Our Early Adolescent Program has been created to encourage all adults associated with youth sports to be positive and encouraging in order to best support young athletes.   The BMS Project’s #I tip to youth sports advocates is to “encourage them to talk those they trust.”  Our #2 tip is to “help them to believe in and like who they are.”  The #3 tip is to teach good sportsmanship.  As coaches and adult advocates of positive youth sports participation, we must strive to accomplish the goals associated with these top 3 tips.

While most coaches, parents and youth sport fans conduct themselves in a civil manner, unfortunately a few misguided adults can ruin the youth sports experience for everyone.  As a coach, you have an obligation and responsibility that all young athletes are able to enjoy the experience of youth sports participation.  Even the least skilled youngster on your team deserves the same respect and support as your best, standout, most talented athlete(s).

The use of transformational coaching style versus transactional coaching involves treating each and every young athlete as a person.  Transactional coaching focuses on developing a whole person as well as developing the athletic skills of a child.  While a transactional coaching style lends itself to viewing children as a means to an end… namely, winning.  Both styles are utilized at all levels of competitive activities.  While both styles can contribute to success on the event’s scoreboard, the transformative, whole person approach, can rack up wins on the scoreboard of life.

The BMS Project’s Early Adolescent Four Pillars are designed to protect our young athletes, as well as officials and coaches from adult abusive misconduct.  Adult negative behavior can contribute to drive young athletes, coaches and officials out of youth sports participation.

The best thing that you can do as a coach is to let your athletes know how much we all enjoy watching them play.  There are different levels of youth sports participation ranging from recreational to elite, club competition.  At each level there are stresses and pressures that weigh on elite, as well as participation level athletes.  These stresses can be self imposed, or come from external sources.  Especially with Early Adolescent athletes peer pressure, societal negativity and parental expectations/criticism can be extremely destructive on their self esteem.

Coaches sometimes unthinkingly exert negative influences on what should be a joyous experience.  At the BMS Project we enthusiastically solicit your commitment to create and maintain safe, healthy, positive environments and experiences for the kids.  We further wish to ask you as a responsible adult to respect our officials at all times.  By working together we can keep our children, their families and officials committed to youth sports.  By so doing you will also contribute to assist the kids to become better people.