Choosing the right coach for your child’s development is one of the most important things you can do as a parent. Coaches, teachers, and parents are some of the most influential people in a young person’s life. A great coach can inspire an athlete both on and off the field and we know how important that is at Signature Sports Camps. Today we are diving into the hiring secrets that we use at Signature when selecting our Residential Coaching Staff each summer. Whether you’re considering joining a new team or club, or trying to choose a sports camp with the best coaches, you know what makes a great youth sports coach (and what red flags to stay away from):
A Coach’s Experience
Having experience playing the sport is one thing, but having coaching experience is a whole different level. When young coaches transition from life as players to life as coaches, they will have a few different realizations (with time): First, not every young athlete has the competitive drive that they did (and that’s okay). On the club field, I heard frustration around this expectation all of the time from coaches: “I would’ve never been late to practice, what are they thinking!?”. Well first off, hindsight isn’t just 20/20 it’s also rosey: chances are you were probably late before and you probably forgot about it. Experience in coaching gives coaches the patience and understanding to know that not all athletes are the players they were (and again, that’s okay, each player brings a unique role to the team). The second major realization coaches have after a few seasons on the field is that communication is absolutely essential and the way you were coached (and what you responded to as a player) won’t work for each player on the team. Coaching has developed over the years, just as kids have developed over the years. What kids responded to in the 1990s won’t exactly work nowadays. Think about it: we live in a completely different time… why wouldn’t the way coaches coach also change with the times?
So when you look at a potential new coach for your young athlete, ask them about not only their playing experience but also their coaching experience and measure their maturity around communication and expectations (we certainly do in the interviewing process at Signature Sports Camps!).
Positivity & Encouragement
Have you ever heard of the carrot and the stick? We prefer to use the carrot at Signature (in other words, incentive > punishment). While coaches need to push players to their potential on the field they also need to encourage them. A great coach focuses on support and improvement, not only results and wins. It’s essential for great coaches to celebrate the small things, motivating players to keep playing and growing their love for the game. It’s never worth it when the athlete burns out and quits the sport from never feeling the moments of success along the way.
A Strong Role Model
It’s important that your child can look up to their coach and think “I want to be like her one day” and you don’t shutter at that thought. This topic goes beyond the field. Does your coach model healthy habits (essential for a young athlete), or do they consistently look disheveled and unhealthy? When it comes to Refs (hot topic, we know), does your coach scream and carry on? Or does he professionally advocate for the team with respect? Kids notice this and will think it’s perfectly okay to yell at an adult and demean them when something doesn’t go their way. I mean, their coach did it, why shouldn’t they? And finally, does the coach do the “small things” right: are they on time? Are they rolling into warm-ups hung over after a night out with the other coaches? (Certainly not at Signature!). We encourage you to stop giving “good coaches” breaks when it comes to accountability around being a great role model. Sure, our travel coach might win games, but do you want your kid turning into her one day?
Our Hiring Process
Signature Sports Camps is proud to be ACA-Accredited, a designation for meeting the highest standards of camp safety, health, programming, and staff training. A key part of this accreditation is our staff, here’s how we make sure we are hiring only the best, who will live and die by our incredibly high standards:
Our process starts months before camp begins: our interns spend HOURS sourcing and recruiting reputable coaches who are known in their sports communities (we don’t just let them come to us, we go to them). We then guide candidates through the staff application and interviewing process (you heard that right, we conduct multiple rounds of interviews). During these interviews, we dig into their experience, coaching style, and core values. It’s important to us that the leaders we hire align with our mission and share our passion for teaching life lessons through sports. In between those interviews, we reference check and background screen. After our coaches are hired, they go through virtual training in our camp experience and our safety protocols before setting foot on campus. And sorry, we aren’t done yet: coaches arrive to camp early to go through more training, demonstrations, and role-playing to ensure we are living up to our the on-field development and safety promises we make to each camp family.
What Makes Us so Good?
Curious about the coaches at Signature Sports Camps? Explore our camp locations, discover the sports we offer, and secure your spot today to feel the difference of Signature Sports Camp coach.
