do a lot to show the kids that sportsmanship goes farther than just them.  Everyone has seen irate parents or coaches at a youth match or game and the kids are watching…and learning.  It’s easy for things to get heated when emotions are high and everyone is excited, but when the coaches and parents work together to show the team how they should act, even if they don’t win, that will leave an impression.

Make Good Sportsmanship Part of your Practice

One of the best things a coach can do for his team is to teach them to encourage the other players on the team.   Have them clap for each other during drills, have them yell out words of encouragement when they are moving the ball down the field and most importantly, have them offer encouragement even if a player makes a mistake.  It’s that team spirit and togetherness that will prevail no matter what the outcome of the match is. 

After the match is over, teach the young athletes to line up and shake the hands of the other team.  Be sure that you shake the other coach’s hand as well which will reinforce the lesson you want to teach them.  It’s okay to be disappointed; it’s okay to be upset, it’s NOT okay to act out on the field, stomping off, throwing things or shunning the winning team.  Nothing will mar the reputation of a team faster than showing poor sportsmanship after a loss.

Respect the Officials, Even When It’s Hard

It’s easy to take frustrations out on a referee or official, especially when the call is against your team, but when you can maintain your cool and show the team that yelling at or insulting the referees and officials is not the thing to do, they will follow suit.  Everyone has watched a referee make a bad call.  It’s easy to forget that they’re impartial (or should be) to the match’s outcome and they’re doing the best they can to make the right calls.  Sometimes those calls WILL be wrong, and it’s okay for the team to hear you talk about a bad call, but instead of letting loose with a string of insults about the ref himself, talk about why the call was a bad one and what the referee missed in his decision.

Sportsmanship, good and bad, is everywhere in sports, and young athletes won’t always act the way they should because they ARE young.  It’s up to the parents and coaches to work consistently with them to instill the values that make their team not only great at winning, but a team to respect even during the times they might lose. 

The Importance of Defending

Having a great defense is just as important to your team’s success as having a good offense.  The defender’s job is to prevent the other team from advancing the ball and scoring a goal. Improving defense skills will help your team do several things:

·       Get the ball from the opposing team

·       Get the ball BACK from the opposing team if they take it from you

·       Prevent the opposing team from scoring

There are things you can do to improve your team’s defense and have them ready to take on any offense and come out on top.  Excelling at the moves listed below will increase the overall strength of your team due to the fact that the offense will have a much more difficult time keeping the ball and scoring on your team.

Intercepting Passes

Being able to intercept a pass the other team is making cuts their offensive threat significantly.  To do this, you must be on the lookout, at all times, for opportunities to get in there and keep the ball from getting from one offensive player to the other.  The best position for the defensive player is goal side of the offensive player so they can see both the ball and the player and where the ball is being passed.

Prevent turning and facing the goal

When you can affect the first touch of the attacker and cause it to be a negative first touch, you have accomplished making them turn the ball away from you and the goal to try and prevent you from taking it from them.  This is called screening and when you can force them to have to screen the ball from you; you’ve weakened their attack and threat on your goal.

Get back into Good Defending Position

Whenever you’ve been beaten, never give up, but head for the near post to get goal side of the attacker again.  You want to get into a good defending position between the ball and your goal as fast as you possibly can and there is no time to lose.  This would be a good drill to practice during scrimmages to improve reaction times and hustle, even when it seems that you’ve lost the upper hand at first.

Never lose sight of where the ball is

When the offense has the ball and is screening it from you and turning to keep you from it, remember not to get too close. This is called leaning on the attacker and a good offensive player can use this to their advantage by spinning and playing the ball into the open space you left.

You must also remember to keep your eye on the ball at all times.  You can only intercept the ball and prevent the opposition from scoring if you know where the ball is. 

