t's the decades-old story of the sports world: officials call a foul, coach gets angry, spectators jeer, and tensions are heightened. Coaches may get into skirmishes, players may act out in aggression, and officials must manage the chaos.
But in the Massachusetts Bay Youth Lacrosse League (MBYLL), the league strives to create an amicable dynamic between coaches, officials, and spectators to better the playing environment for the young athletes. When all three participants can act harmoniously, the players will, in turn, strengthen skills as well as their passion for the game.
This cooperation between sideline participants starts with MBYLL’s coaches. Greg Klim, MBYLL’s director of Coaching Education, implements material from the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) into the league’s training of coaches. "What we try to do if you coach with MBYLL is to strive to give the kids a good experience. It's not about the coaches, it's about the kids. That's the most important thing we try to push across," said Klim.
While training coaches, MBYLL uses concepts from PCA to improve the relationships between coaches, spectators, and officials. PCA has partnered with MBYLL for five years. They offer workshops not only for coaches but also parents and athletes to help them understand behavior requirements at all skill levels to enhance the playing experience during games. "Our goal is to develop better athletes, better people," said PCA’s New England Partnership Manager, David Mahery.
The league’s training model begins with the coaches. In order to become a certified coach in MBYLL, coaches must pass online courses to develop an understanding of on-field behavior not only towards the young athletes but also towards officials and spectators.
Mahery asks, hypothetically, "How are you giving feedback to athletes in a manner to where it’s not threatening, it’s not negative?" PCA encourages giving feedback using a "five-to-one ratio," said Klim. If a coach says something negative to a player, the coach must give the player five positives about his technique to make the process a more positive experience. Coaches do this to ensure their criticism is "positive, it’s useful, it’s something they can learn from," said Mahery.
According to Mahery, PCA’s goal is to develop "double goal coaches." This means that coaching youth athletes should create competitors as well as "teaching life lessons through sports," he said.
"We try to teach the coaches that it’s not this 'win-
at-all-cost' mentality," said Klim. "You’re basically a role model for the kids… We really teach the coaches that they are role models and that they have to create a positive experience."
MBYLL’s president, Tom Spangenberg, said that all coaches in MBYLL must follow the league’s code of conduct for each game. "Our 'Code of Conduct' and the MBYLL 'Pre-game Checklist' are very clear about expected sideline behavior: zero tolerance for any unsportsmanlike behavior on the field, bench, or sideline," said Spangenberg. "Our certified coaches are all focused on creating a fun experience for players and families. Nobody wants drama on game day, and our certified coaches do their best to honor the game and make it fun."
However, when coaches do not follow the guidelines of positive coaching, their actions can negatively effect the young athletes. Jim Carboneau, the National Chair of the US Lacrosse Men’s Game Committee (USL) and head of the Men’s Officials Training Group as well as a Massachusetts native and official at MBYLL games, oversees the training for officials around the country. Carboneau has seen that behavior on the field, including officials’ and spectators’ behavior, begins with the coaches.
"In reality it all comes down to the behavior of the coaches… [W]e are all in this together and we’re here to have a good time,"said Carboneau. "But if we have a negative coach on the sideline… it spirals downward. And parents feed off of that. Coaches set the guidelines at the first meeting."
Although trained through MBYLL and taking courses through PCA, what should not be forgotten is that coaches are volunteers and primarily parents. This can lead to problems on the sidelines. "It’s an interesting dynamic at the youth level, at least at MBYLL. All of the coaches in MBYLL are volunteers; they're given all kinds of coaching training and they go through all types of coaching programs. But they’re still coaching like they played when they were young or they're coaching their father’s game," said Darrell Benson, President of Eastern Mass Lacrosse Officials Association (EMLOA).
"Years ago it was a much more physical game and what we have tried to do, and what MBYLL has tried to do, is to educate the coaches on the new game and how the new game is going to be officiated and how the new game is going to be managed," said Benson.
Since MBYLL has implemented the PCA course requirement, incidents of poor behavior among coaches has decreased. "It seems to be working, and
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