Use This Car Racing Analogy When Coaching Young Athletes
Some of your best coaching ideas come from the kids that you are coaching.
While coaching sprints at a school recently, I asked the class if anyone knew what was the first thing a starter says at the start of a race before firing the gun.
“Start your engines?” a boy of about nine years replied.
Wow! What a great idea – relating the start of a sprint race to the start of a car race. I now tell young athletes that:
“On your marks” = Start your engines
“Start Your Engines”
“Set” = Rev your engines
“Rev Your Engines”
“Go” = Race away!
“Race Away!”
Keep alert to these gems that will come from the kids and keep a list of them. They are priceless coaching tools.
Has a Young Athlete Ever Given You a Great Idea?
I would love to hear about any ideas that you have picked up from the kids that you have coached. Tell me your stories by leaving a reply/comment or by using the contact details below.
Further reading
15 Simple Tips You Need to Know for a Standing Sprint Start
10 of the Biggest Mistakes Young Athletes Make When Using a Sprint Standing Start
Darren Wensor is a sports development professional, coach educator, specialist coach of young athletes and founder of the blog coachingyoungathletes.com. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin or via email.
