Running Head: POSITIVE COACHING AND ITS IMPACT ON YOUNG ATHLETES

Positive Coaching and its Impact on Young Athletes

Logan A Panoff

South Lyon High School

December 2023
POSITIVE COACHING AND ITS IMPACT ON YOUNG ATHLETES

Abstract

This paper’s main focus is to evaluate the coaching style commonly used and to spread

awareness on the importance of positive coaching and its effects on athletes. As the world of

sports continues to evolve, more coaches are needed. But a problem comes with that: uneducated

coaching. Coaches have beneficial impacts on young athletes' lives and are large parts of helping

them grow. Negative coaching style can affect the way athletes begin to think of themselves. But,

there are many ways that people can incorporate positive coaching with their teams and athletes.

The power of positive coaching can make a world of difference in a young athlete's life. During

this research many ideas came up about the effects coaching has on athletes as well as real life

examples of how people have benefited from coaching. There were also many different strategies

and exercises that could improve the way they hold themselves and structure their coaching.

From the research collected many real life examples were found of life changing coaches and

what they did to change the lives of athletes. Also, a statistical research on the number of

unqualified coaches and a source that is dedicated to teaching coaches how to implement positive

ideas in their coaching as well as the power of positive priming in sports. As this world of

athletes and sports begin to grow this paper intends to shine a light on the true significance of the

power of positive coaching.

Key words: Positive, Coaching, Positive Priming, Athletes, Unqualified Coaching,

Positive Impacts

Word Count: 246

POSITIVE COACHING AND ITS IMPACT ON YOUNG ATHLETES

It’s the bottom of the 6th inning in the championship game. A little leaguers team is up by

one run with two outs all the team needs is one out. The ball is hit to the 10-year-old who has

struggled with confidence and is new to the sport, the ball goes right through his legs causing his

team to lose the game. As he walks off the field his coach yells at him about how bad he messed

up. And that coach is the reason that kid will never play again. There is an alarming amount of

people who consider themselves coaches to young kids who are extremely unqualified. A lot of

coaches have a traditional outlook and positivity is not a very important aspect of their coaching

style. As this world of athletes and sports begin to grow, positive priming, positive coaching, and

improved coaching styles can positively make an impact on athletes' lives.

Positive Coaching is beginning to be extremely beneficial to young athletes, and its

importance has been recognized by many coaches. Shifting towards a positive style of coaching

rather than the traditional style can benefit young athletes around the world. In the article “The

Power of Positive Coaching”, David Bornstein (2011) cites the founder of the Positive Coaching

Alliance Jim Thompson who said, “If a child misses a big play, it’s a perfect opportunity to talk

about resiliency” (para. 15). Resilience is the ability to overcome difficult situations and recover

back from them. Coaches turning bad situations into a positive teaching moment are the coaches

who will change the world and change how young athletes feel about themselves and how they

hold themselves in life. These kinds of experiences from positive coaches not only help kids in

their sports but eventually they will use these lessons and experiences they learned at a young

age later in their life. According to Lizzie Duszynski-Goodman (2017) in her Forbes article

“What Is Resilience? How To Build Resiliency, Benefits And More” she says, “Research
POSITIVE COACHING AND ITS IMPACT ON YOUNG ATHLETES

suggests resilience may act as a protective mechanism in the workplace, mitigating the effects of

stress and burnout among employees in high-intensity work environments. Workers who

demonstrate high resilience may show increased productivity and improved attendance”

(Duszynski-Goodman, 2017, para 7). This idea of resilience being taught to young athletes can

provide a learning opportunity for something that will strongly benefit them in the long run. If a

person constantly uses this skill of resiliency learned at a young age they will begin to be less

stressed and have much lower anxiety levels. This research shines a light on how important

positive coaching for young kids really can be, as well as how important it is to be resilient not

only in sports but in life as well.

All some people need is some positive affirmations from those they look up to, to realize

what they are capable of. In their book The Power of Positive Coaching Julie and Lee

Davis-Colan (2019) provide information from a study from the Korn Ferry Institute, an

innovation center focused on showing key trends from human and organizational performance.

They found that, “65 percent of female chief executive officers (CEOs) from large companies

realized they could be a CEO only after someone told them they could be a CEO” (Colan, L. J.,

& Davis-Colan, J., 2019, para 11). This statistic shows the true power of positive leadership.

