Giving Athletes Voice and Choice

Creating opportunities for athletes to provide their input, thoughts, and opinions develops their critical thinking and problem-solving skills while giving them control and ownership over their own experiences.

Athletes who are invited to share their feelings and thoughts about their team and participate in crafting team routines and values are set up to develop self-agency and self-advocacy and tend to feel more connected and engaged. In addition, encouraging youth voice and choice helps them feel heard and valued.⁽¹⁾

To instill athlete voice and choice on their team, coaches can:

Collaborate with players to…

• Create team agreements – i.e. We’ll try our best, respect each other, and have fun.
• Develop pre and post game routines – i.e. before each game, players huddle up and say something encouraging about the team.

Ask open-ended questions so athletes can expand upon their thoughts.