Can You Coach a Sport You Never Played at the Youth Level?


Your young child has decided they want to start playing a sport. As a parent, you think this is fantastic due to the social and fine motor skills they’ll develop. You get to the first practice and guess what, nobody is there to coach. You’ve been asked to help, but the question becomes – can you coach a sport you never played at the youth level?

Male coach talking to athlete | Can You Coach a Sport You Never Played at the Youth Level?

Can you coach a sport you never played at the youth level? It is possible at the youth level. However, basic understanding of the rules, strategies and technical aspects of the game are required to bring value to your athletes and help them develop. This will also help you greatly when coaching your first game.

Now, we realize you’ve just been “thrown into the fire”, don’t worry it’s not that bad, and our job here is to get you up to speed as quickly as possible. Your primary purpose is for the children to have fun, so never lose sight of this and always keep that at the forefront of your mind.

However, knowledge is power and in this scenario…. if you want to keep the young athletes smiling and parents from wanting to speak with you. We don’t expect you to be the next Phil Jackson or Vince Lombardi overnight (by the way, Vince never played a minute of NFL Football and is considered one of the best NFL coaches of all time), but a basic understanding of the rules, strategies and technicalities will help greatly at your first game.

So this post will showcase to you the steps on how to up-skill your coaching in this new sport at a rapid rate and help you become the best youth sports coach who never played the game.

Is There Someone Who Can Initially Help Out?

It’s very rare that you’ve placed your child into a brand new sport and the organization or club hasn’t existed for some time. This means that people are in a position to run that organization, whether it be from an administration standpoint or depending on the size of the organization, they may have dedicated positions that can assist with coaches and coaching education.

So you’ve just said yes to the title of “coach”. Your next question to the club should be – do you have someone in the role of coaching director, or even someone on the committee, who could shadow me for the first few practices or games?

Now not every organization is flush with resources or volunteers. So if the answer is no to a 1on1 mentor, then your next question should be – can you schedule practice at the same time as another team who have an experienced coach?

Now having a buddy that coaches a team in a similar age range or skill level brings significant benefit to your initial coaching period. You could include some of the practice time together, not only as a way of helping you learn drills and strategies, but this could also open up a large space to practice. Venue availability is typically a major problem for youth sport!

On top of this, you’ll also be able to bounce ideas off the other coach and ask them for advice on the best way to manage your practice session and games. Heck, he or she might be the best resource you find when it comes to coaching education! They could become a mentor for you should you find you really like the sport and want to take your coaching aspirations further post the youth team.

Studies show that only 5-10% of youth sport coaches have received any relevant training.

National Alliance of Youth Sports
Lacrosse coach talking to his players | Can You Coach a Sport You Never Played at the Youth Level?

Research About The Game

The old saying “Knowledge is Power” definitely applies here – especially when trying to manage 6 year olds who’ve been given way too much candy before they got to practice.

The internet has opened up an abundance of information for the majority of sports, with free information scattered throughout. However, you are new to this and probably don’t know where to start.

The first place I would look is on your club or team’s website or social media page.

Your team could be participating in a league or competition that has modified rules for the youth level, so if coaching basketball, you don’t need to understand what time the shot-clock will reset on an offensive rebound right now. Just the basics of the game are important at this stage.

Once you understand the rules of the competition, then you will need to broaden your understanding of training drills and how to run practice. Your coaching director or coaching buddy will be a great resource here, but should you want to research deeper, then here are some options for you to look into;

  • Team or club website
  • Team or club social media pages
  • Youtube
  • Google – type in “Sport name” practice drills
  • Coachtube.com
  • Online forums – try http://www.y-coach.com/forums/
Man with tennis racket typing on laptop |Can You Coach a Sport You Never Played at the Youth Level?

Attend Coaching Clinics

When I first started coaching youth sport, I found my biggest challenge was getting a “feel” for the game. If I hadn’t played the game myself, I was never in the player position and there are some things I instinctively missed. However, attending a live coaching clinic made up for some of the shortfalls.

Coaching clinics are typically run by all different levels of the sport. Your league, the state sporting body, sport governing body, high school coach, college coach or even a coaching director or coach from another club, could all at some point look to run a clinic teaching other coaches about certain aspects of the game.

How to know when these are being held is like anything in life nowadays – social media or website email lists. Sign up, like, tweet, whatever is required to stay informed from these groups on when they are holding the next coaching session and hopefully you can find a spare moment to get down.

I really enjoy getting out to a local stadium or field and being amongst other people in the same position as me. However, if you are limited on time and want to attend clinics the digital way, then we would recommend National Alliance for Youth Sports Coach Training. You can check it out at this link.

They are one of the most comprehensive resources for volunteer coaches, no matter what sport you are coaching. They pride themselves on teaching the game the right way and information is kept up to date and relevant. You’ll come away from it certified upon completion, which you can show parents and other coaches as becoming more knowledgable about the game.

There are typically costs associated with attending clinics in person or online, however, if funds are a problem, then speak to the team or club about potentially contributing to the cause. Plenty of teams are happy to help, considering you are giving back to the club or team and the young children participating within it.

Conference hall | Can You Coach a Sport You Never Played at the Youth Level?

Ask Plenty Of Questions

Like most things in life, we are typically nervous when we jump into something new. I’m here to tell you, when it comes to coaching kids in sports, don’t fret it. These kids will typically be excited to come see you for practice and games, so as long as you bring that same energy and enthusiasm, that’ll become infectious.

However, outside of the practice or game arena, I want you to ask plenty of questions to those who know about the game. Other coaches, committee members, parents, other teams, online forums.

You are new to this and right now, just be sponge and soak up as much information as you can.

Take ideas from wherever you can get them. The great thing about coaching youth sports is that nobody owns a trademark on the best practice drills or in-game strategies. I want you to plagiarise each and every day and continue to add “tools to your tool-bag”!

Only 5 percent of kids who played for trained coaches quit the sport the next year; the attrition rate was 26 percent otherwise

The Aspen Institute

Summary: Can You Coach a Sport You Never Played at the Youth Level?

Have fun, teach, inspire, motivate and help kids become good people are all elements to being a successful youth sports coach. You might think this is a lot to contend with, but you’ll be surprised how easy it can be when you enjoy playing your role.

Yes, you do need to have a greater understanding of the game to coach at a higher level (high school or college). Though, it would be extremely rare to be asked to contribute as a head coach at this level anyhow, so the good news is you have plenty of time to gain confidence before you get to that point.

Some people reading this article will be successful coaches in a sport they never played. What would you recommend as the best way to gain knowledge quickly?

Cheers,

Daniel

Soccer Ball | Can You Coach a Sport You Never Played at the Youth Level?
Lacrosse girls | Can You Coach a Sport You Never Played at the Youth Level?
Softball | Can You Coach a Sport You Never Played at the Youth Level?

Daniel

I’m sports mad! I’ve been coaching youth sports for over 15 years, with basketball being my primary passion. You can typically find me in the gym, outside on the court or in front of the TV being absorbed by a competitive sporting event. Sharing my knowledge and thoughts with other youth coaches out there gives me the greatest buzz!

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