Our Youth Development articles are meant to create awareness for all of the incredible ways kids can develop from youth sports. The goal is to help people notice the wide range of development that is happening during youth sports along with noticing performance and results. If you see development happening, even during poor performance or poor results, it can give you the power to make the most of the experience and align with your personal priorities in youth sports.
In this article we will discuss (1) What are the key skills that lead to giving and receiving feedback in a productive way and what are the ways kids develop it through youth sports (2) Why giving and receiving feedback is so valuable at the different stages of life and (3) How to create and participate in youth sports experiences to best enable kids to develop the ability to give and receive feedback. If you find this all too much, read the cliffs notes or just skim each section. If you want to deeply learn this and incorporate it into youth sports, please spend the time to review, re-read and comment. If you want us to create a program for you that does all of this, please submit a request.
Summary of Learning to Give and Receive Feedback Through Youth Sports
In the world of youth sports, a profound journey unfolds—one that transcends the confines of the playing field and touches every aspect of a child's development. It's a journey where the pursuit of excellence revolves around something we often take for granted: the art of giving and receiving feedback. Through these unassuming channels of communication, young athletes unlock a profound transformation, one that propels them towards not just sporting greatness, but an enriched life journey. Join us as we delve into the intricacies of this transformation, discovering how youth sports serve as the fertile soil from which these skills grow, how they can revolutionize one's life, and the actionable steps to unlock their full potential.
People who have trouble receiving feedback rarely achieve their full potential in life. Learning these skills early in life increases the likelihood that someone will be comfortable and successful with receiving feedback and youth sports provides a perfect platform
Similarly, people who have trouble giving feedback end up falling short on their potential. It leads to bottled-up frustration, lack of advancement due to leadership deficiency and sub-optimal results because the group or team miss opportunities to improve. Youth sports provides a wonderful platform to learn the key skills required to be exceptional at giving feedback in a productive manner.
What Does it Mean to Give and Receive Feedback and What Skills Does this Include?
Giving and receiving feedback in youth sports is the process of providing and accepting constructive information and insights aimed at enhancing athletic performance. It involves developing a range of essential skills, including effective communication, receptive listening, constructive criticism, self-reflection, resilience, conflict resolution, and goal-oriented feedback. These skills not only improve a young athlete's performance but also foster personal growth and readiness for success in various aspects of life.
Effective Communication Skills: Kids learn to express their thoughts clearly when giving feedback and actively listen when receiving it. They practice using precise language to convey their observations and suggestions. They learn to use productive, best-in-class, language that makes someone comfortable to hear feedback. Example: A young soccer player provides specific feedback to a teammate, explaining how they can improve their passing technique.
Receptive Listening: Youth athletes develop the ability to receive feedback with an open mind, without becoming defensive. They learn to value others' opinions and insights. Example: During a basketball practice, a child listens attentively to the coach's feedback on their shooting form.
Constructive Criticism: Kids in youth sports discover how to offer feedback in a helpful and non-hurtful manner. They understand the importance of focusing on areas that need improvement rather than personal criticism. Example: A young tennis player offers feedback to a partner on their serve by suggesting specific adjustments to their grip and stance.
Self-Reflection: Through feedback, young athletes develop the habit of self-assessment and to receive feedback by observing outcomes rather than just from other people. They learn to recognize their strengths and weaknesses, enabling them to set specific personal goals to improve. Example: A child reflects on their recent swim meet performance, identifying areas where they need to work on their technique based on feedback from their coach.
Resilience in the Face of Feedback: Kids in youth sports cultivate resilience by using feedback as motivation for improvement, rather than as a source of discouragement. They learn to view setbacks as opportunities to grow. Example: A young gymnast, upon receiving feedback about their balance beam routine, works diligently to master challenging moves.
Conflict Resolution in Feedback Situations: Youth athletes develop skills in handling conflicts that may arise during feedback exchanges. They learn to address disagreements constructively and find solutions. Example: Teammates who have differing opinions about a play call during a soccer match discuss their viewpoints and come to a consensus.
Goal-Oriented Feedback: Through feedback, kids set performance goals and use it as a driving force to achieve these objectives. They understand that feedback can help them reach specific athletic targets. Example: A child adjusts their swimming technique based on feedback from a coach, with the goal of achieving a faster time in an upcoming race.
Why Is Giving and Receiving Feedback Throughout Life so Valuable?
