Coaching Children
Coaching Children
As with anything, good habbits, should be put into the child from a young age so it will continue into later development. Negative comments to a child will not help the child in any way and praise should be given when something is achieved. This something can be anything e.g. scoring a goal even though their team lost, making a good tackle, children can see achievements in this way and it is essential that these are recognised so they can continue to develop.
These achievements and positive praise are some of the many reasons children get into sport. We have found many practical examples of the above taking place during our coaching sessions and continue to get more and more children involved in sport and enjoying themselves.
Other positive outcomes of children involved in sport have been identified as making new friends, social interaction, confidence building and increased co ordination.
ECSA use various coaching methods to ensure each age group get the most suitable coaching experience. ECSA use fun games to create a fun environment, once you have this fun environment then you are able to coach a certain skill within a fun game. The children are now in a fun environment and are learning a new skill.
This method of coaching is used in all ECSA coaching sessions to a certain extent, however as the child gets older they will become more proficient and able to learn new skill easier and quicker, so as they get older, we simply coach more technical skills still in the same fun environment.
We feel this is the best positive environment to learn, keep the children involved in sport and for them to enjoy themselves.
Sport can promote many positive attributes to a child including better movement and social and personal skills. These experiences in sport in their early years need to be positive enjoyable experiences, thus the child will continue as they grow which will aid the person in the short and long term.
There are many reasons that a child wants to get involved in a certain sport, which include,
Following in the footsteps of brothers or parents.
The enjoyment of competition
Learning new skills and rules.
To keep fit
Peer group acceptance
For enjoyment and fun.
Coaches and parents alike need to work together to promote the right environment to ensure that the children receive the above for-mentioned.
From our own coaching experiences at ECSA we have thought about what kind of environment and what methods to use for coaching to make our courses a success. With the games used, e.g. team and individual we promote what the children are looking for when participating in a sport.
With ECSA having over 5 years experience of coaching children we know that it is important that our coaches need not only how to coach but also to understand how children grow and develop. “Children are not just small adults”.
There are many things to take into consideration when coaching children and when setting up practices and ensuring that your standards of performance are in line with the children’s development age not chronological age. ECSA coach 5-11 year olds who have varying characteristics in each age group. Below are some of the following characteristics that you can expect from each age group that ECSA coaches have experienced.
Under 6s you can expect the following,
* Short attention span
* Can attend only one problem at a time
* Need praise and to play without pressure
* Very individually orientated
* Co-ordination is limited
* Need lots of rest – coach in small parts
* Lack sense of space
Under 8s you can expect the following,
* Attention span is a lot longer than under 6 player
* Always moving
* Easily bruised psychologically. They will remember negative comments for a long time
* Developing physical confidence
* Their heart rate peaks quickly and they overheat quickly
* Lack sense of space
* Skeletal system growing
Under 10s you can expect the following,
* Ability to stay on a task is lengthened
* Skills are emerging
* Able to pace themselves, plan ahead
* Continue positive reinforcement is needed
* Increased self responsibility
* Mostly intrinsically motivated
Food & Nutrition In Sport
Sport and exercise go hand in hand in many cases and in order to help your child perform to their highest levels, a well balanced diet can aid their chances of success. Children are generally active all the time, it is therefore important not to miss out on any particular food group. The secret to this success is a well balanced diet.
Unless you have a David Beckham or Michael Jordan in the making, a well balanced diet will provide enough nutrients for your child to participate in their favourite sporting activity. This means trying to eat a balance of carbohydrates, protein, fibre, vitamins & minerals, and fats, along with taking in plenty of fluids.
What is a balanced diet?
A balanced diet is a bit of everything in moderation. Imagine the body to be a car; to run to its best a car needs a mixture of petrol, oil, water etc… the body needs the same balance in terms of food groups to perform to its highest standard.
The bodies of children have a greater need of balance in their nutrients than that of adults, due to the continued growth of the body. A poor diet through childhood can mean the body grows incorrectly or has a certain bodily weakness. It is not just a question of cutting out all the sweets your child eats and replacing them with fruit, even a child’s body needs a small amount of sweets for fats and sugars. The secret is to balance what your child eats and drinks.
Don’t forget fluids!!
Children can often be much thirstier than adults, due to their body not being able to cope with sudden losses of fluid during hot weather or illness. Many fruit drinks can contain sugars and additives of a high proportion, it is therefore a good idea to try getting your child into the habit of drinking pure fruit juices, natural unsweetened fruit juices, or alternatively water. Fizzy drinks are ok in moderation, however, they are not good thirst quenchers and due to the sweetness will often make children more thirstier. Remember to encourage your children to regularly drink small amounts of water or glucose drinks during exercise events to avoid dehydration. To avoid dehydration do not wait until they feel thirsty, this way they should never reach the lowest level of hydration during exercise.
Food groups
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are essential to giving the body energy. They come in two forms: Starches (cereals, potatoes) and Sugars (Fruit, veg, sweets)
Sources of carbohydrate include: Bread, cereals, oats, pasta, noodles, rice, potatoes, bananas, beans, and lentils
Protein
Protein is important in a child’s diet as it helps to build muscles. However be aware of taking on board too much protein, as the body won’t use it for building muscles. It will be stored and converted into excess fat, which is harder too burn off.
Sources of protein include meat, chicken, turkey, fish, eggs and nuts.
Vitamins & Minerals
All fruit and vegetables contain vitamins, which are very important for our health and growth. As we all know vitamin C helps our body fight off any infections and helps our body to repair any damage. It can be mainly found in most citrus fruits and also in green vegetables. Try giving your child raw vegetables, like carrot or celery sticks, as they can sometimes find these more appetising than cooked vegetables. Where possible try to give your child fresh vegetables as they have not lost any of their vitamin content through packaging.
Sources of vitamins and minerals include: All fruit and vegetables hold some vitamin or mineral content, so offer these regularly to your child.
Fibre
Fibre makes the bowel work properly and eating a good number of fibrous foods can help prevent against certain types of bowel disease. Most children will happily accept wholemeal foods, however, if your child will only eat white bread then this is still a good intake of fibre rather than no intake of bread at all.
Sources of fibre include: Wholegrain bread, pasta and rice, fruit and vegetables.
Fats
A small amount of fat is essential to a balanced diet, but by taking on board too many fats the bodies susceptibility to obesity and heart disease increases. Fat can become a source of energy and helps maintain healthy skin and keeps cells working efficiently. Fats should make up no more than a third of a healthy balanced diet; however, it varies roughly from person to person.
Sources of fat include: oily fish, meat, and dairy products.
Overview
This section offers only advice to parents and children on a healthy balanced diet. A diet is different for most people, as some need a larger intake of a particular nutrient than others. The points raised should go some way to ensuring those who take part in sport and exercise have a good balance of nutrients to perform to the best of their ability.
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