Keeping the Balance Between Fun & Competitive in Youth Sports #19.30

Feb 18, 2020

Keeping the Balance Between Fun & Competitive in Youth Sports

Blog #19.30

How to Make Sports Both Fun & Competitive:

Fun is the main reason why children play sports. Children define fun as working hard, being challenged and competing. They love learning a new skill, being with friends, and having a coach that cares and respects them. Fun in sports for children means learning from mistakes, working together as a team, improving skills, applying a skill learned in practice in a game, playing against an evenly matched team, and winning.
~ Play games in training: if you want players to compete at game speed, make it took like a game. About 60% of your practice should be game based.
~ Focus on values such as fearlessness and accountability: if athletes are not afraid to make mistakes, and are willing to be held accountable when they do not bring the right effort and focus, they will compete harder.
~ Stop yelling at players for technical errors: if they compete with 100% focus and effort and still make a mistake, that is okay; that is called learning!
~ Play for Something: let the winners earn something for winning at practice. You can even let your athletes decide what the winners get for winning.
~ Stay on schedule: stick to the schedule so players can monitor their effort and hold nothing back. You are better off playing in shorter intense practice activities than longer, drawn-out ones.
~ Build team culture: if you do it right, the whole team benefits from a lesson in teaching. In having the kids respectfully work with one another to improve, you’re building team culture and strengthening trust between teammates.
~ Give them ownership: when kids are given ownership, their enjoyment will increase and their competitive fire will be stoked because they are competing.

Player of the Month: Olivia Frank

Olivia Frank was named October’s Player of the Month. Olivia played on the U14 Black DT Team this Fall Season. If she wasn’t at practice before the rest of the team working on her skills, she was always asking what she could do to improve her game. She is always working hard and is someone her teammates can rely on, as she helped her team become the u14 Academy League Champions of the DMV League this Fall Season! Olivia is a great team player and leader, both on and off the field.

Koa Girls’ Basketball:

You asked, and our Koa Basketball Program listened!
Koa Sports now has its very own girls basketball skills development clinic.

Come checkout the NEW Girls Basketball Skill Development Clinic this Winter at Koa Sports HQ!

Our basketball program has partnered with the Potomac Valley Thunder to continue their already impressive girl’s clinic! This winter season, girls in grades 3rd-8th will have the opportunity to develop their skills with the help of our professional Koa coaches! Whether you are just beginning or if you know a thing or two there is always room to improve. There will be plenty of ball-handling, shooting, offensive moves, and rebounding to get your daughter’s game to a higher level!

For more information, contact Director of Basketball Operations Evan Sirkey: evan@koasports.org

Keeping Up with Koa:

High School Indoor League: This will be Koa’s 4th annual High School Indoor League! Athletes can join with a group of teammates from their HS Team, or they can join as a Free Agent and be put onto one of Koa’s house teams with other free agents. The Indoor League will be traditional indoor rules, which is a great way to improve your skills in the off-season. This is also a great way for a HS Team to bond during the off-season, and improve both mentally and physically during the Winter months! Click Here for more Information!

Winter Rec League: This program is for both experienced and inexperienced players. During the Winter Rec League, players will be placed on teams, and will have both a practice and a game each Saturday. Each team will play for 1.5 hours each Saturday. They will have a 45min practice session first, and then immediately play in a game versus another team in the second 45min session. Each game will be two 20min halves with a 5min halftime. Click Here for more information!

Winter Clinics: This Winter Clinic is a weekday clinic for both experienced and beginner field hockey players. During the practice, the players will be taught the fundamental skills of field hockey. At the end of each practice, they will get to test their newly learned skills in a fun game scenario drill or in a scrimmage. All players will be divided into the appropriate age and skill level groups. Click Here for more information!

Year Round Programs!

Private Lessons: Are you looking for a 1 on 1 skill session? Are you looking to take your skills to another level? We offer private lessons with our experienced coaches to help you improve your skills. Breakdown those skills you may be having trouble with and have a coach analyze and help you work on them.
Private Lesson Info

Evaluations: Koa FH offers individual player evaluations to athletes who want to know where they stand compared to our different programs. Any field hockey player, whether you are new to Koa or you have been with Koa for a few seasons can register for an evaluation. Schedule your Player Eval today!