Coaching youth sports Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Coaching youth sports - Research Paper Example Most developed economies spend millions of dollars in promoting sports, training the new comers to it and making people aware of the importance as well as over all benefits of sports activities. This piece of research paper addresses basic techniques in teaching of softball to young players and positive ways of identifying appropriate skills in individual players and explains how sports can develop physical skills as well as self esteem in young people. Coaching Techniques for Softball As Softball is a team sport, it requires using of specific evaluation tools and techniques that can also be used to assess the developments of the individual parts to make up the whole of the team (American Sport Education Program, p. 9). Improving basic physical skill is key element to success of any sport, and therefore, it is highly important that all the techniques and tactics that are planned to coach softball players must be useful to improve the physical skills of the players. Similarly, there a re some non-physical skills like remembrance, mental capacity, communication skill, character training etc that are also important for effective performance in any sport and these are also to be considered while coaching is given to softball players. Evaluating the effective techniques for coaching softball requires understanding what are the essential physical skills required for softball. They are strength, speed, agility, flexibility and power (American Sport Education Program, p. 9). Techniques and tactics can be different from team to tem, from coach to coach, but all these techniques must be able to boost the above mentioned essential physical skills. Prior to starting physical training and coaching of physical skills, the trainers or coachers must convey messages regarding the importance of the coaching, motivate the athletes to improve in their present skills, try to make all the coaching techniques to be given to athletes are unbiased and constant and convey the feedback of the coaching to the, etc. In softball techniques, Hitting coaching is perhaps most important one. It involves quickness, strength and hand-eye coordination etc. While coaching to help players better hit, it must be carefully considered to make them comfortable in proper grip and stance as well (American Sport Education Program, p. 22- 24). Another important technique of coaching is stride, which is a controlled forward move in the direction of the pitcher in order to help the hitter transfer her weight while she swings. Coachers should also train how the players can effectively position their bat and how can they be angled well. Teaching the proper hand-position in bat is also highly important. In each and every step, through out every different move forward and along with different types of hitting, the coacher should teach different stance, hand position and better grip tactics to the players so that they can have gradual improvements in overall moving and other important parts o f the softball game. A well structures and effective coaching of softball with different techniques must be well-planned, considering various programs like a) monitoring academic progress, b) arranging team program, c) creating goal chart, d) administering coaching, e) cooperating with team-players etc (Veroni and Brazier, p. 36). Ways to identify skills appropriate to individuals Players are individually different in terms of their age, gender and physical strength and therefore certain skills are more appropriate to some