PACT - Parent and Player Coach Evaluations

In the PACT training booklets that were passed out to us in mid March, there were Coach Evaluation forms that both players and parents could fill out.  I made copies of these and passed them out last week with instructions to the girls and their parents to fill them out and submit back to me on Sunday (March20).  I wanted to get some feedback about players' and parents' perceptions about me and what I was doing with the group.

PACT - Athlete Coach Survey

PACT - Parent Coach Survey

I got 16 Athlete Coach Evaluations and 15 Parent Coach Evaluations turned back in.  I went through and averaged the scores that players and their parents recorded to get the following results. 

Athletes

Care Scale 41.25 / 45

Choice Scale 18.8 / 25

Competence Scale 24.5 / 25

Enjoyment Scale 24.04 / 25

Parents

Care Scale 40.61 / 45

Choice Scale 18.73 / 25

Competence Scale 23.69 / 25

Enjoyment Scale 23.53 / 25

I take these ratings for what they are worth.  Simply an indication of how I am viewed by the people I'm working with.  I think that most of the players and parents believe that I care for these girls (which I do), that I am competent at what I do (which I am), and that the girls enjoy their time playing on this team.  I would have guessed that the Choice Scale would be lowest as though I do not run a dictatorship here, the parents do look to me to make many of the soccer decisions. 

The one item that really caught my eye in the 30+ sheets was a parent who marked a "3" or had neutral feelings on question #19 - I feel my child's coach is a good coach.  That kinda hurt.

Champion vs Ego Centered Behavior

Here's a PACT questionnaire that I completed about Champion vs Ego Centered Behaviors. According to PACT, a coach who is Champion Centered is more likely to create a nurturing climate in practice and games, opposed to an Ego Centered coach who is more likely to create a toxic climate.

I feel most successful coaching when...

Scoring Key for Champion-Ego Centered Behavior:

Add up the following:

• Items 2 + 4 + 6 + 8 + 10 + 12 = 30     Champion Centered Score / 30
• Items 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 + 11 = 22     Ego Centered Score / 30

I don't necessarily agree that being Ego Centered is all bad, even when involved with youth coaching. I also don't think I fall into the exact Ego Centered definition that PACT has developed, saying that Ego Centered coaches might sound like this in practice and games:

• Today I want you to win. We need a win today to secure our seeding in the conference tournament (OK, I might say something to that affect every once in a while) AND when we leave the field at the end of the day, we'll feel great with another in under our belts (I would never say that).
• Coach to Jill: Jill, you are almost as quick as Amanda. You are covering more of the field that you were last season, but still not as much as the starting midfielders. Today I'm going to put you against each other in drills and I want to see what you can do. Coach to Amanda: Amanda, your goal today is to stop Jill from taking your starting spot, let's see if you're up to the challenge. She's been gaining on you and you don't look like you want it.
• We lost today. We failed. Even though we help the other team to 10 shots on goal, we didn't get any red cards, and no one argued with the referee on whistles, a loss is a loss in the end. No one remembers who lost, only who won.
• Come on guys, let's pick up the intensity! You look lazy, Ben, if you don't beat Luis in this next sprint, the whole team is going to run another one.
• We didn't play our best today, we made some mistakes on defense in the second half that cost us. I want everyone to get up, meet me at the center of the field. We are going to run 20 sprints, one for every time I saw someone miss their defensive coverage at midfield.

A Champion Centered coach, according to PACT, might sound like this:

• Today I want you to go our and give full effort, win or lose, and leave the field knowing you’ve given it all you’ve got. If you do that, we will be a step closer to being ready for the conference tournament.
• Coach to Jill: Jill, you are getting quicker all the time. You are covering more of the field than you were last season, even compared to the beginning of the season. Keep working hard, it’s paying off. Coach to Amanda: I also want you to push yourself out of your comfort zone, work as hard as you can against Jill. I want you to push here and yourself. The harder you work each other, the better it will be for the team.
• Even though we lost today, we succeeded. We held the other team to 10 shots on goal, we didn’t get any red cards, and no one argued with the referees on whistles.
• Come on guys, let’s pick up the intensity! You look a little sluggish, everyone needs to take it up a notch. This is not our best effort. We need to practice with the same intensity that we need in games. Let’s go!
• We didn’t play our best today, we made some mistakes on defense in the second half that cost us. But we can learn from it, work on coverage in practice and try to be better the next game.

I do think I sound like this (Champion Centered) a great majority of the time (though I might feel differently on the inside!).  Interesting survey though.

PACT - Well Worth My Time

OK, I'll admit it.  I had zero interest in attending the PACT workshop tonight at the MYSA office.  But since the Minnesota Thunder Summer Camps are now "PACT Certified", as one of the lead staff members of the Thunder programs I needed to attend.  I had Eric Carl (BTFC 92/93 Blue coach) take my girls for training tonight with the suggestion that they some work on the timing of pressure (when to high pressure, when not to) and also some work with the defenders about when to push up to compact the field and when to drop off to take away a long ball over the top threat. 

From the MYSA website:

Parents and Coaches Together (PACT) is an educational program developed at the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Ethical Education and Development. The program is based on the latest research from developmental and sports psychology and is designed to help coaches and parents to get on the same page in successfully creating a positive and nurturing climate in Minnesota youth soccer.

MYSA/PACT™ helps coaches and parents realize their unique roles in fostering athlete intrinsic motivation, developing character, optimal performance, well-being and satisfaction. This program helps develop the potential of youth soccer to all it can, and should be!

It was really an enjoyable and interesting 2+ hours.  There was a PowerPoint presentation, video, and discussion.  We were fortunate to have Dr. Nicole LaVoi herself lead this seminar as I believe she was one of the key researchers involved in putting this PACT program together at Notre Dame.

It's funny, mush of what is discussed in PACT is similar to what I've been compiling on this site (see Recipe For Success section).  Much of the PACT talk about "play like a champion", nurturing vs toxic environment for the kids, parental behavior, motivating athletes, goal setting, etc. can be found here.  Though the terminology differs, the thoughts are the same.

I am thinking about trying to mandate this PACT training with all the Academy families starting next year.  We'll see how that goes over.