These positive affirmations can be used not only as a sports coach but as a manager, business

leader, and other higher power positions due to the influence people in those positions have on

those that look up to them. If this kind of leadership can be demonstrated at a young age and

used on young children in sports it would provide lessons and confidence that athletes can carry

well beyond their sport and use it in their life. It shows that positive affirmations within coaching

can have on athletes and the effectiveness of it at a young age. Sam Shweisky, head coach for the

men's volleyball team at Princeton University discusses the importance of positive affirmations
POSITIVE COACHING AND ITS IMPACT ON YOUNG ATHLETES

in sports and its effects on athletes. “Positive affirmations can be a healthy component of

confident self-talk that can assist athletes in an extremely powerful mental outlook on

competition” (Shweisky, 2020, para 12). Affirmations are phrases one repeats to subconsciously

influence their mind to think this is true. This form of self-talk creates a positive mindset in an

athletes head whether it's them saying it to themselves or coaches verbalizing it to them it can

truly benefit the athletes mental health and the way they perform. Positive affirmations is

something coaches can include in their pre games, practices and in games this is something that

can create the difference between a traditional coach and a coach who has chosen a positive

coaching style to better the performance and mental health of their athletes.

Positive priming is when a presentation of a stimulus facilitates processing of a later

presentation of the same stimulus. If this can be put into coaching it could be a good way to

positively prepare athletes for games. Though the focus is on sports priming can be used in many

ways. In his book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell (2013)

focuses on the basics of priming and the power it has. He does a couple of experiments on

priming one of those being, priming someone to move slower, “Your unconscious was simply

telling your body: I've picked up some clues that we're in an environment that is really concerned

about old age - and let's behave accordingly” (Gladwell, 2013, pg. 58). This experiment flashed

words making the person being tested move slower because they were primed with words related

to old age. Gladwell shows how effective priming can be on someone just by showing them

words or images and how it can change behavior. If coaches can use the idea of positive priming

on their athletes not only will it possibly make them play better but it could also help develop a

positive mindset in these athletes minds. In their book The Power of Positive Coaching Julie and

Lee Davis-Colan also discuss how important a positive mindset is, “Researchers illustrated the
POSITIVE COACHING AND ITS IMPACT ON YOUNG ATHLETES

power of mindset by proving that managers who used a strength-based approach with their

employees helped to improve employee performance by 36 percent” (Colan, L. J., &

Davis-Colan, J., 2019, para 13). This shows the statistical evidence that proves that a leader or

coach who encourages their employees or players to be better and are positively helping them

can improve outcomes. If a player can be positively primed to be better their achievement will

increase and they will see results that will help them as well as improved mindset and self

esteem.

The Positive Coaching Alliance is a non profit organization dedicated to changing the

ways of coaching. Organizations like this are what make the idea of positive coaching thrive and

they benefit the cause to create better coaches and educate them. According to their “About Us”

tab, the Positive Coaching Alliance (2023) mission statement claims, “To change the culture of

youth sports so that every child, regardless of social

or economic circumstance”. The P.C.A strives to

make coaches better and wants to create a better

sports experience for young athletes. The P.C.A has

worked with thousands of athletes and youth

organizations spreading the power of positive

coaching strategies. They emphasize the idea of

coaching and implement positive coaching styles to

move away from traditional coaching. Figure 1 is

showing various situations that come up in coaching

and compare how they would be handled in positive

coaching and how it would be handled in traditional

POSITIVE COACHING AND ITS IMPACT ON YOUNG ATHLETES

coaching. An important one is the third bullet point that compares how a coach would optimize a

specific aspect of a player. Traditional tends to call out weakness and put down athletes where

positive focuses on strengths of a player and highlights what they are good at. Another

comparison figure one does is compares intervention-oriented and prevention-oriented.

Intervention-oriented is the traditional way which is confronting a player after they do something

bad whereas prevention-oriented is trying to stop that bad thing before it happens. This kind of

strategy helps young athletes from doing things that would cause them harm or hurt their self

esteem while still discussing what could have happened and preventing it. The Positive Coaching

Alliance uses many of these ideas to create a more positive environment in the world of

coaching. The P.C.A has been recognized by many and in his article “The Power of Positive

Coaching”, David Bornstein (2011) discusses what the Positive Coaching Alliance is and what

they do: “What’s needed is a culture change. That’s the goal of the Positive Coaching Alliance, a

modest-size organization that punches well above its weight. P.C.A. has trained 450,000 adults,

mostly coaches and youth sports leaders, who reach about 4 million children and youths” (para

5). This shows the true size the P.C.A has and the amount of athletes and organizations they

reach. They have trained many adults to which they become coaches and those coaches spread

the ideas of this non profit thus beginning a domino effect to which the ideas established by the

P.C.A begin to spread all throughout the sports community and the ideas taught to kids who use

these strategies in things outside of sports.