As a defensive player, you should always remember that your responsibility is to pressure the attacker, not let them advance on your goal and intercept any and all passes you can. The stronger your defense is, the less likely it is that you will have any goals scored on you, or at the very least, you will make it extremely hard for them to do so.  Both sides of the ball are important, and each one plays a huge part in the outcome of the match. You may not be the one to always score the goals, but when you can prevent the other side from scoring on YOU; you’re doing your major part to help your team get another win.

Player of The Week: Joshua Kerr

Name:
Joshua Kerr
 
Age:     
11

Current Club:  
Belnorth

Who is your favourite player and why?
My favourite Australian player is Tim Cahill (Australia) because he always tries hard no matter what, he scores a lot of goals from headers, and he is a good role model for his team. He also scores the most goals at international competition level for the Socceroos.

My favourite international player is Germanys Christoph Kramer (Midfielder) because of his never-ending energy on the field and in the FIFA World Cup.

Who do you want to play for?
The Socceroos (as I would like to represent Australia at the highest level)

In A-League – Adelaide United FC

Internationally – FC Barcelona (aka Lionel Messi’s club)

What is your favourite subject at school?
Computers

What do you want for dinner tonight?
My mum’s delicious Pumpkin, Spinach and Ricotta stuffed pasta shells

What is your favourite football boot?
My favourite football boots so far were my Adidas (Nitrocharge 3.0) boots, however while I am growing it’s important that the boots I buy fit my feet properly so that is what I look for rather than a brand.

What is your favourite song?
Avicii – Wake me up

Congratulations to Joshua for receiving Player of the Week.

The Mental Side of Sports Performance in Young Athletes

The importance of a positive mentality in sports is not new, but sadly enough it is often ignored, especially in young athletes.  The perfect time to begin instilling positive thinking is when an athlete is young.  In general a child is more positive, naturally, than an adult is, so fostering this and teaching them to harness it is an invaluable gift you can give to them that will affect not only their sports performance as they get older, but throughout their whole lives. 

The following mental skills will improve your physical performance as well, so make sure to give them equal importance when it comes to being game ready.

Visualisation

Visualization is the process of picturing yourself already having achieved the results you want BEFORE you do it.  For example: a match is coming up this weekend that you really want to win. You spend time each day, in a quiet place or before bed, picturing yourself doing things that help your team win.  The plays you make, the team celebrating the win…all of those things are parts of the visualization process. 

There is a direct correlation between the way you think and the way you perform. By teaching a young athlete to spend time visualizing themselves making goals, intercepting passes and other moves involved in the game, their performance and focus will improve dramatically.  It doesn’t replace good old fashioned practice, but it DOES enhance it and increase the results exponentially.

Focus

What an athlete focuses on is what they will do.  If they focus on missing goals, making mistakes or losing the match, chances are much greater that their focus will become a self fulfilling prophesy.  The more their focus is on the positive aspects of their playing, the better they will play and the more they will have the outcomes they desire.

Focus on the future, not the past. What’s done is done, and while learning from past mistakes is crucial, dwelling on the mistake itself will do nothing but increase more mistakes in the future.  It can become a vicious cycle quickly.   You can’t control the thoughts that enter your mind, but what you CAN do is decide and control how you will respond to those thoughts. 

Taking a negative thought or destructive focus and turning it around immediately to something positive will stop the negative momentum in an instant.  The less time you spend focusing on negative aspects, the less time you will have negative things to focus on.

Self Talk

What a player says to themselves can determine how they play and even the outcome of the match.  If you think something is going to be tough or impossible, it will be.  There is a very famous saying by Henry Ford that says “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.”   These are words that every young athlete should be taught because it rings so true. 

If an athlete spends any time with negative self talk, it will only have negative results.   Many coaches and even parents will think that if they are critical and ruthless, they will create better athletes, but when it comes to a young athlete, focusing on the things they do right and training them to do better on the things they are weak in will go a lot farther than making them feel worthless or inadequate about their struggles.  There will be plenty of time in their lives for “tough love”.  This isn’t to say that you should be soft on them; pushing them to do their best is crucial for building strong athletes, but teach them to do it in a strong way that includes physical practice, self talk, focus and visualization and the results will show.

