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February 27, 2025

JT the Mentor Coach

A workshop for High School coaches

DEVELOPING

COMPETITORS

AND MENTAL WELLNESS

THROUGH POSITIVE COACHING

HOW TO USE THIS SLIDE

- Please insert the workshop date, and Partner Name and the Trainer Name.

- Set the tone for interactivity and get to the opening activity quickly!

�KEY TAKEAWAYS

This workshop is about Mental Wellness and not Mental Health. While we work on developing competitors, we’re also going to talk about creating an environment to support mental wellness for your athletes.
We are not asking you to be experts in mental health, or to diagnose or intervene
We are going to talk about creating an environment that supports mental wellness

�BACKGROUND INFORMATION

NA

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Sample Script

You can use this title slide to ask any background questions of the group such as:

-Raise your hand if you’ve been to a PCA Workshop before.

-Raise your hand if you are a first-time coach…coached for three or more years…ten or more years…etc.

-What sports do we have represented today?

-Has anybody heard of PCA before today?

Or you can just say something like this:

Let me tell you a little about Positive Coaching Alliance.

Or you can briefly tell participants why the Positive Coaching movement is important to you.

Or you can ask participants to share how they are doing today by putting a thumb up, middle or down - thank everyone for arriving as they are and acknowledge that it’s ok to be at a thumb middle or down day.

�

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PCA’S REACH

19 MILLION +

Youth reached by our programs and resources

38,000 +

Live group workshops for leaders, coaches, parents and athletes

5,000 +

Partnerships with schools and youth sports organizations

Since 1998…

World-Class National Advisory Board

PCA’S MISSION

To change the culture of youth sports so that every child, regardless of social or economic circumstance, has access to a positive youth sports experience.

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REFLECTION |

Violence

Poverty

Abuse/Neglect

Bullying

Homelessness

Covid 19 impacts

Pressure to excel

Unhealthy relationships

Discrimination

Social Media

What are some of the challenges young people face today?

Challenges

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HOW THE BODY RESPONDS TO STRESS

https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/toxic-stress/

POSITIVE

TOLERABLE

TOXIC

Is a normal and essential part of healthy development. Brief increases in heart rate,

mild elevations in stress hormone levels.

Serious, temporary stress responses,

Buffered by supportive relationships.

Prolonged activation of stress response systems in the absence of protective relationships.

Meeting someone new
First day on a new team
Day of the big game

Loss of a loved one
A natural disaster
A frightening injury

Caregiver substance abuse or mental illness
Family economic hardship
Abuse, such as an emotionally abusive coach

HOW TO USE THIS SLIDE:

Athletes experience the challenges we discussed earlier, they are likely to experience a variety of levels of stress….

�KEY TAKEAWAYS:

- Stress can be a good thing or a destructive thing depending on many factors.

�Positive Stress

Is a normal and essential part of healthy development

Lasts for a short time

Can motivate and focus you for a challenge

Characterized by brief increases in heart rate and mild elevations in hormone levels.

Examples that might trigger a positive stress response:

First day on a new team

Day of the big game

Tolerable Stress

Activates the body’s alert systems to a greater degree as a result of more severe, longer-lasting difficulties

Examples:

loss of a loved one

a natural disaster

a frightening injury

**When a young child’s stress response systems are activated within an environment of supportive relationships with adults, these physiological effects are buffered and brought back down to baseline**

Toxic stress

Can occur when a child experiences strong, frequent, and/or long lasting difficult events WITHOUT adequate adult support

Examples:

caregiver substance abuse or mental illness

Family economic hardship

Chronic neglect

Abuse, such as emotionally abusive coach�

Some of the examples in the previous slide are examples of traumas that can trigger the body’s stress response system, which can result in toxic stress when they are prolonged and there is no adult to support them – and some of the challenges athletes face are systemic in low-income communities and communities of color��BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

This kind of prolonged activation of the stress response systems can impact the brain and body throughout the adult years.

Research shows that, even under stressful conditions, supportive, responsive relationships with caring adults as early in life as possible can prevent or reverse the damaging effects of toxic stress response.

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https://medium.com/@ahmadjnaous/stress-performance-curve-7852cae29cc9

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POSITIVE SPORTS CULTURE

ATHLETES FEEL:

SAFE

SEEN

HEARD

VALUED

HOW TO USE THIS SLIDE

Use this slide to add some other great outcomes for youth in a Positive Sports Culture.

�KEY TAKEAWAYS

- Beyond the basic human physiological needs of food, water, and shelter, youth need to feel safe, seen, heard, and valued.

- If these needs are not met, it is virtually impossible for a child to learn, or to perform to their potential.

