Coaches How do you keep your kids busy and productive?

[Scott W.]

Hey all!

So I teach a lot of tumbling classes (mostly all girls) and I never really seem to have trouble with them working on their skills in stations that I set up for them, and they seem to have fun doing it.

My boys gymnastics classes however...a little more difficult. Their energy levels are off the charts so I always try and keep them busy with stations. But I've noticed that if I'm not actively working with them, they just rush right through it and without putting in any effort (save for a few kids that are just great students). Is that just an inevitability or should I rethink my stations? What kinds of stations and circuits do you guys use that are productive but also fun?

I have about 8 boys aged 8-12. I usually have one station that I spot, a few skill stations, a strength station, and then one that's kinda just fun. The goof-off level is just so high...boys sometimes, heh

Thanks!

 

[HunterBennett]

Be really organized. YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE 110% CORRECT BECAUSE IF YOU DOUBT YOURSELF THE KIDS WILL SEE THAT AND START DOUBTING YOU TOO.

feel free to have fun games but limit them to where when the kids have a very intense day of class then you give it to them so they can understand that hard work is the key to getting to play games or whatever you want to do as a game.

Get to know the parents of those kids. More often than not they will be able to tell you how they keep them out of trouble.

Take all their energy for them. One thing that i really found out was that one of you has to wear the other person out, weather the kids will wear you out or you wear the kids out. Dont be afraid to be a little loud and wild every once and awhile to make them laugh.

Tell the kids what you expect to accomplish before the end of the class.

Go to a football coach and see how they handle kids. i know its different but they deal with boys all the time and you can ask them how they keep the boys in control and orderly while waiting.

Dont be afraid to get the kids to fear you. Dont go crazy with this one, but the one thing that helped me was that i was really intense and very hard on them for the first couple of weeks so the kids will know not to mess with me otherwise i will be extremely harsh on them. FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE EVERYTHING SO NITPICK EVER SINGLE DETAIL NO MATTER WHAT IT IS SO THE KIDS KNOW THAT YOU EXPECT PERFECTION. the parents will probably appreciate you making their kid having to walk back a couple of steps to complete just a few bunny hops because it shows the parents and the kids that you are always watching them.

Dont be afraid of the parents, tell them exactly what they did good and sprinkle in a few things that they could do better.

I completely understand where you are coming from. I had been teaching rec classes for a few years, but they were all girls classes, as soon as i was given the opportunity to coach a boys rec class i jumped on the offer not knowing what i had just gotten myself into. The boys were wild, and i didnt know what to do with them and so i started making lesson plans and actually showing the kids what we were doing today but the classes ended up not going exactly to the lesson plans and so the boys would be goofing off again after a few weeks of doing that. I read in an article that the start of the practice is what determines how the kids are going to act and how they are going to perceive you as a coach/mentor. I finally was able to keep control of them by having some very specific exercises and making sure that in that class, everyone was to go for excellence in there and i was always watching and commenting on the boys work (gave praise to the boys that worked hard and scolded the boys that barely worked and i was often more willing to give the good boys rewards). After a few weeks of really slowing things down and making sure everything was perfect and that every kid understood what was to be done in the class then i was able to really coach them without to much trouble.

Now i know this is very long and may have a couple of things in here that people wouldnt agree to but they are what i found out was the best thing to do for my boys to get the most out of every class and for me to control them.