Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Instructional Sports Videos

Neither one of my kids is into sports. Beth played basketball in 7th grade, but her coach didn't know what she was doing, and the whole experience turned Beth off to organized sports. I think it's a shame, because kids can learn so much by being involved in some kind of sporting activity. Maybe it would have helped if her 7th grade basketball coach had known about PlaySportsTV. Coaching is not something you can just jump into without having a clue what you are doing. This coach had no clue. She was a teacher at the school. The team needed a coach, so she got the job. She and the girls could have benefited from the many instructional videos on this site, and I would have loved to have her read the article on 10 Tips for Working With Players, to start with.

Truthfully, I think I could learn a thing or two from these videos. Not only does the coach explain things and have the kids demonstrate - in this case I watched the basketball video on 'shooting basics' - but there is also a still picture slide that goes along with it. The slide shows exactly what the coach was talking about, and puts his words in writing. For people like me who need to see it in writing, that is perfect. I wish I had had someone break sports down and teach me the basics when I was a kid.

Now, even if the coach doesn't exactly know what she is doing, there is help.