Posts

Creating Genuine Team Unity with Dancers of All Abilities

Team bonding is such a big focus of the summer, but there are two important rules to team bonding. 1) You can’t force it and 2) You have to do it all year. One big challenge I hear from coaches who are trying to establish team unity is when…
journaling

How To Start Journaling With Your Dance Team

I often talk about the lessons I’ve learned after years of coaching. The things I would do differently, ideas I had late in the game, coaching practices I wish I had used more often. Today I want to talk about one of those lessons, in the…
positive reinforcement

The Special Power of Positive Reinforcement

Whenever I discuss the negative side to punishment, and why you should always avoid physical punishment I get questions about what to do instead. The focus is usually on the side of consequences. Coaches want to know, how do I get them to stop…

How to Write D.A.N.C.E. Goals that are Proven to Inspire

Goal setting is all about making a vision for what you want in the future, and then creating a real strategy to MAKE IT HAPPEN! Goal setting requires a clear plan for achievement, not just a statement of something you wish would happen in the…
communication

5 Fast Ways To Inspire Strong Team Cohesion Early In The Season

I feel like the term "team building" gets thrown around a lot, and we don’t always know exactly what to do, why, or how to help our team connect quickly. There are some old tried and true strategies, like playing “Heads Up” or other games…
dance team commitment and accountability

1 Big Reason Team Conflict Isn’t A Problem

If you’re like most coaches you probably get concerned whenever there is conflict on your team. Maybe you stay up late at night trying to decide how to fix it or worrying about the fact that the team isn’t getting along. If that’s…
captains

The Scary Truth About Voting For Captains

Many coaches encourage voting for captains as all or part of the selection process, and that’s a good thing. When you allow the team to participate in the process of selecting the captains there are some clear benefits. Especially over a…

10 Ideas To Include In Your End-Of-The-Year Banquet

At the end of the season, many teams have the tradition of celebrating with an end-of-the-year banquet. For me, it was one of my favorite nights of the year. After all, we know that our season is essentially 365 days a year and there often…

Technology & The Adolescent Brain

How to coach today's smartphone -addicted dancer If you feel like your dancers are more emotionally unstable than years before, there's a lot of research to support you. Because of technology, more and more people are growing up with a lack…
dance team commitment and accountability

3 Strategies to Guarantee Genuine Team Commitment

When an athlete quits in the middle of the season, it usually causes drama, stress, and a lot of extra work. Granted, sometimes it’s for the best (bye-bye drama queen and your insane mother!). Generally speaking, we want a culture of team…