When it comes to coaching, a large problem is unprofessional and untrained coaching

that can create problems in the development of young athletes. With a change in coaching styles

and improvement to the coaches interacting with their athletes it can positively benefit young

athletes. A large majority of coaches take on a coaching position regardless of the fact that they
POSITIVE COACHING AND ITS IMPACT ON YOUNG ATHLETES

are very unqualified for the job. This is because a good amount of these unqualified coaches are

parents of a child on the team. David Bornstein (2011) discusses in his article “The Power of

Positive Coaching” the statistics of the amount of unqualified coaching: “Part of the problem is

that of the 2.5 million American adults who serve as volunteer coaches for youth sports less than

10 percent receive any formal training” (para. 5). This shows the unqualified coaching that goes

on in sports. Unqualified coaches can develop bad habits in young athletes or even drive young

kids away from sports ruining an experience that should be fun and memorable. But, on the flip

side a positive coach can change the lives of young athletes. Michael J. Stott (2021) explored

coach Greg Rhodenbaugh, a swim coach at texas university, in his article “The Power of Positive

Coaching”. He has touched the lives of many swimmers and is a great example of a positive

coach. “Seeing tears upon the retirement announcement of her daughter's swim coach, the

mother asked, ‘Why?’ ‘Because he understands me’ said the girl” (para. 1). This shows the

impact a positive coach has. If positive coaching styles are more common among coaches they

will have a bigger impact on their athletes. In Stott's article (2021), Greg Rhodenbaugh says,

“My best coaching has come from listening…not any great wisdom I have” (para. 2).

Rhodenbaugh strives to base his coaching on listening and understanding his athletes. He learns

how his athletes swim and that helps him better coach them as well as understand them. This will

not only keep kids in the sport but it will also leave them with memories and mentors they will

never forget. Maggie Wooll (2021) discusses in her article “The importance of listening as a

leader in the digital era” that listening shows that coaches or leaders care and they could have a

great influence on employees (para. 2). She also showed that 31% of leaders' employees claim

that their leader lacks empathy (para. 6). Though this is in the workplace it can also be included

into the world of sports. This idea of listening that Rodenbaugh tries to integrate in his coaching
POSITIVE COACHING AND ITS IMPACT ON YOUNG ATHLETES

style can have a very positive impact on his athletes and could help them feel more connected to

their coach as well as more respected or cared for. This will ultimately have an impact on

student-athletes because it makes them feel like their coach is a trusted adult who they can go to

and know that their coach will listen which ultimately strengthens the relationship between the

coach and the athlete. If this can be included in training of coaches it will have a more positive

impact on young athletes and will create a better experience for kids in youth sports.

As the number of young athletes begin their athletic career, strategies like, positive

priming, positive coaching, and improved coaching styles can truly change a young athletes life.

The traditional coaching style has been around too long, creating negative environments and

leaving long lasting bad memories for young athletes as well as discouraging them from a

particular sport. If coaches around the world can educate themselves on the power of positive

coaching and use the ideas of positive coaching – positive affirmations, listening, and

transitioning from traditional styles– in the way they handle their athletes it will truly change the

way young athletes experience and grow from youth sports. Positive coaching must be integrated

in youth, high school, and college sports to further the results of their athletes.
POSITIVE COACHING AND ITS IMPACT ON YOUNG ATHLETES

References

Bornstein, D., & Morris, E. (2011, October 20). The Power of Positive Coaching - The New York

Times. The New York Times Web Archive. Retrieved November 20, 2023, from

https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/the-power-of-pos

itive-coaching/

Colan, L. (2019, April 17). The Power of Positive Coaching | Inc.com. Inc. Magazine. Retrieved

December 18, 2023, from

https://www.inc.com/lee-colan/the-power-of-positive-coaching.html

Colan, L. J., & Davis-Colan, J. (2019). The Power of Positive Coaching: The Mindset and Habits

to Inspire Winning Results and Relationships. McGraw Hill LLC.

Duszynski-Goodman, L. (2023, October 17). What Is Resilience? How To Build Resiliency,

Benefits And More. Forbes. Retrieved December 18, 2023, from

https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/resilience/

Gladwell, M. (2006). Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. Penguin Books Limited.

Positive Coaching Alliance. (2023). The power of positive. https://positivecoach.org/

Shweisky, S. (2020). Using Affirmations to Reach Your Goals. USA Volleyball. Retrieved

December 18, 2023, from

https://usavolleyball.org/resource/using-affirmations-to-reach-your-goals/

Wooll, M. (2021, July 1). The Importance of Listening as a Leader in the Digital Era. BetterUp.

Retrieved December 20, 2023, from

https://www.betterup.com/blog/the-importance-of-listening-as-a-leader-in-the-digital-era