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Cooperative Style Caachin Coaches share with the athletes the making of decisions in this style. Although they recognize their responsibility to provide leadership and guide children toward achieving the objectives set forth, cooperative style coaching also recognizes that youngsters cannot become responsible adults without having the opportunity to share in the decision making. Cooperative style coaches provide athletes with the structure and rules that make it possible for athletes to develop the capacity to set their own goals and to learn to strive for them. Being a cooperative style coach does not mean you avoid rules and order; to not structure the activities of the team is to neglect a major responsibility of being a coach. The cooperative style coach gives direction and provides instruction when it is needed, but also knows when it is useful to let athletes make decisions and assume responsibility. The cooperative style coach places more trust in the athlete, which has a positive effect on his or her self image. It changes the social -emotional climate to one of greater openness. The cooperative style improves communication and also motivation. Athletes are motivated not out of fear of the coach, but for their personal satisfaction. Thus, the cooperative style is almost more fun for athletes. What makes a successful each' 1. Knowledge of the sport - There is no substitute for knowing well the techniques, rules, and strategies of the sport you coach. Sometimes we believe it is less important to have this knowledge when teaching beginning compared with advanced atletes, but this assumption is false. In fact, teaching the fundamentals well to beginning athletes requires as much knowledge, if not more, as coaching professional athletes. A lack of knowledge in teaching skills risks injury and frustration from repeated failure. The more knowledge you have of the basic skills of a sport, and the more you know about teaching these basic in proper sequence, the more fun you and your athletes will have. Moreover, your ability to teach these skills will earn you a great deal of respect from the youngsters, for they place high values on them. This respect gives you credibility, which you can use in teaching young athletes other important things, such as sportsmanship, emotional control, respect for others, and respect for themselves. 2. Motivation to be a good_ coach - You can have all the skills and knowledge in the world, but without motivation to want to use them, you will not be a successful coach. Indeed, when you come across the youngster who has the ability but not the motivation to develop into an excellent athlete, you will know full well the importance of motivation. Sometimes coaches have the motivation but they don't have the time. Or stated another way, they don't have sufficient motivation to make the time for doing the things necessary to be a successful coach. We hope you have the motivation; young people need the time.