Bochicchio Sports Character Initiative

Many of us have played a sport successfully, learned the rules thoroughly, mastered the techniques, tactics, and strategies of our game, and have won awards and recognition for our performance.

These achievements are clearly commendable, but do they, by themselves, render us qualified to coach our sport?

What does a good youth coach need to do in order to achieve genuine success? Simply picking up a volleyball, a baseball bat, a hockey stick, and running a group of youngsters through a set of tired old drills that we have learned from our former coaches falls short of the mark, even if we are dedicated, articulate, and extremely knowledgable about our sport.

A youth coach needs to know more than what is involved in the game of basketball or soccer or lacrosse. Coaching is itself an art form, and there are widely-recognized "principles of coaching" that every coach needs to absorb.The Bochicchio Sports Character Initiative is committed to promoting and teaching these principles. We believe that there is an identfiable "craft" of teaching and motivating young people. Without knowledge of this craft, the coach squanders important opportunities and often unintentionally alienates the young athlete.

So, for the sake of our youth, do not over-estimate your abillity to coach. The process of communciating with children, adolescents, and teenagers--along with the parallel process of properly motivating them--is a complex business and is grounded in formal traiining, Coaches can do significant damge if they rush into coaching without this preparation.

It is great to have a knowledge and command of one's sport, but what is going to make your athletes listen to you attentively? What is going to make them respect you? What is going to make your practice sessions efficient, interesting, and effective? And, most importantly,what is going to enable you to make a lasting impression on your athletes and help them develop more fully as human beings through the experience of sport? 

We have developed resources that will help you answer these questions.