Alexus Jimson-Miller – Upper Hand https://upperhand.com Wed, 20 Mar 2024 18:42:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://upperhand.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/cropped-New-small-sticker-logo-32x32.webp Alexus Jimson-Miller – Upper Hand https://upperhand.com 32 32 4 Ways to Build a Positive Sports Team Culture https://upperhand.com/4-ways-to-build-positive-sports-team-culture/ Tue, 19 Dec 2023 12:27:43 +0000 https://upperhand.com/?p=36387
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4 Ways to Build a Positive Sports Team Culture

Building and maintaining a positive sports team culture is important in creating a safe, enjoyable experience for athletes and coaches. Team culture is established by leaders (coaches) and reinforced by athletes who believe in it. This means that it’s truly the responsibility of coaches to decide they want to build a positive environment and work on it every day.

Figuring out where to start can be challenging, especially when dealing with teams composed of athletes who haven’t played their sport together before or if you’re coaching for the first time. Don’t worry, Upper Hand has you covered with 4 tangible things you can do to build a team culture that everyone is proud of.

While you’re here, don’t forget to check out our new Teams feature. Establishing a positive sports team culture just got easier when managing scheduling, payments, and team communication with Upper Hand.

1. Establish clear values and be the example

Team culture can be defined as the energy, traditions, and values of a group of people working toward a shared goal. A great way to kickstart an awesome team culture is to establish clear values and model those values as coaches and mentors. These values can include expectations for how to approach team participation such as hard work, teamwork, and responsibility. They may also include rules about how to treat each other on or off the court like sportsmanship, kindness and respect.

You should establish values that are simple enough for the age group you’re working with to understand and applicable enough for them to reiterate in all types of situations. Sometimes athletes need a little reminder in times of adversity or during a tough game that as a group they can still work together and they can still respect one another. As coaches, athletes often look up to you and if they see you working hard, sticking together as a staff, and respecting yourselves, they’re more likely to buy in and do the same. Practice what you preach and show your athletes how it’s done.

2. Balance accountability with encouragement

While it may be the not-so-fun part of coaching, holding your team accountable is crucial in building a positive sports team culture. It teaches them that there are consequences for actions that don’t align with team values and can help redirect them to a behavior or perspective that’s more positive. You may need to sit them down for a serious talk or repeat certain drills until they give their full effort when they’ve forgotten to work as a team or to show good sportsmanship. Holding your team accountable doesn’t mean highlighting every little mistake, but it does mean putting the well being of your team first.

It’s also important to note that an environment of solely accountability with no encouragment can be a recipe for disaster. This can definitely dampen the spirit of the team and make it difficult for them to see the fun in their sport. Balancing accountability with encouragement lets them know that the structure you’re providing is coming from a place of care. Words of encouragement, highlighting accomplishments often, and never forgetting to mention small improvements along the way lets them know that you see their hard work paying off and you enjoy being their coach.

3. Let your athletes take the wheel

Empowering your team to apply the skills they’ve learned gives them a sense of ownership over their experience. Feeling like they have a true say in influencing their own sports team culture can result in deeper investment and buy-in among them. This empowerment can come in many forms, from letting athletes lead certain drills to incorporating team captain input during pre-match pep talks and huddles. Letting athletes take the wheel in this way may give you insight into what they feel their team strengths and weaknesses are or what they enjoy most. You can use this information to your advantage when planning future practices or upgrading your list of team values.

Providing opportunities for your team to recognize each other’s accomplishments is another great way for them to take the wheel. Take positive feedback from being exclusively coach driven to being and teammate driven as well. Whether they’re voting for each other to win superlatives like “Best Hustler” or sharing a positive insight from their match in a post-game huddle, this type of peer to peer recognition can lead to genuine camaraderie.

4. Have fun!

Sports can bring joy to coaches and athletes alike. On your teams, it’s always a good idea to supplement the gritty work you all do with something light hearted. While athletes may find their sport to be one of the biggest parts of their lives, it’s important to remind them that playing sports is something that should push them but still bring them a sense of accomplishment.

