Key 3: Coach for Character before Skills

After your athletes are in your program, what will they take with them the rest of their lives?  Will they be tumbling and stunting the rest of their lives?  Most likely not.  The character they develop while learning these skills will be what they are able to apply to many other areas of their lives - in their careers, their families and their friends.  

As I learned to put a clean routine on the mat and continue to remind myself to keep it clean, I learned that success could not be attached to winning.  With one team I coached, we were State Runner-ups and we came in second by less than a point two years in a row. These teams could not have done anything differently.  They did the best they could. While they were disappointed in the outcome, the important takeaway from the experience is that they recognized the character it took to do as well as they did are qualities that will take them through the rest of their lives. These include, sportsmanship, perseverance, teamwork, resilience, focus and more. 

When coaching, do your best to coach your team for character. When they hit a new skill, it is not just a celebration that they hit a new skill.  Take for instance when they throw a back handspring for the first time, it is a celebration that displays determination, courage, focus, dedication and more.  When their success is attached to their character that they can apply to the rest of their lives and areas outside of cheerleading, a loss does not feel like all the work was for nothing.  A team will only be able to start grasping that message if you incorporate it into your everyday practices.

When you tell your team how proud you are of them or you are acknowledging a new skill, choose a few words that would describe their character and then actually tell them how that impacts other areas of their lives.  

Example: “You hit zero very early in our practice season.  Congratulations! That takes discipline, perseverance, work ethic and confidence.  I am so proud that you took these qualities and applied it to this routine.  Think about what you can accomplish in other areas of your life, if you have that same mindset.”

How have you coached for character?  Remind yourself to incorporate these lessons into your coaching and your team will have a whole different perspective.