6 Sports Strategies That Will Help You Get Through the Day

Most of our kids have been shut out from their school gym classes and extracurricular activities with no end in sight. As parents and coaches, we know this response to the pandemic is necessary and proper, but it doesn’t make it any less daunting.

Over and over we hear that sports provide skills that can be used in life. We know a positive sports experience is an opportunity to play, have fun, develop good physical and mental health habits, learn about teamwork, and build leadership skills.

We're here to show you how to apply those lessons to the circumstances you and your family are facing today.

inCourage created these strategies to help redefine success in youth athletics and to help parents, athletes and coaches understand one another and provide tools to work together in order to create a better sports experience.

These skills are precisely what we need today.

Here are our inCourage Classics repurposed for life at home. The lessons are equally valuable to those of you who don’t have kids.

We hope you will use them to help yourself and your loved ones get through the day, and that you’ll take these lessons with you when the games begin again.

1. Set Short Term Targets and Long Term Goals. Pace yourself. We’re in this for the foreseeable future. Think of this time as a “season” and apply these strategies to homework, exercising and working from home. Set short term targets and long term goals using the SMART Method.
2. This is a Teachable Moment. Approach every challenge you and your family face as an opportunity to learn and grow.
3. Create a Success Mindset. You want to be in the best possible mindset so you can face this shifting landscape as you would any tough competition. Apply these sports strategies to how you treat yourself and how you approach those around you. Learn how to focus under pressure by using a sports breath and visualization.
4. Practice Sports Sampling. Take this opportunity to encourage your young athlete to try something new. Use this break to listen to the medical experts, who tell us the value of playing more than one sport-–and not specializing too soon–is enormous.
5. Learn How to Use Praise Effectively. We wrote these guidelines to use for kids, but they can be applied to your own activities, too.
6. Think PEACE. Patience. Effort. Appreciation. Calm. Enthusiasm. Apply these qualities to your interactions with kids, colleagues and yourself today. And don’t forget them when life starts back up again.

Learn more at inCourage, the ultimate resource for improving the culture of youth sports. Our engaging videos and informative educational resources are available, at no cost, to anyone who wants to redefine "success" in youth sports and create better communications and outcomes to keep kids happy, healthy and in the game.

Written by Wayne McDonnell, Jr. Wayne has worked in in sports management education, sports media, and coaching for two decades.