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The Process
The PCT process revolves around a
periodic meeting run by the head Coach and optionally attended
by Parents
and Observers. The meeting is followed by a brief written response
by the Head Coach.
The meeting has specific Ground Rules, Roles,
Boundaries and Tasks.
The Tasks
are duties
or responsibilities related to a specific Role. The Head Coach,
for example, executes on the Task to start the meeting on time,
while those in the Parent role are required to execute on the
Task of answering questions. Those in the Role of Observer have
a responsibility to remain
silent and not speak during the meeting.
All attendees at a PCT meeting take up specific
Roles and have associated Tasks. These Tasks are responsibilities
and duties
associated
with
a given Role. You may wish to examine the Glossary
of Terms as a starting point for study of PCT.
Glossary of PCT Terms-
The list of terms used to describe and discuss the PCT process.
Frequently Asked Questions-
The list of questions commonly asked by Coach and parents.
The Parent / Coach Communication Problem
Why bother with the PCT at all? Because there
is a problem, and the entire problem is this: Most teams have one Parent
group meeting at the start of the year. From there, the season
begins and there are no more Parent group meetings scheduled
! Meanwhile, the season grinds on, generating
a very large but unmet need for Coaches and
Parents to engage in ongoing, 2-way communication.
If you are new to Youth Sports, you may find
this description ridiculous, and very hard to believe. But, believe
it or not, this is what actually happens.
If you have experience as a Coach or Parent,
you know that this
is
the way
it
actually is.
How
does
this happen?
Coaches rationally avoid meeting
with Parents as a group, for many reasons. The chief reason is
that the meeting can become a 'gripe session' where Coaches feel
attacked and potentially, unappreciated. Since most Coaches are
not 'managers', they end up avoiding any meeting with a group
of Parents during the season.
But- this avoidance
leads to all sorts of dysfunctional behavior
as the season grinds on. The lack of communication can and
does become standard operating procedure- with predictable
results.
With no real communication between Parents and Coaches at
the group level, both groups fail the Kids. Taken to
extremes, individual Parents may even 'give up' on approaching
the Coach
about anything at all. Kids end up in the middle. It does not
have to be this way. This lack of communication fails the Kids.
What is needed is a set of ground rules under
which Coaches and Parents may periodically meet and communicate.
From there, a shared understanding between Parents and Coaches
can develop. Once that shared understanding develops, the Kids
can relax as Coach and Parent start saying the same thing to
the Kid. The Kid can take up the single, simple Role of
Player and JUST PLAY THE GAME.
This is the entire objective of the PCT--
and what the PCT meeting process is all about. The Parents /
Coaches TImeout is
a tool for Coaches to effectively
communciate
with
the Parent
group.
Effects
When you implement the PCT, you may experience:
o Coaches paying more attention to the Parent
group
o Parents who act as a team, and self-organize
around preparing for and attending the next PCT meeting
o Coaches who exhibit a much more adaptive
style of coaching than previously
o Players who become more relaxed and have
more fun playing organized sports
o Players who advance skills more rapidly
than previously
o Individual Parents who tend to get more
engaged in volunteer activities inside the Organization
o An Organization that is steadlly growing
o A tendency for individual Parents to perceive
Team-level concerns as FAR more important that any one individual
Player-level concern
o Player teams that are highly adaptive and
execute better in game situations
o Parents groups who become highly adaptive
and better at helping the entire Player team evolve
o An Organization that is highly adaptive
and better aligning overall efforts with intended overall results
Parents/Coaches Timeout Meeting Executive
Summary
The PCT Process is simple, and simple to describe:
0. Coaches schedule the recurring meeting
at a convenient, recurring time, in the same place every
time for the entire season.
1. Head Coach conducts PCT meeting in accordance
with the the PCT Roles, Tasks and Boundaries listed below. Other
participants in other Roles agree in advance to absolutely honor
the PCT meeting Ground
Rules, and to do the simple Tasks related to the Role they assume
during attendance.
2. Meeting is limited to 25 minutes, and starts
and ends strictly on time. Head Coach asks three specific questions
to the Parent group:
a) What is going well with the team?
b) What
is NOT going well with the team?
c) What are the obstacles the
team faces between now and the next meeting?
3. Parents respond in whatever way they choose,
consistent with Ground Rules and Parent role boundaries (listed
below)
4. Meeting is over when all Head Coach questions
have been answered, or the 25 minutes is up.
5. Within 24 hours, Head Coach issues a written
response (called Followup) about the meeting, and distributes
it to attendees. This is usually an email.
This process repeats on a predictable, known
schedule throughout the season.
The PCT process acts as a hub, a hub that
provides periodic, actionable feedback to all the agents in the
system:
Roles
People may participate in only ONE of 6 roles
when attending the PCT. When they attend, they are formally in
one (and only one) of the following formal roles in the PCT process:
Head Coach: The single person
with final authority concerning Coaching decisions for the team
Assistant Coach(es):One or
more qualified persons who are authorized by the Head Coach to
formally assist the Head Coach in coaching the team
Parent(s): Any natural parent
or step-parent with a Player on the team
Team Captain(s): Players
who have been elected Captain(s) of the team.
