Search
Close this search box.
Search
Close this search box.
Facebook Youtube Instagram Linkedin Pinterest
Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram Linkedin Pinterest

5 Ways Youth Sports Coaches Can Encourage Teamwork

Coaches

Female coach talking to teen soccer team.While we praise youth sports as a great way to develop teamwork, figuring out how to actually teach it isn’t always obvious as a coach. Preaching the importance of working together often falls on deaf ears at the youth level, as it’s the kind of advice that has become cliché, like ‘play hard’ or ‘give 110%.’

But while teamwork might seem like an abstract and over-killed concept, it can be taught in ways that aren’t so overt, such as through games, goal setting, or simply through modelling team-first behavior.

 

1) Create Drills Athletes Want to Win

While everyone wants to win, even that isn’t enough if youth athletes aren’t having fun playing together. Teamwork can be taught in ways other than in ‘live-action’ games or scrimmages, such as through practice drills that divide athletes into mini-teams and force them to rely on each other in order to win the exercise.

An example of this is the popular end-of-practice soccer drill called ‘World Cup.’ All players are divided into teams of two and the playing field is restricted to half of a soccer field (or less, depending on the age and number of kids). With each team representing a country of their choosing, the players must try and score on a coach playing goalkeeper. When a team scores, they step aside until the next round begins—the last team remaining in a round (having not scored) is eliminated and the process repeats until there is just one team left standing.

 

2) Set Measurable Goals

Most youth athletes begin having their game statistics and training progress recorded by coaches around the junior high or high school level. While tracking this kind of data works well in creating a thirst for individual improvement, setting team or position-based goals can also be an effective tactic in getting everyone to work better together.

Football position coaches often have specific criteria for success for their respective groups, which get displayed on a big board in the team’s locker room. These per-game goals can be as specific as a target number of quarterback rushes for the defensive line or downfield blocks for the wide receiver corps, but all require the entire unit working together. Striving to meet these benchmarks in turn helps the team reach their overarching goal of winning a game, title, or tournament. After a game or ahead of the next practice, the goals can then be reviewed and tweaked in order to encourage further improvement or consistent peak performance as a team.

 

3) Dole Out Responsibility and Roles

One of the best ways to get a group to work together is by designating a specific role for each individual. Only once everyone understands how their job fits into the larger puzzle can a team play together optimally.

The power of giving out roles is a way to encourage teamwork, even if just by making it clear who on your basketball team is a point guard, a power forward, and so on. After defining these players’ roles clearly, pairing up players of the same position in practices can help them better learn from one another their duties on offense and defense.

 

4) Give Ownership

A coach may technically be ‘in charge’ of a team, but the most teamwork-oriented teams go a step further and do things to make it feel like their own. This doesn’t mean overruling the coach’s decisions, but instead taking ownership of anything ‘outside’ the tactics and play of the game, like the team cheers done after aces in volleyball.

Ownership can also be fostered by letting players take part in team decisions, such as deciding which restaurant the team’s end-of-season award ceremony will be held at or choosing the design of a new uniform.

 

5) Verbal Rewards

Although it might be as a fan watching from the sidelines, what is and isn’t good teamwork isn’t always clear to players in the heat of a game. However, simply calling out a moment of great teamwork between players can be enough to make the rest of the team recognize the importance of working together selflessly (and what it looks like).

While it may seem counterintuitive, individually recognizing players for great acts of teamwork can create a group of strong team players. For many, the mere recognition of a good moment of teamwork is enough to encourage both that athlete, and everyone else on the team, to seek out similar praise by being a stronger team player.

 

6) Stop and Listen

Of course, true teamwork is impossible if players don’t listen to one another (and their coaches). Even if two players will never be best friends, their odds of developing a strong team connection during games are slim if they won’t even hear each other out in practice. And as a coach, buy-in will always be limited if the players feel like interaction with their coaches is a one-way street.

Instead, communicate just how important communication is by being open to comments, criticism, and feedback about your coaching. Cultivate an environment at practices or games where players feel like they can speak up and be heard without judgement, perhaps taking time at the end of a practice for questions, comments, and concerns. A coach that listens to their team and takes what they have to say to heart shows the power in open communication, one of the bedrock components of strong teamwork.

