Good Afternoon Coaches,
I am hopeful you are all staying safe and warm during this challenging time. Like many of you my emotions are all over the place right now. Being away from the everyday hustle and bustle of the girls HS soccer season has left an empty space in my life and I am trying to remain as hopeful as possible that we will get to play this season. I have reached out to Justin at CHSAA and as of right now there is no new news to report. CHSAA remains hopeful of having some type of spring season. They are closely monitoring all scenarios and are listening to the CDC and Governor Polis.
In the meantime, I was fortunate enough to be one of the few coaches able to listen to John O’Sullivan this morning from Changing the Game Project on ways we can engage our athletes during the suspension period. While I was scrolling through the names of the others listening online, I think some of you were also able to listen as well. I felt the information was relevant and wanted to pass it along to you all as well.
His (along with James Leath from Unleash the Athlete) message was simple. Our athletes may not feel like we are “in season” but in fact we are! And our athletes may need us more than ever. They encouraged us to schedule a regular meeting with our athletes. Maybe once or twice a week for everyone to get together and share what is going on, what they are doing to stay sharp, etc… Their tips for these meetings or virtual practices were the following:
– know who is in front of you (keep the topics relevant)- avoid being in “group chats” with your players if you are the only adult – make sure the content is “learner focused” – use gratitude, be sincere, focus on “well being and health” – reserve some time each session for the seniors or captain to lead a discussion – ask good questions
Goals for the sessions should be to leave our athletes inspired and motivated! To do that, James Leath suggested we give them something to either Watch, Listen To or Read that is relevant to your team culture, leadership, sports, etc.. Below is the link James shared with us this morning if you are looking for resources to use. I have also attached the PDF from the session this morning for everyone.
https://www.utathlete.com/blog/webinar-resource-10-10-10
If I hear of anything new to report, I will let you all know. Please keep your eyes on the CHSAA website as well. If you want to bounce ideas off of me or if you have anything you would like me to bring to Justin at CHSAA, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
As of right now, we are putting the boys and girls CHSCA All State soccer games scheduled in June on hold.
Please let me know if I can be of any help.
Sean–