'Respect'
What's respect got to do with it? In this theme, coaches and athletes will have an opportunity to discuss what respect is and who they respect. Open discussions should take place with thoughts about why respect is important. Find ways to promote respect within the sport environment and develop these ideas with your athletes.
Recommended SCORE Plays – 'Respect'
- During warm-up, share a story about a person whom you really respect in your sport and why.
- During stretching, ask players to share a story about a person they respect in their sport and why.
- Have players think of someone they respect and ask them to let them know by sending a text, email, or e-card in appreciation.
'Fair Play'
Fair play is a universal concept. It provides athletes with a set of rules and standards about how a specific sport should be played. Getting participants to follow the rules and move beyond them with actions of fair play teaches youth much about sport and life. Opportunities to promote fair play during youth sport may not arise very often but when they do it is important to capitalize on them.
Recommended SCORE Plays – 'Fair Play'
- Role play a situation in practice that does NOT support fair play (i.e., favouring one team in a scrimmage, asking a player to cheat). Discuss with players - how they felt, how they would and should react in that situation, and how they would expect a coach to act.
- Have a current or former high performance athlete from the sport come and talk to the team about fair play and its importance. This could be a few minutes at the end of practice.
'Developing Leaders'
The sport context provides a unique opportunity for youth to learn about leadership. There are many different ways to give youth the chance to explore and practice what it may mean to be a leader. With any skill, practice is needed. Some youth may possess leadership qualities naturally but this doesn’t mean that others do not possess this skill. Allowing for various leaders also gives the coach a chance to see their players in different roles.
Recommended SCORE Plays – 'Developing Leaders'
- Instead of having a permanent team captain, rotate this role so that each athlete has a chance to lead. Give clear expectations and boundaries about what you expect from this role on your team.
- Have 'warm up leaders' for your practices and games. This could be done in groups of 2 throughout the year so that everyone has a chance to have this responsibility.
- Allow different players from your team to explain certain drills that are repeated in practice.
