Reward "Off-The-Ball" First

It doesn’t show up on the scoreboard. Kids don’t call grandpa and grandma and tell them about it. The newspapers won’t write about it. And that’s why as parents and coaches, it’s our job to reward it.

                The “it” is what young athletes do when they are not in control of the ball.

                In team sports, there’s only one object that matter in the final score. It’s the ball (or puck). Where it goes and how it gets there determines the score. Because of that, so many kids grow up believing that if the ball is not involved, it’s not important. And those kids could not be more wrong.

                Kids with exceptional natural ball skills and developed hand-eye or foot-eye coordination will appear to be better players, or better athletes, at a younger age. They tend to score more goals, get more base hits, catch more passes and make more baskets. It’s easy for Suzy to call grandpa and say “I scored 3 goals in my soccer game today.” Good for Suzy. I hope she feels great about herself. That’s a big day for a little girl.

                What about Rebecca? She didn’t score any goals. What’s she going to tell grandpa? Hopefully, Rebecca can tell grandpa that she had a great time and she ran around like crazy.

                If Rebecca’s coach emphasizes the right things, she’ll notice that Rebecca was always in the right place on the defensive end of the field. Rebecca also took away a passing lane that could have resulted in a scoring opportunity for the other team. Rebecca also chased down an opponent from behind and forced her to change her direction and move away from the goal.

                My team only needs 1 Suzy. But we need a dozen Rebecca’s. Suzy is luck. She has an advanced skillset for her age and she’s got a knack for butting the ball in the back of the goal. You can’t win unless you score more goals than the other team. Simple facts. But only rewarding Suzy for her goals is a problem that I see in youth sports all the time.

                Winning requires scoring and stopping other teams from scoring. But winning habits are more than that. Hustle is a winning habit. Effort is a winning habit. Attention to detail is a winning habit. Doing what’s asked of you is a winning habit. Being a responsible teammate is a winning habit. None of that stuff requires the ball in your possession.

                Our youth baseball league has implemented a rewards system for our young players. We package up some old baseball cards donated by our coaches in envelopes; ten to a pack. When the kids do something of note, we give them an envelope of cards. It’s a simple, cheap rewards system that reinforces the game of baseball that day and in the future.

                One of our youth coaches has decided to give a pack of cards each game to the player who does the best job backing up throws. Not making throws. Not catching throws. Backing up throws.

                I love that idea. Every player is capable of backing up throws. Very few kids are excited to call grandma and tell her that you backed up third like a champ today. But that coach is well aware and has found a way to reward that winning habit.

                Make no mistake. The ball is the most important thing. If all we cared about was backing up bases, nobody would get anybody out. But backing up bases is ALSO important. It’s a big part of the game, especially at the youth level when fewer players are capable of making accurate throws and catching well-thrown balls.

                I don’t know if that coach’s team is any good. I have no idea what their win-loss record it. Frankly, I don’t care. I know that his team has embraced a winning habit that will help eliminate costly mistakes and will help each player feel as though they’ve contributed regardless of what they did when they were in control of the ball.

                Often, we hear about these winning habit on TV as “the little things.” At the youth level, these are “THE BIG THINGS.”

                What you’ll find if you routinely reward the “off the ball” movement and responsibilities is that your team plays are cleaner, more complete game. You’ll also find that fewer players leave your sport because of boredom or lack of talent. You’ll find high school and college coaches seeking out players who played for you because the “play the game the right way.”

                Most importantly, you’ll find kids who want to play for you and parents who want their children to play for your team. Let the scoreboard, social media and the local newspaper tell everyone who hit the game-winning shot. Reward your team for what happens away from the ball.