GCAA Basketball

https://gc-aa.com/gcsc.htm

The GARDEN CITY SPORTS CONSORTIUM (GCSC) is a cooperative group of representatives from various Garden City volunteer youth sports organizations together with Dr. Joe Pando of Sport Psychology Consulting. The objective of the group is to define and communicate appropriate goals, objectives and model behavior for coaches and parents. Our belief is that if we all strive to achieve these goals and keep youth sports in the proper perspective, it will benefit the children, coaches and parents in all our programs.

The goals of the GARDEN CITY SPORTS CONSORTIUM are to:

1. Create an environment in which children and adults can share the fun of sports.

2. Teach sport skills, rules, and strategy to our players.

3. Model and teach competitiveness with an emphasis on good sportsmanship.

4. Promote increased self-esteem among children and adults participating in the program.

The Crucial Role of the Manager/Head Coach

The most important person in the organization is the manager/head coach. The players look to them for instruction, encouragement, and inspiration. Assistant coaches and parents take their cues from them. Our goals can be met only if managers/head coaches embrace and work to achieve them.

How Managers/Head Coaches can help achieve the goals

The following are some of the ways that managers/head coaches can help achieve these goals:

POSITIVE COACHING

Goal 1 - Create an environment in which children and adults have fun with Sports.

Encourage players often. Show by behavior and words that each is an important member of the team whether or not they perform well. Give encouragement for effort as well as results. Give every player comparable playing time. Use one-sided games as opportunities to try less skilled players in more challenging positions. Show your own enjoyment of the game to your players.

Goal 2 - Teach sport specific skills, rules, and strategy to our players.

Rely on positive reinforcement for things done correctly. Minimize negative emphasis on mistakes, which are required for learning to take place. Players can handle only so much negative feedback at a time without becoming discouraged. Players will learn more, try harder, and be more open to accepting criticism if they are praised often. Praise players in public, correct them in private. Provide adequate repetition of teaching. Learning a sport is complicated. Lessons often need repeating before they are understood. Once players understand, they often need repeated practice before they can perform the expected behavior well. Encourage players to set individual and team goals for themselves corresponding to their ability level and then work to master the skills needed to achieve them. Organize practices to maximize learning and minimize standing around.

Goal 3 - Model and teach competitiveness with an emphasis on good sportsmanship.

Teach players aggressiveness and good sportsmanship at the same time. Obey the rules and show respect for the officials even when you disagree. Acknowledge good plays by the opposing team to your players. Always treat players on other teams as members of our community, our guests or our hosts first and as opponents secondarily. Refrain from actions or words that undercut the self-esteem of players on other teams.

Goal 4 - Promote increased self-esteem among participating children and adults.

Encourage players whenever possible. Show by words and actions that you like and accept them regardless of how well they perform. Adults often assume that children can "read their minds" but children determine whether they are liked and accepted by adults by what the adults say and do. Spend comparable instructional time with all players, regardless of ability. Encourage and reinforce parents for being involved with the team.

THE CRUCIAL ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY OF PARENTS

The most important people in a child's life are their parents. The child looks to their parent for encouragement, validation, and approval. The child's basic values and attitude toward competition and sportsmanship are first shaped by his/her parents. The goals of the organization can only be fully realized if parents embrace them and work to achieve them in their unique role as parents.

HOW PARENTS CAN HELP TO ACHIEVE GOALS

The following are some of the ways parents can help achieve the goals of the Garden City Sports Consortium:

Goal 1 - Support and contribute to the coach's and organization's effort to create an environment in which children and adults have fun with sports.

Encourage all players on the team and the opposition team. Engage in only positive cheering and cheer effort as much as outcome.

Goal 2 - Cooperate with efforts to teach the basic skills, rules and strategies of the sport.

Insure that your child is able to attend the majority of practices and games. Become familiar with the basic rules and strategies of the sport and the coach's plan of instruction. Inform the coach of any ongoing scheduling conflicts in advance. Refrain from sideline coaching. Practice with your child and help them identify how they can contribute to their team as well as setting personal goals.

Goal 3 - Model appropriate fan behavior and good sportsmanship.

Encourage through positive cheering competitiveness within the bounds of good sportsmanship. Show respect for the officials all the time, especially when you disagree. Acknowledge good plays of the opposition. Treat players of the other teams as members of our community first and as opponents secondarily. Refrain from actions or words that undercut the self-esteem of players on the other teams. Don't make negative comments about the other team as a means of encouraging or cheering for you child's team.