Coaching Young Couch Potatoes: A Game Plan for Raising Responsible Young Adults

by Michael Clapier

How do you raise healthy and responsible children in our irresponsible world? With 43 million children playing Little League sports, there exists a powerful opportunity to use sports as a mentor rather than a sitter, giving children the work ethos that is lacking, the physicality that lies dormant, and the ability to do difficult things as a child so that the challenges of life do not overwhelm them. [Coaching Young Couch Potatoes] offers practical advice to inexperienced coaches and youth leaders on how to give young people what they need to reach their full potential.

160 pages, Paperback

Published July 11, 2017

Reviews

[Gayla Noll]

Coaching Young Couch Potatoes offers principles that can be applied not only by coaches of young athletes, but in our daily interactions. The examples make the principles easy to understand and motivating. I highly recommend this book.

[Bryan Richmond]

Should be required reading/training for anyone involved in coaching youth sports.

[Marty Milliner]

Reading this book and applying the principles outlined would greatly enhance the experience of participants in youth sports.

[Lida]

Not just for Coaches! Parents, Teachers, All Mentors can benefit from this book

Coaching Young Couch Potatoes: A Game Plan for Raising Responsible Young Adults is not only a great handbook for coaches. This book has so much to offer to Parents in raising responsible children, and teaching them the skills they need to function as a responsible adult. I have been blessed in my life to have been coached by coaches and parents that used these principles. As I am now a coach and mom I have gained a lot from what is taught in this book. Michael Clapier articulates how to coach young people in a way that helps them develop into a responsible person. One thing that has impacted the way I coach and raise my children is when he talks about getting to know your athlete. Each athlete or young person is different in the way the learn, in their skills, in what motivates them. He talks about the different types of athletes you have and by knowing what type of person each kid is you can know how to coach and teach them.

[Whitney]

A great guide to navigating youth sports as a coach or even a parent. As a mother of a competitive dancer and two wrestlers I appreciated the reminder of just why we sacrifice to put our children in these activities and what they are meant to gain from them. "Through youth sports children develop more than physicality. They acquire social skills that allow them to work with others, experience the value of working towards a simple goal, learn the disappearing art of winning with class and losing with grace, and discover the importance of being active now and through the rest of their lives." Wouldn't it be great if all coaches had the skills taught in this book to instill those values, rather than focusing solely on winning?