Filling Their Emotional Tank with the Buddy System

Have you heard about young athletes filling their “Emotional Tank”?  I have to admit, I’m a bit late to the game on this concept.  But I LOVE IT!  I first learned about it from Jim Thompson and our friends at Positive Coaching Alliance.  In short, just like we feed our kids to fuel up before a game, and encourage them to hydrate, we need to make sure they go into competition with a full “Emotional Tank”.  Certainly parents and coaches can help keep the kids’ emotional tank full with compliments and motivation, but real teammates help fill each other’s emotional tanks.

 

Laugh if you want.  But I introduced the Buddy System to my daughter’s U10 soccer team and the girls took to it instantly.  In short, each girl was buddied up with another player and was in charge of filling their buddy’s emotional tank.  That meant celebrating their buddy’s accomplishments and helping to shake off their buddy’s mistakes.   It put the responsibility of positive reinforcement, leadership and accountability into the hands of these young players.  So, go ahead….give it a try.  And see an example of a coach putting the Buddy System into action here.