Player of The Week: Cameron McCluskey

Name:
Cameron McCluskey
 
Age:     
10

Current Club:  
GUFC

Who is your favourite player and why?
Messi, because he is very skillful, talented and is the complete professional

Who do you want to play for?
Australia and Barcelona

What is your favourite subject at school?
Art

What do you want for dinner tonight?
Schnitzel and veggies or pizza

What is your favourite football boot?
Nike

What is your favourite song?
Que Sera by Justice Crew

Congratulations to Cameron for receiving Player of the Week.

Great Snack Ideas for Young Athletes

Whether it’s during half time, before or after the match, snacks are an important part of keeping a young athlete’s strength up. There are many snacks that a young athlete can eat that work to improve the health of the body. Empty snacks such as candy, chips, cookies, and cakes provide no value to any athlete, young or old.  They are full of sugar and useless calories that deplete the body of what it needs to perform at its optimum level. 

 

Pre Game Snack Choices

Before a match, the best snacks your young athlete can consume will contain healthy carbs. This is where the body will gain its energy to get through the game without dips or fluctuations.   If the match is 60 minutes or less, snacks such as crackers and even small amounts of pasta are best.  If your match is a long one, then be sure to add protein to the snack which will sustain energy and slow digestion.  Turkey and lowfat yogurt are both good choices to add to a few crackers.  Here are some other good choices for pre-game snacks to ready the body for the demands of the match.

·       Brown rice

·       Low sugar cereals

·       Plain popcorn

·       Cheese or yogurt

·       Turkey, tofu or chicken

Halftime Snack Choices to Refuel

One of the biggest things to focus on during half time is getting plenty of water.  Becoming dehydrated can cause serious problems and even make it to where the athlete can’t make it through the rest of the match.  In addition to drinking plenty of water, it is a good idea to fuel the body with some appropriate halftime snacks.  If your child has been sweating a lot and it is hot out, sports drinks are another alternative to getting properly rehydrated.

The best choice for half time snacks is going to be fruit.  Most people like it, and it’s easy to eat. In addition, it is not hard to digest and will add to the hydration they are getting from the water/sports drinks they are drinking. Some good choices for half time fruits are:

·       Apple juice soaked in orange juice to avoid browning

·       Bananas, sliced in half

·       Orange slices

·       Grapes

·       Melon cut into chunks

After the Game Snacks to Speed Recovery

Carbs and proteins help the body repair and recover after an intense physical demand of some kind, like a match.  Right after the game, be sure that the child has a small protein and carb snack within 30 minutes and then a full meal within two hours of the game’s end. 

Don’t forget to continue rehydrating through sports drinks and water to replenish all the water lost during the match.  Directly after the game, some great choices for post game snacks are:

·       Lowfat granola bars

·       Trail mix

·       String cheese

·       Peanut butter and crackers

·       Vanilla yogurt and apple slices

·       Pretzels

Whatever you choose for that post game snack should contain protein AND carbs and not be overly heavy in nature.  When it’s time to take the child for their after game meal, try to ensure that it contains protein, vegetables and healthy carbs.  As tempting as it can be sometimes, this is not the time to indulge in a trip to the nearest fast food burger place. Snacks are a great way to ensure the health of your athlete. Make the right choices that will continue to prime them for optimum performance throughout their lives.

Player of the Week: Nick Katsoulis

Name:
Nick Katsoulis
 
Age:     
10

Current Club:  
GUFC

Who is your favourite player and why?
Neymar Jr. Neymar is my favourite player because he has great skill with the ball and he's very fast.

Who do you want to play for?
Real Madrid

What is your favourite subject at school?
English

What do you want for dinner tonight?
Steak & Broccoli (Great choice Nick!)

What is your favourite football boot?
Nike Mecurial

What is your favourite song?
Bang Bang

Congratulations to Nick for receiving Player of the Week.