Related Content

Loading...
1 2 … 8

Join Us

Subscribe
Shop TrueSport
Host TrueSport

TrueSport logo without icon in white.

© 2025 TrueSport | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Sitemap

Goal-Setting Lesson Video Transcript

Hi. I’m Trevon, Trey, Jennifer. Team USA wheelchair basketball player, paralympian, and true sport athlete. Today, I want to talk to you about goal setting. And there are three things that I would like you to know. First, successful athletes set goals and a planned roadmap. Second, goals should be written down, assessed over time, and changed if necessary. And third, goals need to be challenging in order to be worthwhile. As a freshmen at Edinboro University, I was a part of a team that made the national championship game. And at that time I recognized I was the low man on the totem pole, but I felt in my heart that I knew my dreams were so much bigger than winning a national title. I wanted to make Team USA. I knew what achieving my lofty goal was not going to be easy and that I would need to work hard every day.

So, as a reminder, I created a pyramid of goals that I kept right above my bed. This pyramid reminded me of the accomplishments that I was working towards and visually represented my need to create a solid foundation underneath me before reaching the top. In the bottom roll of my pyramid of goals I listed goals such as obtaining my bachelor’s degree, becoming a scholar athlete award recipient, and becoming an All-American. The middle row listed winning a national title and playing for a professional team. And at the top row, the most challenging of them all, I listed becoming a gold medalist for Team USA.

By understanding that there are smaller stepping stones to achieving my ultimate goal of being on Team USA, I was able to stay motivated and to stay focused on completing the smaller stepping stones fully before moving onto the next one. Now I’ll be the first to admit that not every goal that I listed on my pyramid was accomplished, but seeing my goals every day when I went to bed, I was able to push through the days that I felt like doing nothing in hopes of achieving the bigger picture. Remember, create a clear goal roadmap, assess your goals often, and continue to challenge yourself. I hope that you never stopped dreaming big or reaching for the stars. And I look forward to seeing where your roadmap takes you.

Body Image Lesson Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Kara Winger, Olympic javelin thrower, and true sport athlete. Today I want to talk to you about body image and I have three things I’d like you to know. First, healthy thoughts often lead to healthier bodies. Second, there are varying body types and no one’s body is exactly like another. And third, true beauty goes deeper than the skin. As a multi-time Olympian, I’ve experienced a lot of variation and progression in my training. My coaches and I adapt to my training frequently, all with the goal of supporting my long-term success and health in the sport of javelin. I’m talking to you about body image today because sometimes even with the best of intentions and a common goal in mind, the changes you make to your training habits can prove to be detrimental if made for the wrong reasons. In the lead up to the 2012 Olympic trials, I was told in order to improve my performance on the field, I should try to become a leaner, skinnier version of myself.

So I changed my diet. I went along with what I was being told to do, even though I’d had great success at a slightly heavier weight and higher body fat percentage, and became much leaner than ever before. It seemed like a successful change at first, but I didn’t have nearly the results I’d had before. And I believe becoming leaner than my body naturally wanted to be was what caused my ACL to tear. In the end, it cost me heavily going into the 2012 London games. The takeaway for me, and hopefully for you, is that it’s important to know what works for you and your body and to not compare yourself to others. You should do your research and experiment with your diet to find what makes you feel the best, rather than focusing on what you look like. Today, if I feel like having a chocolate chip cookie, I have one, just not every day.

I’ve learned what a properly balanced meal for my body looks like and I recognize food as the fuel that keeps me throwing. I hydrate and allow myself time to recover. And I listen to and communicate with my body so that I can be the best version of myself. In the end, you are in control of how you see, treat, and respond to your body. We only get one and it’s amazing to discover how many things our bodies can do. Be a true sport athlete. Love who you are in this moment and get excited for all the places your body will take you.

A Good Sport Lesson Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Izy Isaksen, Team USA, Modern Pentathlon, Olympian, US Army Sergeant, and True Sport Ambassador. Today, I want to talk to you about being a good sport. There are three things I’d like you to know. First, real winners act the same toward their opponent, whether they win or lose. Second, follow the rules and be a gracious winner and respectful loser. And third, sportsmanship reveals your true character.

