WYC 012 Youth Baseball and Upward Stars Basketball – Lance Akridge – ‘The Enemy to Great is Good’

What does it take to be a winning youth coach? Listen in as Lance Akridge shares coaching stories and discusses his journey to becoming a successful youth coach. Lance works for Upward Stars – an affiliate of Upward Sports. He actively coaches baseball and is constantly recruiting basketball coaches for Upward Stars’ teams. He is married and has three children, a 15 year-old son, 13 year-old son, and 12 year-old daughter. Twitter: @upwardstars and @upwardstarsTN Facebook: facebook.com/UpwardStarsNashville Website: upwardstarsnashville.org Listen NOW:  Listen in ITunes: Itunes link Listen in Stitcher: Stitcher link   Coaching/Leadership Quote ▪   ‘Be a transformational coach not a transactional coach’ – Inside-out Coaching click to tweet! Coaching your own Kid ▪   Lance shares that early on he was harder on his own kids than the other players - ‘I’ve learned to be coach on the field rather than be a Dad.’ My ‘Cringe’ Moment ▪   Taking things too seriously and losing perspective. Lance shares a story of taking his son to the baseball field and putting too much pressure on him to the point he was starting to cry- he regrets he had lost perspective Coaching AH-HA Moment ▪   Watching other coaches embarrass themselves – ‘That is not who I am and not the type of character I am going to exemplify’ Teaching Children & Keeping it Fun ▪   Have patience; Overcommunicate; Impart confidence ▪   Baseball hitting game – Each player gets 7 swings and earns points based on result(kind of like Home Run derby) ▪   Basketball – Break into 3 person teams and have shooting competitions Best Stolen Idea HUGE IDEA #1: ‘Short lines, lots of repetitions, learning fundamentals’ - Baseball – Instead of having one coach hitting to the infield – have two coaches hit to each side of the infield and players run to the next line Coaching Resources ▪   Baseball: Cal Ripken’s Coaches Clipboard – Daily emails – He sometimes forwards these to his players Discipline ▪   The best way to keep them focused is to TALK LESS ▪   Make sure your discipline involves taking away fun games – don’t discipline them during talking times Reward, Recognition, and Teambuilding ▪   Affirm positive behaviors continually ▪   HUGE IDEA #2: Let the players set 2 or 3 objective, realistic(but a slight stretch) goals for their season and continually use those as a target for all of their actions ▪   D-Groups – Twice a month they hang out – 1 hour of fun, 30 minutes eating, 45 minute character discussion ‘Player to Coach: ‘Because you care, I care’’ Inspiring Story ▪   A young man Lance coached in basketball had a really tough home life – was showing anger issues on the court – they loved him and disciplined him in love  The One that Got Away ▪   Umpires incorrectly ended his game for time limit – Lance yelled at umps – he doesn’t regret fighting for what was right for his team – but wishes he had not displayed his anger towards the umpires the way he did Coaching/Leadership Motivation ▪   Book: Coach Wooden ▪   Quote: ‘The Enemy to Great is Good’ – Jim Collins Parting Advice ▪   Be organized ▪   Overcommunicate to the players and parents ▪   Inside-Out Coaching: ‘Be a transformational coach rather than a transactional coach’ - Joe Ehrmann Upward Stars ▪   Competitive travel teams that are teaching kids to be leaders based on Luke 2:52 – Teaching athletes to grow mentally, athletically, spiritually, and socially ▪   Currently in 10 citites – In Tennessee: upwardstarsnashville.org Interview Links/ Promotional Partners The Inspired Treehouse   HUDL Ready to be an Awesome Youth Coach? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter: