Berkeley Little League Wins Positive Coaching Alliance’s
National Youth Sports Awards sponsored by Deloitte

 March 5, 2009, Stanford, CA – For its outstanding work in creating a positive environment for youth athletes, Bayville, NJ’s Berkeley Little League has earned Positive Coaching Alliance’s coveted Honoring the Game Award. The award goes to schools or organizations serving athletes of high school age or younger that embody Positive Coaching Alliance principles in using sports to teach life lessons. Honoring the Game Award winners will be recognized by Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) at the Eighth Annual National Youth Sports Awards Ceremony at Stanford University’s Maples Pavilion on Friday, April 24.

  “Winning an Honoring the Game Award is an amazing achievement because of the amount of work it takes to establish and maintain a positive culture in the face of so many negative influences,” said Jim Thompson, PCA’s founder and executive director. “While we honor the youth sports leaders, the real winners are the youth athletes and families who benefit from a positive sports culture.” Keying Berkeley Little League’s selection as a finalist: 

• Outstanding service to the children, ages 5 to 18, who play in the league
• Extensive outreach to neighboring youth sports organizations, the Lakewood Blue Claws minor league baseball team and New Jersey media outlets to extol the virtues of creating a positive, character-building youth sports environment
• Earning PCA’s Seal of Commitment for ensuring that all Berkeley Little League coaches are trained and certified as Double-Goal Coaches^®, whose first goal is winning and whose second, more-important goal is teaching life lessons through sports.

 “This prestigious award has excited our league. We appreciate having our efforts recognized and acknowledged,“ said Berkeley Little League president Bob Everett “The training and information Positive Coaching Alliance has brought to our organization has helped establish a terrific culture for our kids.”

 Berkeley Little League is not resting on its laurels. They have continued their commitment to making every coach a Double Goal Coach and every parent a Second Goal Parent, two of PCA’s key programs. New for this season, all of their players 13 years and up are attending PCA’s Triple Impact Competitor workshop, to help prepare them for participation in high school athletics. 

“We believe in the principles PCA promotes so strongly that we offer an open invitation to leaders of all other youth sports organizations to attend our upcoming seminars the week of March 31 to April 3, 2009. The very best way to see what PCA can do for your organization and athletes is to attend a workshop.” added Bob Everett. “Any group interested may email us at BerkeleyLL@comcast.net or go to our web page at www.berkeleylittleleague.org for more information.” 

The Positive Coach Mental Model Mental models have power. They affect how people see, think, and behave. If one were to characterize the prominent mental model for coaching, it might be called "win-at-all-cost." PCA believes this needs to change. As part of Positive Coaching Alliance’s strategy to transform youth sports, we have developed the Positive Coach Mental Model and will promote it until it becomes the industry standard for youth sports. Extensive academic research constitutes the foundation for the Positive Coach Mental Model. Please read through the Positive Coach Mental Model Research Summary to learn more. The Positive Coach Mental Model is consistent with the National Standards for Athletic Coaches developed by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE). The Double-Goal Coach PCA believes all youth sport coaches should be "Double-Goal" Coaches. A win-at-all-cost coach has only one goal: to win. He or she is concerned primarily with teaching skills and developing strategy designed to win games. A Positive Coach is a "Double-Goal Coach" who wants to win, AND has a second goal: to help players develop positive character traits, so they can be successful in life. Winning is important, but the second goal, helping players learn "life lessons," is more important. A Positive Coach puts players first.  