The Importance of Excellent First Touch

First touch skills are very important for any footballer to have. What this means is that you are able to control the ball from any type of pass that comes to you, from any direction.  The purpose of gaining proficiency in this is that it enables you to pass the ball on to another player, make the goal, or dribble down the field without breaking stride or getting tripped up.

Good first touch skills mean that you are controlling the ball in front of you rather than too far under your feet or too far out in front of you.  In either incorrect scenario, it becomes much easier for the defender to gain control of the ball.  When the ball is in control directly in front of you, you will have another chance to touch it with your foot before passing or scoring.  

A Great Way to Improve First Touch Skills

One of the easiest ways to improve your first touch skills is to kick the ball against a flat wall and then gain control of the ball out in front of you at the proper distance with the inside of your left foot and then with your right foot.  Kick the ball as hard as you can against the wall which makes it harder to control when it comes back to you.  This will improve those first touch skills on the field when a ball comes at you from different directions.

Repetition is the key in this exercise. Do these drills for 20-30 minutes every single day and you will see your first touch skills improve drastically. 

Two Important Factors Involved in First Touch

There are two major elements that come into play when it comes to having good first touch skills. The first one is always being ready to receive the ball. Stay on your toes, and watch for that pass.  The second element is not having a loose, floppy ankle, but making sure it’s locked and the foot is tight and in control.  In addition your balance and focus must be good too and in the proper place. Focusing on the ball and controlling it, is the goal, not worrying about where the defender is.   If you focus on them, you can easily lose control of the ball.

Additional Ways to Improve First Touch Skills

When you are doing your wall kicking drill, don’t go easy on yourself. Mild kicks against the wall won’t teach you anything. Really haul of and kick that ball against it as hard as you can. This will drive the ball back to you as hard as you kicked it and it will not come directly back to you as well. It will take skill to anticipate where the ball is going to go, and that teaches you to gain control quickly in on-the-fly situations.

You can also get another player to help with these skills and it will help them too.  Have the other player kick the ball at you from different angles and as hard as they can. Soccer isn’t a lazy sport and that ball isn’t going to come at you softly and easily. Practicing with players taking hard kicks at you can help you prepare for any match.  Once they kick the ball at you, have them try to steal it back. Your first touch skills will be crucial here, because you can maneuver it away and pass to a third person or make that goal.   Keep practicing every day and your first touch skills will show the results of your hard work.

Player of the Week: Bailey Dickinson

Name:
Bailey Dickinson
 
Age:     
8

Current Club:  
Woden Valley

Who is your favourite player and why?
Wayne Rooney. He is very skillgul and an excellent striker

Who do you want to play for?
Manchester United

What is your favourite subject at school?
Maths

What do you want for dinner tonight?
Kingsley's

What is your favourite football boot?
Nike Mecurial

What is your favourite song?
Wake me up - One Direction

Congratulations to Bailey for receiving Player of the Week.

How Much Practice is too Much For Young Athletes?

Nowadays, more youth participate in sports at an earlier age. Practices are longer, harder and more intense and games and matches are demanding and sometimes include long days in the heat and inclement weather.  While practice is needed to master sports, there is such a thing as too much practice for a young athlete.  It is important to find the balance between enough practice to ensure progress and improvement and not too much that it can cause long term damage and burn out. 

How Do You Know if Your Child is Practicing Too Much?

There are some basic signs that you can watch for that will give you a heads up that your young athlete is practicing too much.

·       Gets tired easily

·       Becomes Uncooperative or Surly

·       Gets irritated when practice is mentioned

·       Reduction in performance during games or practice

·       Lack of motivation

If your child is showing any of these signs, take a look at how often they are being required to practice and how long the duration of those practices are.  If the practice sessions don’t appear to be in excess, then the reasons for exhibiting the above signs may be something else that needs examining.

For a young athlete who wants to excel in a certain sport, it will require more practice than community sports participation will, but there is a fine line there and it’s up to the parent to make sure that their child is not being over trained. 