- Positive Coaching is an approach that emphasizes meeting these needs.

�BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Thomas S. Fordham Institute

“Children Learn Best When They Feel Safe and Valued

https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/children-learn-best-when-they-feel-safe-and-valued

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Sample Script

Here are some other great outcomes of a Positive Sports Culture. Beyond, the basic human physiological needs of food, water, and shelter, youth need to feel safe, seen, heard, and valued. If these needs are not met, it is virtually impossible for a child to learn, or to perform to their potential.

Positive Coaching is an approach that emphasizes meeting these needs.

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BUILDING TRUSTING RELATIONSHIPS

The Foundation

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Dawn Staley�3- time NCAA National Champion�2- time AP Coach of the Year�Head Basketball Coach �University of South Carolina

If there was ever a secret to being a great coach, that’s it: the connection…The better the relationship we have, the better she’s going to perform and the better we are going to be as a team.

“

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Players’ EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING

A Collaborative TEAM CULTURE

Sports & LIFE SKILL DEVELOPMENT

Improves PERFORMANCE

BUILDING

TRUSTING

RELATIONSHIPS

The Search Institute

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TRUSTING RELATIONSHIPS TOOLKIT

Show Empathy

Listen and validate

Voice & Choice

Support decision making skills

Teambuilding

Activities for connection

HOW TO USE THIS SLIDE

Present these three tools, and engage the participants with at least one of them. For example, you can ask the participants how they give their athletes “voice and choice.”

�KEY TAKEAWAYS

- Show Empathy (Listen and Validate) – Listen to understand what your athlete is saying, not waiting your turn to respond. Recognize your own bias and limit your assumptions or beliefs about your athletes’ experiences.

- Voice and Choice (Support Decision Making Skills) – let your athletes lead. Let them have authentic ownership of their team and help them in making decisions around the team, or strategy/tactics.

- Teambuilding (Activities for Connection) – support and connection lead to better mental wellness and performance.

�BACKGROUND INFORMATION

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Sample Script

Let’s look at some tools to help us build connections with our athletes.

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CONNECTING TRUSTING RELATIONSHIPS �& MENTAL WELLNESS

Lower rates of anxiety and depression
Higher self esteem
Increased empathy

https://www.child-focus.org/news/the-impact-of-positive-relationships-on-mental-health-and-well-being/

Connection can mitigate the impacts of stress and help a young person regulate, focus, listen, and learn

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ELM TREE OF MASTERY PRINCIPLE

KEY TOPICS:

How do you Define Success? Scoreboard vs Mastery Focus?
Practicing the MASTERY TOOLKIT tools

ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS:

�1. “Half time Speech” (SL #23) Juggling Team coach (or another activity) Role play one juggler, one scoreboard focused coach, one Mastery focused coach. Could also use this exercise to role play a coach reinforcing the Fixed Mindset and another coach reinforcing the Growth Mindset.

TRAINER SLIDE | HIDDEN, DON’T SHOW TO PARTICIPANTS

HIDE THIS SLIDE FOR SHORTENED VERSION

SHORTENING THIS SECTION:

HIDE SLIDES- #23, #25, #26, #28, #29

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THE ELM TREE OF MASTERY

PRINCIPLE #1

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How can pressure to perform impact athlete mental wellness?

DISCUSSION| Pressure to Perform�

Loss of joy

Burnout

Perfectionism

Shame

Fear of failure

Shouldering expectations

Focus on results

Increase focus

Builds resilience

Opportunities for skill development

HOW TO USE THIS SLIDE

Lead discussion on how pressure to perform can impact athlete mental wellness. Field answers. Show the group some examples we’ve come up with. Then transition: “Let’s talk about how athletes can focus on the things they can directly impact...

- Maybe too many images – remove this or replace with the same from the first one

First negative impacts animate
Then some positive ones animate

�KEY TAKEAWAYS

- The key is for athletes to put their energy towards performing in the things they can control.

�We can be empowered to make a difference in our own mental wellness by paying attention to the factors that are within our control. Focusing on what we can control to take care of ourselves is the best way to protect our mental health and build resilience.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Psychology Today - How to Improve Your Mental Health: Focus on What You Control�

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ACTIVITY

Within a game or practice, what do your athletes have:

In their CONTROL

Out of their CONTROL

Which can cause more anxiety?

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HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?

SCOREBOARD

Results

Comparison with Others

Mistakes are unacceptable

MASTERY

Effort

Learning

Mistakes help you grow

VS

Which definition does an athlete have more control over?