I started competing in Modern Pentathlon eight years after my older sister and three-time Olympian, Margaux Isaksen, began competing. I soon realized that people often compared the two of us. I would overhear spectators and teammates asking, “Who’s the better athlete,” and “Who’s going to beat the other.” Instead of letting outside pressures create a negative experience for us, I chose to practice winning and losing with grace and respect. I know that it would have been easy to let our hyper competitive mindset affect our relationship, but instead we decided to support and cheer for each other, regardless of our own performance. My experience of competing against and being compared to my older sister, taught me to focus on how to perform at my best, rather than putting wasted energy into wishing for others to fail.

I believe that sportsmanship reveals true character. So, no matter what situation I encounter during competition, I know it’s important to always treat people with respect and be a good sport. Remember, be a fierce competitor, find grace in all your victories and losses. And I hope to see you out there.

What Kind of Coach Do You Want to Be? Video Transcript

Edwin Moses: You’re a coach. Maybe what you want is very simple, for everyone to just run in the right direction, score for their own team, to try and try again and again. Maybe you want your athletes to become all stars. You want them to earn trophies, medals, win titles. You want them to reach the highest height their sport allows. And wanting all of that, of course, that’s good. But as every great coach discovers, developing a great athlete means nurturing, nurturing the even greater person within. Truth is, you have even more influence than you know.

You have the ability to affect even deeper change, to take what’s in your hands and do something even more extraordinary. You can be both the coach who provides the skills needed to win the game and the coach who helps them learn and succeed beyond the sport, to become all stars wherever they land in the future, and to enjoy their lives more now, because the confidence and courage they find working with you will stay with them when they need it the most. There are games to be won, lives to change. Coaches have the power to do both.

I’m Edwin Moses, and the lessons I’ve learned through sport have challenged me, guided me, and shaped my life forever. What kind of coach do you want to be?

THE SIMPLE TRUTH: DECODING THE SUPPLEMENT INDUSTRY VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

At first glance, dietary supplements look the same. They seem safe and healthy, but just because the label says a product is a dietary supplement, that doesn’t mean it’s safe. Unfortunately, you can’t tell whether a product is safe or not just by looking at the label. Most vitamins, minerals, fish oil, and other supplements containing nutrients are probably just fine, but supplements are not evaluated or approved by FDA before they are sold. Although it is rare for vitamins or minerals to be contaminated with drugs, there has been at least one case of a vitamin containing an anabolic steroid.

At the other extreme are products that contain drugs, stimulants, anabolic steroids, or other hormones. Even though these are not technically dietary supplements, many of them are labeled as supplements. For example, body-building products sometimes contain anabolic steroids or Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators, known as SARMs, or other hormones. Some pre-workout or energy products contain illegal stimulants like DMAA, ephedra, or other amphetamine-like stimulants. Weight loss products might contain prescription drugs like sibutramine, or hormones, like human chorionic gonadotropin, also known as hCG. All natural or herbal sexual enhancement products might contain hormones or Viagra-like drugs. Products like these can harm your health and career, but they’re for sale online, in some nutrition stores, and they’re labeled as dietary supplements.

When you pick up a supplement, especially one that promises performance enhancement, you don’t know if it belongs in the “Mostly O.K.” pile or in the “Dangerous” pile. After all, two products might look the same, but one might contain just amino acids and other legitimate ingredients, while the other also contains anabolic steroids. Because of this, FDA has issued a warning about certain categories of supplements: body building products, weight loss products, and sexual enhancement products. Be extremely careful when considering a supplement in one of these categories. We strongly recommend that you avoid products in these categories.

Even when FDA tests supplements and finds dangerous ingredients, companies sometimes refuse to recall them. Sometimes, they simply repackage their product and continue selling it under a new name. Just because a product is on a store shelf doesn’t mean it is safe. You need to do your research and be an informed consumer. The dietary supplement industry is enormous. Supplements that appear to be safe could actually be dangerous products in disguise. If you use dietary supplements without doing your research, you may be taking serious risks with your health and your career. Please visit USADA’s Supplement 411 for more information about dietary supplements.