Saturday, August 10, 2013

KEEPSAKES FOR YOUR PLAYERS

As a coach you always hope each of your players have positive memories of playing on your team.  There are always plenty of positive memories that fill each season.  This blog entry lists some keepsakes that you can put together for each of your players to help them remember the experiences of being a member of the team you coach.
  
SEASON STAT BOOKLET
Create a booklet in a simple three pronged folder that includes:
  • A copy of the game schedule with scores from each game.
  • A copy of each box score from every game played.
  • A copy of your season's cumulative statistics
SEASON SCRAPBOOK
If you have a local newspaper that writes about your team you can create a scrapbook for each of your players.  Cut out and copy every article that was written about your team from all media outlets.  Use a three-hole punch to put together a scrapbook in a three pronged folder.

PHOTOS ON A DVD
You need to find a person who is willing to be in charge of taking game action pictures of your players.  One idea is to assign this as one of the duties of a team manager.  Put the pictures on a DVD, add some music to the background, and you have a full season of visual memories.  You could even have your manager take pictures of the team in practice, at team meals, getting an ankle taped, stretching before practice or games, and at team functions for some candid pictures.

PLAYER'S WRITTEN MEMORIES
Ask each player to write an entry (no longer than one page) that explains some of their favorite memories of the team and season. Copy each player's entry and put it into a folder for each player.

HIGHLIGHT DVD
Go through each game and put together a highlight DVD of some of the better made plays from the season.  Include plays from each player.