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MASTERY TOOLKIT

Mistake Ritual

“Flush It”

Breathing Exercises

Box Breathing

Develop

Pre-game Routine

Sense of control

HOW TO USE THIS SLIDE

Breathing exercises helps athletes calm their stress response system and focus more clearly on the goals ahead. Routines create comfort and let athletes know what to expect. Mistake rituals help athletes view mistakes as opportunities to grow and not to dwell on.

�KEY TAKEAWAYS

- Breathing Exercises (Box Breathing) - breath in slowly 4 seconds; hold breath in 4 seconds; breath out slowly 4 seconds; hold again for 4 seconds and repeat. Helps you reduce anxiety and stay calm and focused.

-Develop a Routine (Pre-Competition vs Pre Game) - Routines can offer a sense of control; use quote on slide deck�- Mistake Ritual (Flush It) -

��BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Some of the key researchers we have drawn from are Robert Roeser, Albert Bandura and Carol Dweck.

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Sample Script

Let’s look at some Mastery coaching tools.

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Lisa Bonta Sumii, LCSW�CEO and Founder of Ath Mindset

Routines can offer a sense of control and predictability that is often non-existent in sport. The brain likes it when you guide it through the same thing over and over. And you can feel more calm and at ease carrying through the actions of your routine.

“

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CONNECTING MASTERY �& MENTAL WELLNESS

Boosts self-confidence
Builds a sense of purpose
Gain self-reliance

https://thegrowtheq.com/the-mental-health-benefits-of-mastery/#:~:text=You%20gain%20self%2Dreliance%20and,and%20belonging%20in%20a%20community

Effort-focused skill development helps young people feel competent and in control of the outcomes they achieve

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HONORING THE GAME

PRINCIPLE #3

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Scenario:

Imagine you are showing up to an important game. You walk out onto the playing space and spot the opponent, the officials, and a large number of fans awaiting the competition.

How do you feel?

How might your athletes feel entering this environment?

ACTIVITY| Honoring the Game�

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HONORING THE GAME | Behaving Respectfully

TREATING SELF �AND OTHERS WITH DIGNITY

What are some challenges with this?

HOW TO USE THIS SLIDE

Coaches must prepare athletes and build skills to Honor the Game – just like we practice the x’s and o’s at practice, we also need to put athletes in the positions at practice to face tolerable stress and adversity. In this environment, the stakes are lower and we can pause and discuss our reactions and how we can regulate our emotions and behaviors when we are faced with difficult situations.

�KEY TAKEAWAYS

-PCA’s framework to ensure that you support and prepare yourself, your team, and your supporters to compete with integrity [or dignity]

-By honoring the game, we make sure that even when faced with the stress of competition, or with difficult decisions, the athletes are taken care of, developing skills (for sports and life) and that they are having a positive sports experience.

-Honoring the Game is about behaving respectfully in sports.

- At PCA, we believe that Respectful Behavior consists of “treating yourself and others with dignity.”

- There is a difference between “behaving respectfully” and “respecting someone.”

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

NA

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Sample Script

So at PCA, we say Honoring the Game is about behaving respectfully in sports. To behave respectfully is to have compassion for the person in front of you. Treat other people in sports with the dignity they deserve by virtue of being a human being. Honoring the Game means that you bring the best version of yourself to the sports arena, and then you remain true to your standard of treating all with dignity, always.

Now let me ask, “what are some challenges with this?”

��There is a difference between “behaving respectfully” and “respecting someone.” It is possible that someone has acted in a way that does not draw your respect. In fact, because of their words and actions, they may not deserve your respect. While this is true, at PCA we believe you can still behave respectfully toward someone you don’t feel respect for. In fact behaving respectfully under these circumstances is one of the truest forms of Honoring the Game. We are asking people to strive for this standard in sports!

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R

O

T

S

HONORING THE GAME | ROOTS

ULES OF COMPETITION

PPONENTS

FFICIALS

EAMMATES

ELF

HOW TO USE THIS SLIDE

Familiarize yourself with how this slide animates so you can coordinate your remarks and questions accordingly.

Briskly explain the acronym ROOTS, starting with and emphasizing Self.

Then use the question on the slide to launch the ”lists” activity described below in the Sample Script.

�KEY TAKEAWAYS

- Behaving respectfully in these ROOT areas can be challenging, especially with officials and opponents, but when we have dignity for our SELF, we maintain our ability to have dignity towards officials and opponents.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

NA

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Sample Script

As I said before, Honoring the Game is ROOTed in respectful behavior. And this starts with ourselves!

Seeing respectful actions towards R, O, O, T requires the best of oneself to show up time and again.

We want to ensure our athletes see us model and learn the skills to behave respectfully and take responsibility for their own actions. As coaches, we are models. We lead by example. We take responsibility for our actions. We treat others with dignity, we treat them as people, with human dignity. This is a part of sports we can be in control of.