The skills of giving and receiving feedback, developed in youth sports, provide immediate benefits in childhood, support personal growth and success in the medium term during college and early professional years, and continue to be invaluable tools for lifelong success, spanning career development, personal interests, community engagement, and family life.
Today, The skills of giving and receiving feedback play a pivotal role in helping a child thrive during childhood. These skills empower children to communicate effectively with peers, coaches, and teammates, fostering positive relationships and a supportive environment. By learning to provide and accept feedback graciously, children can navigate the challenges of youth sports with resilience and determination, ultimately enhancing their performance and self-esteem. Moreover, these skills enable kids to set and achieve short-term athletic goals, boosting their confidence and motivation within the context of their childhood experiences.
Near-Term, The skills related to giving and receiving feedback that children develop through youth sports provide substantial benefits as they transition into college and early professional years. In college, these skills contribute to effective communication, allowing students to collaborate efficiently with peers and professors. Constructive criticism and self-reflection are crucial for academic growth, helping college students improve their work and adapt to new challenges. Resilience and goal-oriented feedback support them in handling the demands of higher education. In their early professional years, these skills are highly transferable. Effective communication and conflict resolution facilitate teamwork and professional relationships. Constructive criticism and self-reflection drive continuous improvement in job performance. The ability to set and achieve goals becomes essential for career advancement. Overall, the skills honed through giving and receiving feedback in youth sports equip individuals with valuable tools for success in college and early professional life.
Long-Term, The skills related to giving and receiving feedback, cultivated during childhood through youth sports, continue to yield significant benefits as individuals transition into adulthood. In their careers, these skills enable adults to excel in the workplace by facilitating effective communication, problem-solving, and teamwork. Constructive criticism and self-reflection support ongoing personal and professional development, helping individuals adapt to changing circumstances and tackle complex challenges. As adults expand their interests and hobbies, these skills enhance their ability to learn, grow, and master new skills. Building a community becomes more fulfilling, as they can connect and collaborate with others more effectively. Lastly, in building a family, these skills contribute to healthy relationships, effective parenting, and fostering a supportive family environment. Overall, the skills acquired through giving and receiving feedback in youth sports become invaluable tools for lifelong success and fulfillment in various facets of adult life.
How to Design a Process for Learning to Give and Receive Feedback in a Productive Way.
For those of you that are very process-oriented, here is a logical progression model that illustrates how kids can best develop their ability to give and receive feedback.
Winning Creates an Initial Frame of Reference: Whether it's winning a game, a tournament, or aiming for a winning record throughout the season, victory serves as a straightforward benchmark that children readily comprehend and aspire to attain. "Kids, we need to be able to give each other feedback and learn from feedback to help us to improve and win as much as possible. How does that sound?" Whether winning is the most important thing to you or not, this approach will lead to a better chance to win and will maximize the development of these fine motor skills for lifelong benefits.
Break Winning into Pieces: In order to pursue winning in most sports, kids need to be good at effective communication, receptive listening, constructive criticism, self-reflection, resilience in the face of feedback, conflict resolution in feedback situations, and goal-oriented feedback. Explain to the kids (in simple terms) how developing these skills will help them to give and receive feedback and thus maximize their performance.
Cultivate these Pieces: Concentrate with intent on developing the kids' giving and receiving feedback and making the parents aware that this is a part of your focus. Incorporate this into drills, practice, games and team meetings. Celebrate when they improve or work to improve or show success in any of these areas. Emphasizing this brings awareness which will foster intrinsic intent and a desire to improve in these areas of giving and receiving feedback.
Giving and Receiving Feedback Starts to Show Results: The kids start experiencing the reward of effective communication, receptive listening, constructive criticism, self-reflection, resilience in the face of feedback, conflict resolution in feedback situations, and goal-oriented feedback. Connect these dots for them. Help them deeply appreciate that their giving and receiving feedback is happening and it matters: it helps them play better, get more action, win more plays, and enjoy the sport better.
Giving and Receiving Feedback becomes Natural: The kids get such joy out of the rewards of their continuous giving and receiving feedback development that they start to intrinsically drive continued improvement without the coach needing to emphasize it as much. They start becoming intentional about continuing to develop their giving and receiving feedback... ultimately for the love of the experience of honing the skills that enable them the give and receive feedback to thrive.
How Can General Approaches Help Kids to Develop the Skills to Give and Receive Feedback?