Training too much can cause injuries and can also cause the young athlete to want to quit.  This doesn’t mean not to push them.  Excellence in sports does require a certain amount of pushing limits, discipline and other traits, but push too hard and all that is accomplished is making the child hate what they’re doing.  As they get older, they will be able to handle more and more pushing and practice, but work them into it.

How much Practice is the Right Amount?

Much of this depends on the age of the child and the sport that they are participating in.  The younger the child, regardless of their talent, the more important it is to regulate practice and make sure that injuries are not sustained due to pushing them too hard.  In general, 18029 hours per week dedicated to practice is a good amount. Anything more than this, needs to be monitored closely by a sports doctor that is well versed in the training of young people.

A good rule of thumb to follow when increasing the amount of time a young athlete spends training is to raise the training time NO MORE than 10% each week.  A gradual building of training and practice time is much safer, healthier and easier for the child to adapt to and the likelihood of injury is slim. Also, in the young years of an athlete’s life, make sure that the majority of practice is spent on technique which will also prevent injuries as the training time increases each week.   

Are Protein Supplements Safe for Young Athletes?

With a vast selection of protein supplements available in stores and on the internet, it’s very easy for a young athlete to get caught up in the hype they promise.  There are some really good protein supplements on the market, but these supplements were not created for young athletes, they were created for adult athletes, and the tests run on them were run on adults as well.  

Even though it may not be the most popular way, younger athletes can improve their performance by eating a healthy diet, getting the right amount and the proper kind of fluids, training properly and not overtraining, and getting the right amount of sleep each night. It takes more attention and discipline to monitor all these things, which is why protein supplements are so appealing. They appear to be easier and provide quick results. 

The Potential Dangers of Young Athletes Taking Protein Supplements

Most protein supplements on the market today have other ingredients that can be very harmful to young athletes.  Creatine is a common ingredient in these protein powders and drinks, yet it is an ingredient that is not known to be good for young athletes to take.  It’s possible that taking these supplements at a young age can decrease performance, particularly in endurance sports or practice sessions lasting longer than an hour.

Energy drinks may seem harmless enough, but these typically contain ingredients such as

·       Taurine

·       Caffeine

·       Glucuronolactone

·       Guarana

·       Ginseng

These are not ingredients that young athletes should be adding to their diets even though it may give an initial boost in their performance at first.  There is an increased danger of heart problems, dehydration and heat related illnesses that are associated with these types of products.  Any kind of stimulant can also cause a decrease in performance due to tremors and coordination issues that can accompany them.

The Best Way to Get Protein for Young Athletes

Protein is important for good performance, but not to the detriment of the athlete. It’s easy for a healthy young player to get the protein intake they need through proper eating.  If protein powders are suggested, look for those that have no added sugar and no creatine or other substances that are not good for younger athletes.

One of the best sources of protein is eggs, which have 6 grams of protein per egg. Adding eggs to the athlete’s diet can have the benefits without the dangerous side effects.

Coaches and Trainers who Advise Young Athletes to Take Protein Supplements

If a younger player has been advised to up their protein intake and suggests protein supplements,   remember that most of the protein powders, pills and drinks are formulated for adults, so look for alternatives that are safe not only in the short term, but the long term as well.  If the coach agrees, use food sources first to up that protein and skip the supplements until they are older.  Protein IS an important part of the recovery process, muscle growth and endurance, so it is an important nutrient to have in the daily diet, but when it can come from food sources rather than just supplements, the benefits will far outweigh the benefits gotten from commercial protein supplements. 

Player of the Week: David Bozinovski

Name:
David Bozinovski
 
Age:     
7

Current Club:  
Monaro Panthers

Who is your favourite player and why?
Messi because he shows great skill on the field

Who do you want to play for?
Australia

What is your favourite subject at school?
Maths

What do you want for dinner tonight?
Chicken wraps

What is your favourite football boot?
Adidas

What is your favourite song?
Que sera by Justice Crew

Congratulations to David for receiving Player of the Week.