🏆 No Officials = No Team Sports

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🎥 Video: Respect Refs from Coach Brad Stevens.

🎙️ Podcast: Coach Collins and I discuss the Bad Apple Study on our weekly leadership podcast.

📖 On the Web: Check out the article by Lynn Jamieson, “What is happening to all of the officials?”

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💭 ONE THOUGHT
🏆 No Officials = No Team Sports

Youth sports are incredibly important to the fabric of our American society. The learned life skills are invaluable as our youth work into adulthood.

One thing is for sure: We are at a crossroads with youth sports today. This is why I began writing on “X” and created this newsletter.

It is getting harder to find coaches. It is getting really hard to find officials.

And without officials, we do not have Team Sports.

We need to support our Officials and Referees. What can be done?

Here are 6 things can all do to help keep team sports positive and productive for our officials and our games.

1: COACHES - Lead by Example - As coaches, we must set the tone. I am not perfect myself. But I can also tell you that I have coached 1000+ games in my life and never had a Technical Foul. It is possible. Model appropriate behavior. Be a leader.

2: PARENTS - Be Better - It is never the ref's fault. Take away the excuses for your child. If the game is that close, you should have done things that did not make it that close. Control you. Be a role model for your kid. When you criticize officials, you teach your kids to blame, complain, and not take responsibility for anything. This is a recipe for disaster later in life.

3: ATHLETES - Don’t Act like Pro Sports Athletes - Most of the time, the kids are the most responsible ones in the gym.  They are often embarrassed by their parent's behavior. But athletes constantly need to remember they are not pro athletes. Do not act as some of them do. You can be a leader too. Control what you can control. 

4: Take RESPONSIBILITY - When you blame a referee, you deflect responsibility and convince yourself that you have no control. This is a dangerous trait to develop in life. Take responsibility. Otherwise, you become a lifelong Blamer and Complainer. It's no fun. Control what you can control. 

5: CHOOSE TO BE A REFEREE - We desperately need referees and officials. Grab a whistle. Our kids need officials and refs to play.  Do the job. It is not easy. You will learn to appreciate the challenge it brings.

6: STEP UP - We ALL need to step up. Lead yourself first. Be a vocal leader to others who are acting up. Hold them accountable.

Leadership Matters, which is why I developed the Team Leader OS. We need more leaders in the world!

Summary:

We are at a crossroads with youth sports. Coaches and officials are getting harder to find. We all must do our part to keep these experiences for our kids.

Here are 6 things we can do to help…

1. COACHES - Lead by Example

2. PARENTS - Be Better

3. ATHLETES - Don’t Act like Pro Sports Athletes

4. Take RESPONSIBILITY

5. CHOOSE to BE A REFEREE

6. STEP UP

Good Luck!

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