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GREEN CARDS
For well over a century soccer has had its penalties and infractions. Both are managed by a color-coded card system that reprimands, warns or removes players who break the rules. For visual representation, there is the yellow card signaling caution. A soccer player receiving two yellow cards in one match is sent out of the game. For more serious infractions, there is the red card signaling stop and resulting in the player having to leave the game with no other warning.
As the game has grown in popularity, it has reached younger and younger audiences. Unfortunately, no one has really thought through whether this age-old method of managing infractions is really a proper teaching methodology for the game. When working with children, we at Chill SBC contend that the teaching method is negative and punitive. It does not teach children the game in a positive way.
To change this paradigm, we have developed Green Cards, which are used by every one of our staff members while they are coaching. The idea is to identify a child doing something positive, point it out and 'book them' a green card. As coaches our goal should be to identify as many positive situations as possible.
Children learn best when they connect repeated actions with constructive comments. When these actions are rewarded, complimented and noticed it makes the learning process that much more clear and enjoyable. A coach who uses Green Cards does just that. Each one says GO! Do it again! It shows others what is right so that they can imitate the behavior of the Green Card recipient and they can then work to seek out their own green light to go.
The beauty of this process is that it is simple. When coaching we must develop the ability to find something positive in every child that helps build each individual's strength and enhance their team's performance.
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