Positive Coach Mental Model There are three major elements to the "job description" of a Positive Coach: 

   1. Redefines "Winner" 

  2. Fills Players’ Emotional Tanks 

  3. Honors the Game  

  1. Redefines "Winner"      A Positive Coach helps players redefine what it means to be a winner through a mastery, rather than a scoreboard, orientation. He sees victory as a by-product of the pursuit of excellence. He focuses on effort rather than outcome and on learning rather than comparison to others. He recognizes that mistakes are an important and inevitable part of learning and fosters an environment in which players don't fear making mistakes. While not ignoring the teaching opportunities that mistakes present, he teaches players that a key to success is how one responds to mistakes. He sets standards of continuous improvement for himself and his players. He encourages his players, whatever their level of ability, to strive to become the best players, and people, they can be. He teaches players that a winner is someone who makes maximum effort, continues to learn and improve, and doesn’t let mistakes (or fear of mistakes) stop them. 

    2. Fills Players’ Emotional Tanks      A Positive Coach is a positive motivator who refuses to motivate through fear, intimidation, or shame. She recognizes that every player has an "Emotional Tank" like the gas tank of a car. Just as a car with an empty gas tank can’t go very far, a player with an empty emotional tank doesn't have the energy to do her best.       A Positive Coach understands that compliments, praise, and positive recognition fill Emotional Tanks. She understands the importance of giving truthful and specific feedback and resists the temptation to give praise that is not warranted. When correction is necessary, a Positive Coach communicates criticism to players in ways that don't undermine their sense of self-worth. A Positive Coach strives to achieve a 5:1 "Plus/Minus Ratio" of praise to correction.       A Positive Coach establishes order and maintains discipline in a positive manner. She listens to players and involves them in decisions that affect the team. She works to remain positive even when things aren't going well. She recognizes that it is often when things go wrong that a coach can have the most lasting impact and can teach the most important lessons. Even when facing adversity, she refuses to demean herself, her players, or the environment. She always treats athletes with respect, regardless of how well they perform.

     3. Honors the Game      A Positive Coach feels an obligation to his sport. He understands that Honoring the Game means getting to the ROOTS of the matter, where ROOTS stands for respect for:* Rules* Opponents* Officials* Teammates* Self       A Positive Coach teaches his players to Honor the Game. He loves his sport and upholds the spirit, as well as the letter, of its rules. He respects opponents, recognizing that a worthy opponent will push his athletes to do their best. He understands the important role that officials play and shows them respect, even when he disagrees with their calls. He encourages players to make a commitment to each other and to encourage one another on and off the field. He values the rich tradition of his sport and feels privileged to participate. A Positive Coach realizes that one of the most difficult times to Honor the Game is when the opponent is not, and he reminds his players to live up to their own highest standard (respect for self). Ultimately, a Positive Coach demonstrates integrity and would rather lose than win by dishonoring the game.

 Berkeley Little League has partnered with PCA to help establish a culture in our leageu to ensure our kids and families get the very most from their youth sports experience.

Our league policy requires every coach to complete PCA's Double Goal Coach training and at least one parent from each household to attend a Second Goal Parent workshop. At Berkeley Little League, we HONOR THE GAME.

About PCA: 

Dedicated to “transforming youth sports so sports can transform youth,” Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) has conducted thousands of live group workshops nationwide for roughly 200,000 youth sports leaders, coaches, parents and athletes. PCA trains workshop attendees to create a positive, character-building environment for youth athletes, replacing the prevalent win-at-all-cost mentality. 

PCA trains Double-Goal Coaches^TM, whose first goal is winning, and whose second, more-important goal is teaching life lessons through sports. This coaching method takes its name from “The Double-Goal Coach,” a book by PCA Founder and Executive Director Jim Thompson.  Since its founding as a non-profit within the Stanford University Athletic Department in 1998, PCA has affected more than 1 million youth athletes, ages five to 18. More than 400 youth sports organizations (YSO's), cities and schools partner with PCA to host workshops across the U.S., primarily near PCA’s hub markets of Northern California, Southern California, Chicago, Hawaii, Houston, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. Thousands of other coaches and parents learn PCA methods via online courses at www.PositiveCoach.org. 

