AFM Home | The Staff Report | May 2003

Paul Troth
Head Coach, Missouri Valley College
2002 NAIA Schutt Sports Coach of the Year

We have all been taught about the benefits of positive reinforcement in dealing with our athletes. This is not new or revolutionary. The vast majority of coaches use some form of this technique of behavior modification. I wonder, however, if many of us coaches take the time to evaluate the quality and quantity of positive reinforcement our student athletes receive from us. As the head coach, I want to spend a significant amount of time in our preseason staff meetings talking about and sharing examples of how we can use positive reinforcement to help our athletes become not only better football players, but better people also. Here are some examples of things we try to do:

1. Each position coach is asked to be sure he says a minimum of one positive thing to every player in his position group every day. We want to do this for starters as well as the last player on the depth chart.

2. When correcting a mistake with a player, try to end by commenting on something he did correctly. Many times the tone of a coach’s last comment is what the player remembers.

3. As we critique practice and game video with our players, I tell our coaches to remember the “position” makes mistakes and the “player” makes good plays. Examples: “Fullback, you should have picked up the middle linebacker on this stunt” and “John Martin, that’s a great job on this play!”.

4. We talk with our upperclassmen about encouraging and saying positive things to the new freshmen in and out of practice. We do not allow hazing or have any kind of “freshman initiation” at Missouri Valley College. A positive word from a senior can have a great impact on a homesick freshman. This has helped with our retention, particularly during preseason camp.

As the head coach I try to create an opportunity to observe each position coach at least once during his individual practice period. This can be difficult at the small college level as most of us also coach a position ourselves. I try to take notes on the number of positive statements and the number of negative statements I hear from each coach. If I feel there are a disproportionate number of negative statements, I can meet with the coach after practice to discuss ways to adjust. Many times coaches do not realize how players can interpret their words in negative ways, even when that was not the intent.

We are not all ‘touchy-feely’ here at Missouri Valley College, but I am a firm believer that positive players and coaches win more games than negative ones.