• Bolster confidence and motivate.
  Encouraging players to perform at their best and recognizing them for a job well-done can do so much to boost a child's self-esteem. Coaches can help youth set personal goals that are realistic and attainable.
• Teach concentration and relaxation.
  A coach can teach young people to focus their attention to keep them composed and performing at their best. These and other mental skills like progressive muscle relaxation and breathing exercises can give young athletes tools that they can use in all areas of their lives to help them to better relax under pressure.
• Provide perspective.
  At every level of play, athletes get stressed out when they put their ego on the line. Coaches can help young people separate their self-worth from their performance and redirect their attention to the fun aspects of the game. If a game is built up too much, or if a "must win" situation becomes too important, chances are ripe for disappointment and a quitting attitude later on.
• Prepare them for success.
  Through mental rehearsal and visualization, a coach can show youth that positive self-talk and constructive thoughts can influence outcome. Coaches teach young people how to put it all together and achieve their potential when it counts!

Just as coaches can influence youth in positive ways, there are things coaches can do to discourage development and motivation in youth. More and more of today's athletes and coaches are becoming sensitive to coaching behaviors that are abusive, demeaning, and publicly humiliating. While threats may provide short-term results, the long-term costs in terms of psychological health can be devastating. Using fear as a motivator takes the fun out of sports and leads to terrible performances that can damage self-confidence.
The National Youth Sports Coaches Association (NYSCA) has a coaching clinic designed to sensitize volunteer coaches to their responsibilities when working with children in sports. It makes them more aware of their responsibility to the psychological, physical, and social development of youth, and holds them accountable to a code of conduct defined by the NYSCA Coaches' Code of Ethics Pledge.

• More than 100,000 volunteers aid the State Games effort each year. The National Congress of State Games (NCSG) is a grassroots sports organization that is committed to the development of amateur sports. State Games offers more than 90 sports each year and provides motivational goals for amateur athletes of all ages and abilities. Currently, 44 member States conduct annual sport festivals, with more than 475,000 participants and 1.2 million spectators. Winners can compete nationally at the annual State Games of America, to be held August 6–9, 1999, in St. Louis, Missouri. Click here to learn more about volunteer opportunities with the NCSG in your State, or how to get a NCSG membership program organized in your State.
  
  Your local YMCA is an excellent way to volunteer as a coach through its YSPORTS program. Young people can enjoy caring adult attention while they participate in sports like basketball, softball, volleyball, gymnastics, tennis, or roller skate hockey. Find a YMCA near you.
  
• Special Olympics provides Olympic-type sports competition for people age 8 and above with mental disabilities. Last year, over a half million volunteers made this worthwhile program a continued success. Volunteers provide year-round sports training and help in many other capacities as well.
  
  
• For more inspiration, check out the The Sports Challenge site which introduces coaches and mentors online, and profiles their philosophies. This Australian prevention program recruits high profile basketball players and Olympians to instruct children who are not reaching their full potential. It is designed to challenge youth to promote positive mental health and to reduce physically and socially destructive behaviors.