Sport programs receive more funding than losing ones

sport programs receive more
[ FUNDING ]
than losing ones,
and coaches’
[JOBS ]
sometimes depend on the win-loss record. As powerful as this
[MESSAGE ]
may be in our society, it is one the author urges to be rejected. Instead,
[ STRIVE ]
to coach to achieve all
[THREE ]
objectives, while keeping in mind that the
[DEVELOPMENT ]
of your athletes is your foremost priority. As you coach for
development, you will likely find that
[WINNING ]
falls into place.
Recreational Versus Competitive Sport Programs
The sport programs our society offers vary widely in the emphasis placed on winning.
Recreational Sport Emphasis on . . . Competitive Sport
[FUN ] [WINNING ]
[LEARNING ] [ PERFORMANCE ]
AL349 _ Chapter 2 Page 2
Principles of Coaching

Determining Your Coaching Objectives
[PARTICIPATION ] [ PARTICIPATION BY
THE BEST ]
Both
[ RECREATIONAL ]
and
[ COMPETITIVE ]
sport programs are valuable as long
as the long-term goal of helping
[ATHLETES ]
develop remains the
[ TOP ]
priority. But
herein is one of our society’s
[SIGNIFICANT]
sport problems; many coaches,
administrators, parents, and team supporters place
[ GREATER ]
emphasis on the
[IMMEDIATE ]
short-term objective of winning than on the less
[ OBSERVABLE ]
long-term objective of development. A second significant problem is the
[DISCREPANCY ]
that sometimes exists between the short-term objectives of
[RECREATIONAL ]
and
competitive sports programs and the short-term
[OBJECTIVE ]
of coaches.
A Winning Philosophy
Athletes
[ FIRST ]
,
Winning
[ SECOND ]
What these four
[ WORDS ]
mean is this: Every
[ DECISION ]
you make and every
[BEHAVIOR ]
you display should be based first on what you
[ JUDGE ]
is best for your
athletes, and second on what may
[IMPROVE ]
the athlete’s or team’s
[CHANCES ]
of
winning.
Athletes First,
[WINNING ]
Second is the philosophical foundation for the
[ BILL OF
RIGHTS FOR YOUNG ATHLETES ]
. Athletes First, Winning Second is
[ SIMPLE ]
to state, but not
[ SIMPLE ]
to implement. Today some sport organizations are led by
[ADMINISTRATORS ]
who demand that coaches
[ REVERSE ]
this objective –
Winning First, Athletes Second – either because
[WINNING ]
is their personal objective or
because they are
[ PRESSURED ]
by others. Coaches who
[SKILLFULLY ]
help young
people become better human
[ BEINGS ]
but fail to win are considered losers, and all too
often are fired. This is the regrettable reality in sport today, but through sport
[EDUCATION ]
programs, more enlightened sport administrators, and coaches with
AL349 _ Chapter 2 Page 3
Principles of Coaching

Determining Your Coaching Objectives
an
[ ATHLETES FIRST, WINNING SECOND ]
philosophy, this will change. In the
final analysis, what’s important is not how many
[ GAMES ]
you win, but how many young
people you help to become
[WINNERS ]
in life.