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When coaches and parents do not have a shared perception of what the team is about, kids are caught in the middle. And when they are, the kids usually do what the parent says. This kids-in-the-middle dynamic is at the root of most problems in youth sports today.

More and Better information For Players About the Coaches and Parents

The team is a system consisting of groups of Parents, Coaches, Players and the wider Organization. The PCT process provides a optional role in which the Player team Captain(s) can participate in the PCT meeting with Parents and Coaches. This feature provides a channel of feedback for the entire team of Players to receive information on the meeting. The meeting is experienced by Captains, and feedback is generated by the Captains, who bring it to the Players and distribute it to Players.

Alignment of Coaches and Parents in Terms of Team Goals and Objectives

The Captains can gain valuable leadership experience and life lessons through the PCT process. But the broader benefit to the Players is that Parents and Coaches are now communicating regularly ....and more and more in sync with each other than ever before.

Parents and Kids are now discussing the team in terms of the effects of the PCT meeting. This plays out in the car drive, to and from practices and games.This is a huge benefit to the Kids, who now learn from Parents about how the Parents and Coaches are communicating, and the content of that communciation.

It is not required for Captains to attend the PCT meeting for Parents and Kids to receive these direct benefits. These benefits are generated by the Parents and Coaches attending the PCT meeting periodically.

Reduced Stress for Kids by Reducing the Number of Roles a Kid Holds

When the Parents and Coaches have a shared perception of the goals of the team, both groups can be more effective in achieving those goals. When the Kids hear a consistent and clear message from Parent and Coach, the result is less stress for the kids. Kids can now focus on learning and fun, rather than attempting to navigate difficult and largely dysfunctional Parent-Coach relationships.

The stress for Kids comes from holding dual roles. For example a Player plays for Coach, but never steps out of the Child role with Parent. If an individual child perceives a conflict between the obectives of Coach and the objective of Parent, the result is huge levels of stress-- as that Kid tries to act within the Child and Player role simultanously during games and practices.

Adjustments During Season Lead to More Enjoyment of the Experience for Kids

Kids gain a better experience through group-level adaptation and learning. The PCT process tends to encourage adaptation and adjustment to changing "here and now" conditions.

The primary mechanism is the recurring, structured PCT meeting.

The meeting provides a way for the entire team to generate feedback, and for that feedback to be perceived by Coaches, Parents and Players. The generated feedback encourages lots of learning. When Parents, Coaches, and Players are adjusting to new information quickly, the entire system becomes more adaptive and effective in executing on the stated task.

In practice, this means that Players are having better experience because the entire system of Player, Coaches, Parents and Organization is learning and adapting and getting better at achieving the task. This plays out in practices and games as the entire set of groups get better and better on executing on the task. Kids benefit directly as these adjustments are introduced into the system.

Kids Learn that Experimenting While Learning is MORE THAN OK-- it is essential

If the Parents and Coaches are adapting, they are certainly experimenting with adjustments and making small mistakes. The PCT process with the recurring-meeting feature makes is possible to take corrective action when an adjustment is just not working. Each meeting provides an opportunity to make corrections. And since the commitment to any adjustment is low, it is OK to admit failure there and try something else.

This is exactly what works when executing any high-change, complex task. Executing as a team during games is such a task. When the entire system of Parents, Coaches, Players and the greater Organization is involved in inspect-and-adapt loops, the Players learn that it is OK to make small mistakes when learning. This is an important lesson for our children to learn. Small mistakes are OK as you navigate new learning. The PCT process helps Coaches and Parents model that inspect-and-adapt style of learning which must include mistakes- which are OK if we learn from them.