The challenges you all mentioned earlier can make it harder for us and our athletes to behave respectfully towards the ROOTS. This will require additional teaching and coaching of your players to Honor the Game. PCA is developing a workshop that focuses on culture and Honoring the Game. It will provide more support to you in Honoring the Game in challenging circumstances. We use this definition as the foundation of our Honor the Game framework, ROOTS

ROOTS stands for Rules of Competition, Officials, Opponents, Teammates, Self

��We always start with S - Self. We begin here because we are in control of our decisions, our actions, what we model to others. Despite being faced with challenging situations, we want to have dignity for ourselves; self pride, self worth. How we maintain our self control impacts how we show dignity to others.

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HONORING THE GAME | ROOTS

What actions or behaviors do you want to see toward each of the ROOTS?

How can you support your athletes to ensure these actions are achieved?

R

Rules

S

Self

T

Teammates

O

Officials

O

Opponents

HOW TO USE THIS SLIDE�Take answers and connect with mental wellness – i.e. when your athletes see you modeling respectful behavior to the official, you are contributing to their mental wellness – seeing an adult who is in control and treating others with kindness. Teammates who treat each other with kindness pick each other up, are contributing to their mental wellness. Contributing to the mental wellness of all involved in the sport – so treating opponents with dignity supports their mental wellness within a positive sport environment.

Now we will move into the ROOT of ROOTS through an activity in which we will list actions and behaviors (from coach and athletes) that display dignity around:

�R - Rules of Competition�O - Opponents

O - Officials �T - Teammates

�KEY TAKEAWAYS

(Depending on how you have your participants generate and document their lists of actions/behaviors, look for a way for them to the lists with them, such as taking photos of large Post-Its they have used around the room. Or writing down their two favorite actions/behaviors for each letter.)

�ROOTS Activity

Question 1: List actions/behaviors you would see that represent behaving respectfully, with dignity towards R,O,O,T

Question 2: how can you support your athletes to ensure these behaviors/actions come to life

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ANTHONY RIZZO / Major League Baseball Player

HIDDEN UNLESS USING THIS VIDEO

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HONORING

THE GAME

TOOLKIT

Self-Control Routine

Build HTG Skills for Game Time

Set Expectations

Respond vs. React

“Bad Calls”

Pre-Season Meeting

HOW TO USE THIS SLIDE

Present these three tools, and engage the participants with at least one of them. For example, you can come up with examples of Self-Control routines and share them with each other. Or you can have participants think of the three most important things to cover in a Pre-season Parent/Guardian Meeting, and then share with others. Or you can actually have them write and recite the opening two sentences of an imaginary Pre-season Meeting.

�KEY TAKEAWAYS

- Self Control Routine - (respond vs react) if we want athletes to learn, develop and focus they need to have tools they can use to regulate their emotions and behaviors.

Examples: count to 5, walk away,

- Build HTG Skills for Game Time (Bad Calls) - create time during practices where you make ‘bad calls’ to get athletes used to things not going their way in a game

- Set Expectations (Pre Season Meeting) - create specific time to share your culture expectations with athletes and families

�

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

NA

�**************************************************

�Sample Script

Here are some tools for modeling and teaching Honoring the Game.

�

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CONNECTING HONOR THE GAME & MENTAL WELLNESS

Cultivates self-worth
Deepens friendships
Helps establish sense of identity

Mental wellness comes from respect for self, integrity, and being true to yourself. Kindness is the antidote to isolation and creates a sense of belonging

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POSITIVE COACHES

HELP ATHLETES FEEL:

SAFE

SEEN

HEARD

VALUED

HOW TO USE THIS SLIDE

Use this slide to start the closing section of the workshop.

�KEY TAKEAWAYS

- Positive Coaches are caring adults in the lives of the youth they coach.

- Positive Coaches help their athletes feel safe, seen, heard and valued.

�BACKGROUND INFORMATION

�Thomas S. Fordham Institute

“Children Learn Best When They Feel Safe and Valued

https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/children-learn-best-when-they-feel-safe-and-valued

�CASEL

“What Is the CASEL Framework?”

https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/what-is-the-casel-framework/

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Sample Script

As we wrap up, I want to remind you that by building a foundation of Trusting Relationships, and by coaching to the Three Principles of Positive Coaching, a Positive Coach creates an environment that helps youth feel safe, seen, heard, and valued. And when athletes feel safe, seen, heard, and valued, they have a much better chance to learn and perform to their full potential. They have a much better chance to thrive!

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Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

PCA Resource Zone

Coaches Guide to Supporting Athlete Mental Health

COACHING

RESOURCES

NBA Mind Health Squad