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 This book is written for coaches by coaches. It will help you to: Examine the underlying purposes of sport and establish common ground with other coaches, program directors, parents, and athletes; Identify and assess the core ethical values of your athletic programs; Apply practical, hands-on strategies that will make a difference for your athletes - now and for the rest of their lives.
The authors' collective experience - as athletes, coaches, and program directors from all levels, youth programs to professional athletics - creates a resource with a depth and practicality that sets it apart from other works in the field.
If you believe that sport matters -that athletic programs contribute to a healthy lifestyle-and if you also believe that character matters -that the positive values and virtues developed on the playing field last a lifetime-then this book is for you. It shows you how to shape an athletic program that will make young athletes winners-not just in the games they play, but in the way they live their lives.
Organized sports have a powerful impact on the character of both spectators and participants. Coaches and athletic directors have a tremendous responsibility to make that impact a positive character-building experience. This book is a primer that allows coaches to put questions about character into a usable context, which, in turn, serves as a foundation on which they can put lessons of character coaching to use. Nine chapters include:
- "Reclaiming the Purpose of Sport";
- "Establishing Common Ground";
- "Coach as Educator";
- "Discovering the Joy of Sport Throughout the Life Span";
- "Identifying the Formal Structure of Teams/Programs";
- "Identifying Team and Program Core Virtues";
- "Walking the Talk--Building Core Virtues in Athletic Programs";
- "Walking the Talk II--Character Links to Performance";
- "Next Steps--Expanding the Influence of Good Character in Sport."
The book embraces the philosophical, psychological, and educational foundations of the relationship between character and sport. It gives the coach and athletic director theoretical and practical instruction on how to create, implement, and maintain a character-based athletic program. The book concludes with references, suggested readings, a list of character and sports organizations and resources.
John M. Yeager, the lead author, is the director of Character, Sport and Health at The Culver Academies in Culver, Indiana, and also serves a s a consultant to Boston University's Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character. He has played and coached at the secondary school, college, club, and professional levels. In 1996, he was inducted into the New England Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
*Portions of Abstract provided by ERIC Clearinghous on Education Managemen
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