Welcome to the second edition of PCA Connector -- designed to share good ideas throughout the PCA community and create a "social epidemic" of Positive Coaching.

Our inaugural issue of PCA Connector was received by nearly 2500 supporters of the PCA movement and the feedback was tremendous! Responses came from all corners of the globe. We received numerous emails from people who did not originally receive PCA Connector but had it forwarded to them by a friend and wanted to be added to our mailing list. We encourage you to pass this along and help spread the Positive Coaching movement!

In this issue:

• Tools to Honor the Game

--New Video

--Guidelines for YSO leaders, coaches, parents

--Cal/Stanford: A Rivalry to be Proud of

• Positive Coaching Tip: "The Just-Right Challenge"

• Signs that the Positive Coaching Epidemic is Spreading

• Congratulations, PCA Trainers

TOOLS TO HONOR THE GAME

The "Hockey Dad" case in Massachusetts and a rash of recent incidents involving unruly fans at professional and college games should concern all involved with youth sports. What's the antidote? PCA believes it's the creation of a culture that insists that coaches, players, parents and fans Honor the Game. Here are some resources that can help leaders at any level make Honoring the Game part of the culture of their organization.

1) PCA's new 10-minute video, Honoring the Game: A Vision of a Positive Youth Sports Culture, shows how wonderful youth sports can be when all involved Honor the Game. The video brings to life the vision statement developed at the first "Against the Grain" Forum in March 2000 at Stanford University. It's a great tool to show parents and coaches to set the tone at the start of a season. Coaches who want their parents to behave on the sidelines can show it at a parent meeting. The video is $12.95 and can be ordered at www.positivecoach.org/store/cd_2.html.

The complete vision statement is available at www.positivecoach.org/vision.html.

2) PCA has developed Honoring the Game guidelines for youth sports organizations (YSOs) with specific actions that YSO leaders, coaches and parents can take to promote a positive culture. The guidelines are available at www.positivecoach.org/toolbox/honorguidelines.htm.

3) PCA is working with the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford to create a "Rivalry to be Proud of." What makes a rivalry something to be proud of?

Two things, according to an op-ed by PCA founder Jim Thompson in the San Jose Mercury News on December 20, 2001 (http://www.positivecoach.org/news/20011209_thompson.html): 1) Intense competition between the lines and 2) Behavior by athletes, coaches and fans that Honors the Game. PCA staff and volunteers handed out buttons and cards to more than 15,000 fans at four Cal/Stanford basketball games in January-February. More on the "Rivalry to be Proud of" can be found at gostanford.fansonly.com/genrel/010202aaa.html.

THE POSITIVE COACH’S TOOLKIT

Every issue of PCA Connector features a practical coaching tip. Send us tips that have worked for you (ben@positivecoach.org) so we can pass them on to others.

The Just-Right Challenge

An insight for coaches from Motivated Minds: Raising Children to Love Learning by Deborah Stipek and Kathy Seal: Nothing motivates like a "Just-Right" challenge. Kids given 13 puzzles--ranging in difficulty from easy all the way to very difficult--chose one that was "one step ahead" of their current skill level (every one of them!). Kids whipped through easy puzzles without smiling. When they got to ones that were "just-right," they smiled while they worked (think Michael Jordan's trademark smile in a big game). Coaches who give (or even better, help players set their own) "Just-Right Challenges" are going to get motivated players. Often this is as simple as asking a player, "How many do you think you can do?" rather than telling them. Do you have an example of a Just-Right Challenge you use? Send it along (ben@positivecoach.org) and we may use it in a future issue.

SIGNS THAT THE EPIDEMIC IS SPREADING

"Double-Goal Coach Award" Nominations Span the USA

Coaches from all over the U.S. were nominated for PCA's first annual "Double-Goal Coach" Award. The nominees hail from Hawaii to Connecticut, Oregon to Florida, Minnesota to Texas. The entire list of nominated coaches (and organizations) can be seen at www.positivecoach.org/2002nominees.htm. The selection committee includes University of California women's tennis coach Jan Brogan, Notre Dame men's soccer coach Bobby Clark, and UCLA softball coach Sue Enquist. The winners will be announced (and honored) at a dinner at Stanford University on March 13, 2002, featuring Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson.

Honoring the Game in High School Basketball

The following is from an e-mail sent to Heather Rogers, Athletic Director at Marin Academy (San Raphael, CA), a PCA High School Partner, from Michael Coffino, JV girls' basketball coach at Lick-Wilberding High School in San Francisco.

" I attended the girls' varsity match at your gym a couple of weeks ago. I was taken by the signs in the locker room welcoming Lick and wishing the team good luck, as well as the large welcome sign in the gym (albeit it was in MA red!). I also was impressed by your own intervention with a few fans talking trash during the game. You showed a lot of class and created a good feeling in the gym. There is no reason that high school sports cannot be highly competitive without all the bitterness and rancor that often attends the matches. Marin Academy obviously knows how to do it right. Thanks for the leadership."

And in a University Sports Management Class

Rich Englehorn contacted us to say that our "Rivalry to be Proud of" had inspired him to create an assignment for his Sports Management students at Iowa State University. Rich asked students to imagine they were hired by a university which was having problems with fan misconduct at basketball and football games (certainly a totally hypothetical example!!!). Students were asked to develop a program to curb fan misbehavior. Rich says he plans to make the exercise a regular part of the course.

Have you seen evidence that the PCA Epidemic is spreading? Share it with us!

CONGRATULATIONS, PCA TRAINERS

PCA would like to recognize its newest certified trainers. The following people are now presenting PCA workshops:

Ruben Nieves --- San Francisco Bay Area

Art Mory — Dallas, TX

Jeaney Garcia --- Los Angeles, CA

Rob Webb --- Los Angeles, CA

Mike Murray --- Washington, DC

Interested in becoming a trainer? Positive Coaching Alliance is looking for people who are passionate about positive coaching to present Coach, Parent, and Leadership Workshops. We need qualified individuals (typically with college or high school coaching experience) to become PCA Trainers. Though our scope is unlimited, at this time we are particularly interested in candidates in the following metropolitan areas: San Francisco/Bay Area; Los Angeles; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; and Portland, Oregon.

If you are interested in becoming a PCA Trainer, please send a resume or curriculum vitae to Tonya Booker at Positive Coaching Alliance, Department of Athletics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 or fax it to (650) 725-7242. If you have any questions about becoming a PCA Certified Trainer, please contact Tonya at tonya@positivecoach.org or (650) 736-0154.

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