How to Motivate a Losing Team

Coaching youth sports has its challenges. In some cases, you might be leading team that just doesn’t have the same talent level as the competition. As a result, your group will more than likely fall short in the games and post a losing record. This can be demoralizing for the players, frustrating for the parents, and detrimental to the team’s image.

But it doesn’t have to be. Youth athletics is all about the silver lining - these are not contract players, and while winning is fun, it isn’t everything. There are ways to motivate your players and feel good about every game without ending up with the better score. Here are a few things to consider - and remember to make these visible on your sport team website.

Focus on team goals

Going into a game expecting to win every single time is not only unreasonable in most cases, it puts unfair pressure on the players to win. Ultimately, what is more important is that the team play as hard as it can and to the level that it can. Rather than measuring success in wins and losses, keep track of team goals like passing, effort and defensive intensity. That way, if you lose, you can still say the game was a success.

It takes two to tango

Sometimes, the team’s best effort just isn’t enough. This is a hard lesson that kids will have to learn throughout life, and sports provide the best way to learn it. It is okay to lose when the other team just had a better day. The ball won’t always bounce in the right direction. As a coach, you have to remind your team that there are events beyond their control and rather than dwell on them and wish they had turned out differently, it is best to turn their attention on the next game.

Growth is better than winning

Remember, you would rather have a team that finished in last place in the league, but made significant strides over the course of the season, than be the team that steam rolled competition and didn’t get any better. Youth sports is a way for kids to learn and grow, not an opportunity to prove they are better than another team. There is plenty of pride in progression, even if it means losing.

You can use team websites to remind and inspire your players, and establish goals outside of wins and losses.