Schools focus on 'positive coaching'

One of the definitions of "positive" is to: Eliminate Negative. Develop a Positive and Proactive Attitude.

Coaching legends Phil Jackson and Dean Smith, Olympic Gold medalists Dot Richardson and Summer Sanders, former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley, and former Green Bay Packer Ken Ruettgers share the same definition of "positive" as Sisters High School principal and coach Bob Macauley.

Each is a member of the Positive Coaching Alliance. And they all share the same belief of emphasizing character building and life lessons through the positives of sports competition.

Though they all succeeded impressively in the sports spotlight, they are everyday proof of off-the-field successes in life. And each is quick to point to sports participation and interaction as keys to their successes.

Jackson, who has nine NBA championships as coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, says his involvement in the PCA is simple. "It brings more rewards off the field than on the scoreboard."

Smith is the second-winningest collegiate basketball coach of all time, Richardson (now a surgeon) was a Gold Medal-winning softball player and Sanders won Olympic Gold in swimming. Bradley was not only a Gold Medal winner in basketball, but also a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University before starring in the National Basketball Association and prior to his political career as a U.S. Senator and presidential candidate.

Macauley is a local icon for his successful football coaching and also played in the Canadian Football League after an award-winning college career at Boise State. Under his tutelage, the Outlaws football team reached the state finals six times, winning three Oregon Championships

Ruettgers, who makes his home in Sisters and is an assistant coach with the Outlaws football team, played 12 years with the Green Bay Packers. He was the seventh player taken in the 1985 NFL draft after earning All-American honors at the University of Southern California.

That's impressive company.

Ruettgers, Macauley and a handful of other Sisters coaches and residents have spent months researching and discussing the values of the Positive Coaching Alliance and have started their own Sisters Positive Sports Alliance.

Since PCA's founding at Stanford University in 1998, more than 1,100 schools and youth sports organizations throughout the country have used the research-based techniques to:

• Prepare youth athletes from preschool through high school for success in life on and off the playing fields;

• Emphasize character education and life lessons through sports;

• Become outstanding educational athletic programs, using a PCA Roadmap to Excellence to create a shared vision among organizational leaders, coaches, parents and athletes.

One of the key goals of the PCA is to assist double-goal coaches, those who teach coaching for winning and life lessons through positive coaching.

Sisters High School coaches got their introduction to the benefits of PCA last fall when Tom Harrer, a local physical therapist and former volleyball standout, brought a PCA training "coach" to SHS for a morning clinic.

Harrer, who was involved with PCA for six years while working in Hawaii before moving to Sisters two years ago, said he discovered PCA philosophies as a great way to teach life lessons through sports.

"Sisters has a lot of outstanding coaches and PCA is something that can make an outstanding group better," said Harrer. "We thought the workshop would be very beneficial. It was a good introduction to PCA."

Now the group of coaches want to give the community an introduction to positive coaching philosophies. Two meetings will be held Wednesday (Jan. 14) at SHS. A basic overview of what PCA offers will be offered at no charge to coaches of all levels. The morning meeting is slated for 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., while the evening meeting will be from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

But Harrer is quick to note it isn't just for coaches.

"It's for community leaders, residents ... anyone involved or interested in youth sports," said Harrer. "Let's begin the dialogue by getting more people informed on the reason the PCA model of coaching coaches, athletes, parents, and educators is a valuable tool to create a positive sports culture thereby transforming youth sports, so sports can transform youth to succeed in sports, school and life."

In addition, these sessions will be an opportunity to learn what PCA is and is not.

"The Sisters Positive Sports Alliance has brought the message that PCA intends to help to make Sisters Sports programs that are good .... even better. This is done by using principles and positive language throughout the school and community programs," said Harrer.

There are several areas the PCA focuses on: The coach; the athlete; the parents; the school; and community leadership.