Here are seven general recommendations to foster the best skills for giving and receiving feedback in children, encompassing tailored skill development, progressive challenges, interactive games, positive reinforcement, peer interaction, individualized feedback, and active parent involvement.
Create a Positive Feedback Culture: Foster an environment where constructive feedback is encouraged and celebrated. Emphasize the importance of acknowledging both successes and areas for improvement. This helps kids feel more comfortable with giving and receiving feedback and promotes a growth mindset.
Make it Safe to Make Mistakes: People are only comfortable receiving feedback if they feel that is safe to make mistakes. Otherwise they will not be open to feedback because it is inherently pointing out a mistake. Tell kids over and over that it is okay to make mistakes. Don't yell or get frustrated. Don't take away playing time (unless they don't also work to try to correct their mistakes).
Create Trust: People only listen to people that they trust. Trust in youth sports comes from a collective shared goal. The giver of feedback needs to convey that they have aligned interests. The receiver of feedback needs to believe that the giver has their best interests in mind. Have the kids learn what each other's goals are, both individual and team goals.
Build Intimacy: People are much more comfortable giving and receiving feedback if there is a deep relationship. Have the players get to know each other, including their names, favorite things to do outside of the sport, favorite foods, funny stories about themselves, etc...
Teach Best-Practices: Teach the kids the language and approaches to giving feedback. Things like avoid making people feel attacked, gain the approval to give feedback, give balanced feedback. These best-practices are true in all forms of feedback and kids can learn them and practice them through positive re-enforcement.
Goal Setting and Tracking: Help kids set specific, achievable goals related to their feedback development. Regularly review progress with them, and celebrate milestones along the way. This instills a sense of purpose and motivation in their journey to improve.
Variety in Feedback Sources: Encourage kids to seek feedback from multiple sources, including coaches, teammates, and self-assessment. This diversity of perspectives helps them gain a well-rounded understanding of their performance and communication abilities.
Top 7 Specific Tips and Tricks to Help Kids Develop Giving and Receiving Feedback through Youth Sports.
Incorporating creative and engaging exercises into practices, games, and post-game activities can instill a passion for giving and receiving feedback among young athletes.
The Target Pass Drill: In basketball, set up a target hoop or designated spot on the backboard. Have players pair up, with one player as the passer and the other as the shooter. The passer's role is to provide feedback on the shooter's form and accuracy after each shot, helping them refine their shooting technique and encouraging constructive communication.
Obstacle Course Relay: Create an obstacle course with agility challenges and fine motor skill tasks. Divide players into teams and make them relay against each other. After each leg of the race, have players give feedback to the next runner on their team, highlighting strengths and suggesting improvements to build better communication within the team.
"Coach for a Quarter": Designate a player as the "coach" for a quarter of a game. Their role is to observe their teammates' performance and provide feedback during timeouts or breaks. This empowers players to take ownership of feedback and enhances their observational and communication skills.
The Post-Game Review Challenge: After a game, challenge players to identify three moments of positive feedback and one area for improvement. Encourage them to discuss these moments with their parents or guardians at home, fostering a habit of self-reflection and open communication with their support network.
"Feedback Buddy" System: Pair players with a "feedback buddy" for a week during practice. They must observe and provide feedback to their buddy throughout the week. This promotes active listening and constructive criticism within the team.
Goal-Setting Workshops: Host goal-setting workshops where players define specific feedback-related goals for the season. Encourage them to revisit and adjust these goals regularly, reinforcing the idea that feedback is essential for personal growth and development.
"Team Feedback Puzzles": Create a feedback puzzle by dividing a team into small groups. Each group receives a piece of feedback, and they must collectively put together the puzzle by discussing and combining their individual feedback. This collaborative exercise emphasizes the importance of teamwork and the value of diverse perspectives.
In the world of youth sports, we witness not only the development of agile bodies and fine-tuned skills but the nurturing of something equally powerful: the art of giving and receiving feedback. As our young athletes embark on this transformative journey, they learn that feedback isn't just about the game—it's about building a foundation for a lifetime of growth, resilience, and exceptional communication. Through sports, they become architects of their own development, learning to harness the power of feedback to elevate their game and enrich every facet of their lives. So, as we celebrate their victories, let's also applaud their commitment to honing these vital skills, knowing that they hold the keys to success, not just on the field, but in the grand arena of life itself.
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