Laps, sprints, push ups, squats, etc.

Exercise and being physically active is a good thing, especially during a time when obesity is a problem. 40-45% of the United States population is obese.

So, whatever you do...don't create a negative mental correlation to exercise!

If you want to get more compliance out of your athletes during practice, then you've got to do the following...

1. Set clear expectations for behavior.
2. Tell them the consequences if your expectations aren't met.
3. Always give a quick warning so they can correct the behavior.

If the warning doesn't work and you're having issues with the team, the next step is non-participation.

If it's an individual, you might talk to them privately on the sideline during practice or after practice. If that doesn't work, then you can use non-participation.

I say non-participation because...

I'd rather have young athletes associate negative feelings towards being inactive... than towards exercise.

During practice, some examples of non-participation are...

• Sitting out part of a drill
• Sitting out part of the scrimmage

For the team...

• Remove a fun drill that they enjoy
• Spend less time on scrimmaging at the end of practice

You don't need to go overboard with the discipline. Keep it short and sweet, especially with youth players.

In extreme cases, you might reduce playing time on game day. Don't make them sit the entire game! A few minutes... maybe a quarter at the most.

Some coaches choose to talk to the parents prior to the game, so they're aware. That's up to you. But with younger kids, it might be necessary. With teenagers, probably less so.

If you do the steps above properly, you'll rarely have to use playing time as a discipline tool.

Hopefully, these steps will help with discipline, so young athletes can form positive correlations to exercise and not the opposite!

Related Resource: The Complete Youth Coaching System with 64 Practice Plans - Beginner, Intermediate, & Advanced

Comments Most Likes First   Oldest First   Newest First Gabriel Barraza says: 10/26/2022 at 2:38:57 PM Yes. I remember suicide drills when someone was messing around. The dreaded, "Everybody on the line!" "Under 25 or we go again!" I hated going to practice sometimes. Always thought it was not fair that everyone got punished because one or two players were messing around. I prefer the "non-participation" route, and started implementing that on the youth team I was coaching. I tell my kids, "I will never take you out of the game or sit you down because you make a mistake. The only time I will take you out (besides being hurt or tired) is if you are not showing effort, are messing around, and are not playing as a team. " I think it motivated a lot of the kids to focus and play together. I tell my kids, We run so that we learn to play tired, so that in the game, when we need to go that extra step, we can do so. Like     login   register Rich Wankel says: 10/26/2022 at 5:38:37 PM YES !!! I agree 100% how it became “suicide “ and running as a punishment at the end of the practice or when goofing AFTER a discussion at the start of the season about conditioning being a good thong? Seems so counter intuitive. Foul shots missed to end a practice made or run? Which is it running is good or bad? Every player make two before we go home HS players tired promise them shots made equals go home. Plenty of opps to drill with running etc Like     login   register Michael Jewell says: 10/29/2022 at 7:32:43 AM I agree totally as it relates to not meeting behavioral expectations. That being said I do use push-ups or running usually when we don’t achieve a set goal(s) for a game or drill in practice. Like     login   register

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