>I spent the weekend in Detroit at the annual AYSO youth soccer conference. As always it was good to see old friends and attend the sessions. Lots of food for thought. You come out of there so charged up you want to grab a shovel and clear the fields for an early start of spring season.
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>The keynote speaker Friday night was a guy named John Ouelette who is the top coaching advisor in AYSO. He said one thing that has stuck in my mind and I think is worth passing along. Actually he said many interesting things with humor, insight, and heartfelt passion -- the holy grail of public speaking. I have attended many of John's coaching sessions and they are always packed. The energy and ideas fly off him like sparks.
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>In his talk Friday night the phrase that has stuck with me was buried somewhere in the middle. It wasn't the point of John's speech. It struck me as profound nonetheless. Here is my best paraphrase ---
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>One thing we really have to watch out for is burnout. At work, yeah, it happens. [anecdotes about work burnout] But we shouldn't let it happen here. We're volunteers. We don't have to do this! Why are we here? Right. For the kids. If we can't give them positive enthusiasm we shouldn't be here at all. What is one of our five fundamental principles? Positive coaching. We owe them that. And by that I don't mean just yelling "Great, great, great!" They're not that dumb, not even at U-6. They know when they've messed up. What I mean is showing them the fundamentals, how to do it properly. Keep even the criticism positive. That's not being a sellout, it's understanding the psychology of young kids. Stay positive, get positive, or go somewhere else.
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>SET PARAPHRASE OFF
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>As those of you who know me know, I am not the Pollyanna type. Probably a little cynical. But I have not reached the degree of corrosive cynicism where positive calls fall on deaf ears. I really did hear this one, enough so to pass it on. (And no, this isn't a chain letter, this is just me, or should I say John Ouelette).
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>Stay positive ---
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>Get positive ---
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>Or go somewhere else


As a parent, I agree.
I also think that at the age of 6 or 7 they should should learn the difference between winning and losing and how to be gracious in doing both; and yes, to put everything in proper perspective. I guess the term I'm looking for is "sportsmanship".