What does it take to be a winning youth coach? Listen in as Coach Robert Taylor shares coaching stories and discusses his journey to becoming a successful coach.

Coach Taylor runs Smarter Team Training, which is involved with equipping and training athletes all over the world - his clients include Super Bowl champions, World Series champions, and players who have been drafted #1 in the NBA draft.  Coach is married and just had his first daughter.

Website: smarterteamtraining.com

STT Podcast: Coach Taylor hosts a radio show on iTunes and iHeart Radio - Half hour released every Sunday - interviewing coaches and athletes around the world - Join the 37,000 subscribers listening to over 280 episodes - STTpodcast.com

Twitter: @SMARTERTeam

Facebook: /smarterteamtraining

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Coaching/Leadership Quote

'At the youth level of sports - you don't want more reps- you want better reps.'

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My ‘Cringe’ Moment

One thing they don't teach you in college is how to value and develop relationships - with the athletes, the parents, your coaches

My ‘Ah-Ha Moment’

Stop chasing the word success and start chasing the word impact

Teaching Children & Keeping it Fun

Keep it fun!

Don't expect perfection - instead enjoy the process of incremental improvements

Have very few rules

'We don't do 10 reps.  We do one perfect rep ten times'

HUGE IDEA #1 - 'At the youth level of sports - you don't want more reps- you want better reps.'  More leads to drudgery and hating the sport.  Better leads to excitement and loving the sport.

Best Stolen Idea/Advice from another Coach

Praise in public.  If needed criticize in private.

Discipline

Have the kids take a picture of their bed made in the morning and send it to one of the coaches - 'You can't start the day undisciplined then expect to be disciplined the rest of the day'

Coach doesn't like making them run as a punishment - we want them to love exercise and running - so don't use it as a punishment.  'If they miss a layup - don't have them run - have them practice layups!'

Reward and Recognition

Count high-fives during a practice.  Then try to beat that number in a future practice.

At the end of practice - have players say something positive about a teammate.

Spend one practice evaluating players' GPA - Good Positive Attitude.  Are they giving a high-five coming off the field; are they picking up a teammate's water bottle, etc.   If there's a bunch of 4.0's - the team spirit is good, if not - think of ways to recognize those who have the best GPA to encourage the whole team to raise the GPA level.

Mental Edge

HUGE IDEA #2 - How do you de-emphasize the importance of the moment?  One method is a trigger mechanism - something you have practiced and evaluated what works with each individual - something to get the player to smile and realize it's just a game.  Maybe it's slapping your leg.  Maybe it's a teammate saying 'Spongebob is ugly', etc.  But you have to practice putting kids in those situations during practice!

The One that Got Away

Coach Taylor believes in living/playing present - so doesn't get caught up in reliving wins and losses in the past.

Favorite Quote/Book

Books: 'The Hinge- the importance of Mental Toughness' by Dr. Rob Bell; 'The Talent Code' by Daniel Coyle;  'Lead for God's Sake' by Todd Gongwer;  'The Sports Gene - Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance' by David Epstein

Authors: Brian Cain, Graham Betchart