PCT Process: Glossary of Terms

The following are terms (words and phrases) related to the PCT Process:

Assistant Coach
Authority navigation
Boundary
Captain
Child
Facilitator
Followup
Head Coach
Kid
Observer
Organization
Parent
Parent-group
PCT Meeting
Player
Role
Seating Zones
Self-organization
Task
Team Captain

Definitions

Authority- the conferred right to do work. Authority can be associated with a Task or Role. See also Boundary.

Assistant Coach- A Role in the PCT Meeting. Also, a person with authority conferred from Head Coach to do Coaching tasks on a his team.

Authority Navigation- The often stressful process of occupying 2 roles at the same time.

Boundary- A limit on a resource, Task, Role, and associated authority.

Child- A role that is under the authority of a set of individuals, typically a father and mother, who occupy the role of Parent.

Facilitator- In the PCT meeting, a Role that has authority to maintain the integrity of the PCT process during that meeting. This authority is conferred to the Faciliator by the Head Coach.

Followup- In the PCT process, following the meeting, Followup is the written communication from a single Head Coach to the entire Parent-group. This written communication is unilateral and does not require a response. The Parent-group may optionally respond to Followup at the next scheduled PCT meeting. Followup may be distributed as a paper document or in email form. Head Coach my optionally delegate the distribution Task. For example on a hockey team, Head Coach may choose to delegate to the Parent Manager the task of broadcasting the Followup to all Parents in the Parent-group.

Head Coach- The single point of all Coaching authority for a given team. Also a pivotal Role in the PCT Meeting.

Kid- In the PCT process, a Kid is a meta-role that may have to handle 2 other Roles, the Role of Player and the role of Child. Ideally, we do NOT want any Kid to have to be in both of these Roles at the same time. In the event Coach and Parent are not in total agreement, any Kid in both Roles at the same time must engage in Authority Navigation, a difficult task for adults and an almost impossible task for children. See also: Authority Navigation.

Observer- A specific defined Role in a PCT meeting. Observers may observe (watch and listen) but may not speak. See also Boundary.

Organization- The sponsoring entity who confers Authority to Coaches to perform the Coaching task. The Organization includes all the individuals who have any type or kind of governance role.

Parent- A specific defined Role for participation in the PCT meeting. In the PCT meeting, any one person can occupy at most one and only one Role for the entire duration of the meeting.

Parent-group: The set of all Parents who have Kids in the Player role on the team.

PCT Meeting- A periodic and recurring meeting run by the Head Coach. This meting has strict Ground Rules and defined Roles, Tasks and Boundaries. The purpose of the PCT meeting is to facilitate shared learning and adaption by all Coaches, Parents, Players and the sponsoring Organization.

Player-- A specific Role on a team. Ideally, when Kids are practicing and playing the game, they occupy this single Role and no other Role. In particular, Kids are likely to engage in more learning, become more adaptive, and have more fun when they occupy only the Player role (and no other) while practicing or playing the game.

Role- A is a set of connected behaviors, rights and obligations as conceptualized by actors in a social situation. It is mostly defined as an expected behavior in a given individual social status and social position. The PCT process defines six (6) possible Roles for attendance at a PCT meeting.

Seating Zones- Role-specific seating regions within the space where the PCT meeting is held. Seating is symbolic of the level of commitment each participant has to the team. As such, assigned and designated seating by Role is an essential aspect of the entire PCT process and the recurring meeting.

Self-organization: Self-organization is a process in which the internal organization of a system increases in complexity without being guided or managed by an outside source. The PCT process encourages the Parent-group to self-organize around the Task of PCT meeting participation.

Task- In the PCT process, a Task is associated with a specific Role. These Tasks have associated Boundaries. Tasks in the PCT process are obligations, responsibilities or duties that are required of the individual when occupying a PCT-defined Role in a PCT meeting.

Team Captain- A specific defined Role for a participant in a PCT meeting. The Team Captain may answer the 3 questions and in general has the same Boundaries as the Parent role during the meeting. Everyone in attendance at the PCT meeting occupies 1 and only 1 Role. Attending as a Team Captain can be tricky for Kids. Clarifying Roles at the start of the PCT meeting is the Task of the Head Coach. This Task is critical and needs to be doen explicitly when a Team Captain participates in a PCT meeting where one of his Parents (in ANY Role) is in attendance.

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.