Celebrating Our Children’s Positive Energy
As a progressive football coaching academy for children, we’re always looking for ways to improve. One of the initiatives we’ve taken recently is to introduce Player of the Month awards at all of our centres. The objective is for us as coaches is to identify, recognise and celebrate the positive qualities that our wonderful children bring to class.
How Do We Choose?
Using a mobile data collection tool, our coaches track performance and report their findings into the system after every training session. We then analyse the data, discuss the insights and then choose a Player of the Month based on the coach’s feedback.
The important thing to remember here is that awards don’t always go to the most ‘skillful’ or ‘talented’ players. In addition to the football, we also look for inspiring character traits that will stay with the children well beyond the boundaries of a football pitch.
When awarding the kids, our coaches always explain (to all the kids) why each child has been selected. Sometimes, it’s because a player has been punctual for every session and been working hard at improving his or her skills. At others, it’s because a child has been fearless in trying out new tricks or dribbles. The idea is for the group to understand why we’re rewarding a child and celebrating his or her attributes.
The Outcome
While it is harder for some of the younger kids to deal with not getting an award, we are seeing that the majority of our students are responding positively. Children who would be taking it easy and showing up late for class previously are now coming on time, working harder to improve and focusing their energy constructively. They’re now more determined to show their best selves and it’s wonderful to see!
As football coaches of children, we have the privilege of enjoying all the positivity and love that your kids bring to our sessions. We’re very grateful for the opportunities and hope that you, as parents or teachers or fellow coaches, see tiny but meaningful improvements in their behaviours – on and off the pitch – along the way.
