coachKidsSports.com

Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved. - Mattie Stepanek

Everyone gets a list of names from the league, after that it's up to you to create a team. The greatest satisfaction I get from coaching is building a team out of the dozen or so names I get at the beginning of the season. It goes beyond the kids understanding how to play the game or even the rare times two kids get a feeling for what the other will do in a game. What I really like is when the kids greet one another as they arrive at practice and games, the parents know each other and cheer for one another's children. Here are five things you can do right now to build that kind of TEAM:

1. Learn the kids names immediately — use them every chance you get.  You say you aren't good at names — nobody is…  The best part about dealing with kids is they don't get offended if you call them the wrong name, they just correct you.  I had two girls who were best friends.  They weren't sisters, but they looked similar.  I confused them for the two years I coached them, all the coaches did — even the one girl's father.  Don't worry about using the wrong name — you will.  But the more you use the kids names the quicker you'll commit them to memory.

2. Create a handout with every Kid's name, number, picture and parents names — pass it out to all parents for the first 2-3 games.  You need to build team spirit with the parents also.  If you make it easier to for them to learn the other kids and parents names, they will be more supportive of the team.

3. Run your practice with small groups. Break the kids into groups of 3-4 at practice — rotate the kids through the groups — use the kids names in the groups, so they learn the other kid's names. Worried you don't have enough assistants, recruit a Mom or Dad from the sidelines. They only need to know as much as the kids — just 10 seconds sooner.

4. Name your team. It can be silly, scary or a tounge twister, but give the team a name the kids will get behind and remember.

5. Appoint a team photographer and set up a Flickr (or similar photo sharing sites). Flickr is free for 20mb/mo and only $25/yr for a virtually unlimited amount of pictures (2gb/month). Be sure to talk to your parents about this, some people have privacy concerns about posting pictures of kids, even unlabeled pictures. With Flickr you can alleviate some of the concern by limiting access to the site. However that will require everyone to create a free Flickr account and give the team photographer their account name before they can see the pictures.

Thats 5 quick ideas that don't take much time or money; and the return you'll get on each one is immeasurable. You are only limited by your imagination. There are thousands more I haven't listed, or even thought of. Give me some of your best ones in the comments.