PCA has the support of elite coaches and athletes on a National Advisory Board that includes Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson as National Spokesperson. The board’s 60-plus members comprise luminaries from academia, business and sports, such as Kansas City Chiefs Coach Herm Edwards, NBA and NCAA Champion Coach Larry Brown, former senator Bill Bradley, NFL Hall of Fame Member Ronnie Lott, Olympic Gold Medalist in Swimming Summer Sanders, former San Francisco 49ers Coach Bill Walsh, former University of North Carolina Men's Basketball Coach Dean Smith, Cy Young winner Barry Zito, and Los Angeles Galaxy President Alexi Lalas. PCA National Partners are American Youth Soccer Organization, Ice Skating Institute, Little League International, Pop Warner Little Scholars, US Club Soccer, US Lacrosse and USA Rugby. PCA leads the Positive Coaching movement by participating in the Congressional Youth Sports Caucus and the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance. PCA also runs the National Youth Sports Awards, honoring coaches and organizations that exemplify PCA’s principles, as well as two annual fundraising three-on-three basketball tournaments: the Silicon Valley Shootout and the Wall Street Shootout sponsored by New York Stock Exchange. 

Stanford University – Dept. of Athletics - Stanford, CA 94305-6150 - 1-866-725-0024

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 parents & coaches

 from the Positive Coaching Alliance..... GOOD STUFF!!

The Lakewood Blue Claws

and 

Positive Coaching Alliance

are pleased to announce A FREE workshop to all youth sports members/volunteers

 The Double-Goal Coach:

Coaching for winning and life lessons

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 Time: 7-9 PM

Lakewood Blue Claws First Energy Park Conference Room

2 Stadium Way, Lakewood, New Jersey 07801(Refreshments Provided) 

Did you know that seventy percent of kids drop out of youth sports by the age of 13!  There is more emphasis on a Win-at-all-costs mentality than ever before.  PCA and the Lakewood Blue Claws believe that coaches of today’s youth should have two goals in mind: to win, but more importantly, to teach life lessons through sports.  This workshop focuses on methods and tools that can help coaches from all sports to provide a better experience for their kids. 

To RSVP to this event, please reply by email to:

Carter Jordan, Partner Development NJ/PA, PCA

carter_jordan@positivecoach.org 

or call 732-606-9060, leave message with contact information 

Because of a limited amount of seats, there is a 5 seat limit for each organization. 

RSVP Deadline is Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Space is limited to 75 participants.  Please RSVP as soon as possible to ensure your participation. Honor the Game! 

Jim Perry, National Keynote Speaker,

 Positive Coaching Alliance

Jim Perry earned his degree in Physical Education at the University of Southern California in 1974 while playing basketball for the Trojans.  Jim began his career in teaching, coaching, and athletic administration at the high school and college levels in 1975. Since then, he has served as Chairman of the National Coaches Council and President of the National Council of Secondary School Athletic Directors.  Jim has also served as a member of the Building Character through Sports Task Force for the White House and Congressional Conferences, and on the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Ethics in Sports Committee, the Athletic Directors Advisory Committee, and the Basketball Advisory Committee. In 1997, he was inducted into the Southern California Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame, and in 2003, the Boys and Men’s Athletics Division of the California Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance named Jim their Secondary School Educator of the Year.  Jim currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education and the California Interscholastic Federation State Federated Council, as well as that organization’s Coaching Education Committee and Sportsmanship Committee.  The California State Athletic Directors Association named Jim the California State Athletic Director of the Year for 2006.
 
 Jim Perry has been with Positive Coaching Alliance since 2002, and has conducted over 230 workshops as a certified trainer and National Keynote Speaker.  In addition to the hundreds of workshops he has held in his territory of southern California, Jim has been instrumental in spreading the PCA message, conducting workshops nationwide, in Singapore and in Canada.
 
Jim’s presentation will speak to how the role of athletics in children’s lives has changed over time-- becoming more parent and coach driven-- and how the impact of positive coaching methods in our youth sports organizations can help to reverse some of these negative impacts.