Observers: Any adult person
who is explicitly authorized by the Head Coach to attend.
Facilitator: A person to
whom the Head Coach confers authority to maintain the integrity
of the process and administer the PCT Ground Rules, Roles,
Tasks and Boundaries during the PCT meeting.
Facilitators are used only in rare cases where
Head Coach has difficulty maintaining PCT process Ground Rules
and associated Roles, Tasks, and Boundaries (see below)
NOTE: No other Roles are
defined in the PCT process and each participant in any one meeting
may occupy and act in one and ONLY one Role. This means that
an Assistant Coach with a Kid in the program may not
switch
to
Parent
Role
in the
middle of the meeting. This means a Organization President has
no defined role in the PCT meeting except as a Head Coach, Assistant
Coach, Parent, Observer or Facilitator. He or she must assume
one of these roles and honor the Boundaries of that Role (and
perform the Tasks associated with that Role) to participate in
the meeting.
These are ALL the roles and there are no other
Roles available in the PCT process.
NOTE: This also means there
is no role of "Child" defined in the PCT. This is important
to note if you choose to allow Team Captain(s) to participate.
If a Captain attends while his Parent is also attending, the
Kid may feel a need to navigate the Child and Captain role simultaneously.
This is the reason for one of the important Parent boundaries
listed below.
Detailed PCT Ground Rules for All
Roles:
0. The meeting occurs at the same time in
the same place periodically. For example "at 8:30PM, after
every Thursday practice weeks 2 and 4 of that month". The
process absolutely requires a regularly scheduled, recurring
meeting that occurs every "N" intervals of time throughout
the season. For example, every 2 weeks or every Wednesday evening.
1. When one person is speaking, all must listen
until that person is done speaking.
2. No person may join the meeting after the
meeting starts. The meeting officially starts when the door is
closed by the Head Coach. When the door is closed, no additional
attendees are permitted to enter.
3. Head Coach asks the 3 questions:
a) What is going well with the team?
b) What is NOT going well with the team?
c) What are the obstacles the team faces between
now and the next meeting?
4. Meeting is 25 minutes in duration. Meeting
is over when 25 minutes is up, and/or all 3 questions from Head
Coach are answered by Parents.
5. Except for emergencies, no person in attendance
may exit the meeting unless the Head Coach dismisses them
(per the PCT process) or
the Head Coach opens
the
door
and leaves; indicating the meeting is over.
6. If a Team Captain attends a PCT
meeting, none of his Parents may also attend that meeting. This
protects the Kid from the difficult position of being placed
in a dual role situation (both Team Captain, and Child at the
same time) When Team Captains are participating,
there is a risk of placing a Kid in two Roles at once: The role
of Team Captain, and role of Child. Note that the Child role
is not a Role defined in the PCT Process.
7. No attendee participating in a specific
Role may implicitly (through behavior) or explicitly (through
verbal
declaration)
switch out of, or into, any other role of any kind during a PCT
meeting. This means for example, that an participant in the Assistant
Coach
Role cannot answer questions
Head Coach questions that are answerable
only in Parent or Team Captain Role. This for example also means
Board members and Org Leaders who attend as Parents must stay
in Parent
Role
for
the duration of the meeting. Participants who may take up multiple
roles in the Organization are
expected to self-police their own behavior regarding Role, during
a PCT
meeting. If necessary the Head Coach may step in and administer
Role boundaries.
Detailed Roles, Task and Boundaries
Descriptions for all PCT Meeting Participants
Head Coach Role:
Tasks and Boundaries
Assistant
Coach Role: Tasks and Boundaries
Parent Role: Tasks
and Boundaries
Team Captain Role:
Tasks and Boundaries
Facilitator Role: Tasks and Boundaries
Observer Role:
Tasks and Boundaries
PCT Meeting and Assigned Seating Zones
Seating is very important as it provides important
signals and messaging about Role and associated commitment to
team. The PCT Process defines
specific Seating
Zones:
The PCT Meeting: Seating Zones Explained
Generating and using PCT Feedback
Loops Across the Entire Organization
The PCT can be used to actively solicit and
collect feedback from all teams in the entire organization.
If the recurring PCT meeting for all teams is held during weeks
2 and/or
4 in each month, the
organization can run a meeting on weeks 1 and/or 3 of the month
with all the Head Coaches. During this meeting the Organization
can get an immediate sense of what is working and what is not
across the entire system. At a minimum the Organization leader
can review the written Followup from each Head Coach to get a
sense of the dynamics at play on each team.
Glossary of PCT Terms-
The list of terms used to describe and discuss the PCT process.
Frequently Asked Questions-
The list of questions commonly asked by Coach and parents.
Are you using the PCT Process in
your Youth Sports organization? Please contact
me and tell me more-- I am keenly interested in receiving
a report of your experience with the PCT Process.
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The PCT Meeting