{"id":10956,"date":"2016-03-14T07:50:51","date_gmt":"2016-03-14T13:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/?p=10956"},"modified":"2016-03-15T20:05:21","modified_gmt":"2016-03-16T02:05:21","slug":"montana-ethic-project-the-value-of-athletics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2016\/03\/montana-ethic-project-the-value-of-athletics\/","title":{"rendered":"Montana Ethic Project: The value of athletics"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gear\"<\/a>

Joey and Libbie Early<\/p>

Mike Gear: “The Value of Athletics.”<\/p><\/div>\n

This is the second\u00a0chapter of the 32-part video series \u201cThe Montana Ethic Project.\u201d This chapter features Mike Gear, a nine-time state champion football coach, speaking on “The Value of Athletics.” You can watch the whole video below. Here is how it opens:<\/em><\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve been a teacher and coach for over 38 years now. In fact I\u2019ve coached middle school athletics, high\u00a0school athletics, been an assistant head coach, and for the last 34 years I\u2019ve been a head football coach\u00a0and even a sports official. So between playing and coaching sports, it\u2019s been a significant part of my life\u00a0for close to 50 years.<\/p>\n

“I hope to really accomplish two things today. First everyone, not just the stars or the elite players on an\u00a0athletic team, can develop attributes that will benefit them for the rest of their life. And second, to\u00a0encourage parents to understand the fine line between supporting their athlete and overstepping their\u00a0bounds.”<\/p>\n

Here is another, edited excerpt from Gear’s presentation:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“Be sure that your athlete is\u00a0participating for all the right reasons. Be sure that he or she is not participating because of someone\u00a0else\u2019s motivation. Remember they aren\u2019t you. They are not the same individual. They are not playing on\u00a0the same team that you played on in the past.\u00a0So be sure, do not let your wants and desires overshadow their choices.<\/p>\n

“Also encourage them to participate, but don\u2019t force them, don\u2019t pressure them.<\/p>\n

“Talk to them about why\u00a0they want to participate, how they would feel about being in those different roles if they can\u2019t be the\u00a0starter, if they are that other player on the team. And I know that coaches talk to their teams and to\u00a0their players all the time about their roles, and be sure that they\u2019re playing with the idea that as a role\u00a0player they can contribute to the team. They can come away with some very positive things.<\/p>\n

“Always provide reinforcement that is positive for their participation. Avoid the critical remarks about\u00a0their teammates, about officials, about the other coaches and players. Keep your focus on every positive\u00a0thing that they do, and don\u2019t worry so much about the outcome of the game.<\/p>\n

“Here is where it really gets hard for you: allow them to suffer some frustration and adversity without\u00a0making it something bigger than it is, without immediately demanding somebody else make it right.”<\/p>\n