Games, jokes, music, and non-sport team building activities are all ways you can bring fun to the time you spend with athletes. There may be an activity or song that they associate with their time on the team that bring back awesome memories for years to come.

Related: 6 Creative Ways to Keep Athletes Engaged in Essential Drills

Ready to build a positive sports team culture?

Establishing clear values, holding your team accountable, appreciating athlete input, and having fun while doing it may come easy to you. But, if it doesn’t, we hope you’re able to take some of the examples and ideas above and apply them as you work to build and maintain your team’s positive culture.

All it takes is one coach who cares and one team that feels like home to change an athlete’s life for the better. Your team’s culture plays a role in that. Every day won’t be perfect, but ensuring athletes show up to a safe, enjoyable environment will always be rewarding no matter if you win, lose, or draw.

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]]> Keep your Balance: 3 Ways to Utilize the Upper Hand Balances Report https://upperhand.com/3-ways-to-utilize-upper-hand-balances-report/ Tue, 10 Oct 2023 19:54:13 +0000 https://upperhand.com/?p=34626
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Keep your Balance: 3 Ways to Utilize the Upper Hand Balances Report

 More money, more problems, right?

Wrong!

With Upper Hand’s Balances Report you can manage client balances with ease. At first glance, the default filter on the Balances report will reveal any balances greater than zero (i.e. any outstanding balances that you need to collect) on that given day. Here, you can pay down or waive these balances. But, removing the default filter opens a host of additional ways to utilize this report and we’re here to show you how to do just that. Let’s dive in.

 

3 Additional Ways to Utilize the Upper Hand Balances Report

1. Remove the default filter to view payment history

To start off simple, you can remove the default filter (Balance> $0.00) to reveal all payments processed within Upper Hand. This is a great way to review your client payment history and manage all transactions as needed, not just balances.

For your most active clients, it can be difficult to search through hundreds of orders to find specific transactions. Removing the default filter and searching by a specific client’s name will allow you to see their full payment history for the time period you have selected. This filtering option gives you an easy way to quickly find previous payments to refund, manually submit outstanding payments, and see the client’s most popular purchases all without leaving the page.

 

2. See unique buyers in a specific time period

Additionally by removing the default filter you can see the total number of unique buyers, the number of clients who have made a purchase, in a specific time period. This can give you great insight into your client purchasing behavior and help you make decisions that continue growing your business.

For example, if you made $500 in revenue in a given day, does that break down to 1 client making a large purchase or 5 clients making smaller purchases? You can use this data to increase marketing campaigns to encourage your most active clients to spend more or adjust pricing to get less active clients in the door.

 

3. View item quantities and compare event packages

In similar fashion, you can also use the Balances Report view the quantity of packages clients have purchased. For example, if clients registered for training, you can see if they went with 4-pack of lessons or an 8-pack of lessons. You can export this information to see what you’ve sold and determine which packages are successful. Then, you can use what you’ve learned to refine your offerings and make decisions about programs or packages that are most popular.

You can use this same process to assess your most popular events as well. If you narrow down your search by filtering to a specific product type (with the default filter still removed) you’ll see all of the purchases clients have made under that category in a given time period. This is helpful because if you have 2 or 3 events under the category of “Training” for example, you can see which event is being purchased most frequently. Then, you can take elements of your most popular event and apply them to events that need a little more attention.

 

Ready to leverage your Balances Report to it’s full potential?

Overall, the Balances Report is truly a great way to stay on top of outstanding payments and a powerful tool to learn more and make decisions about your business. Unlock the power of this report by utilizing the available filters, the search option, and the export feature to get the insights you need. Whatever your goals may be, don’t forget to use the Balances report to stay on track.

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]]> 5 Characteristics of a Great Sports Coach https://upperhand.com/5-characteristics-of-a-great-sports-coach/ Thu, 07 Sep 2023 12:21:49 +0000 https://upperhand.com/?p=34187

5 Characteristics of a Great Sports Coach

From little league to the pros, sports bring an excitement that is truly unparalleled. The athletes that play these sports are some of the most recognizable and admired people on the planet. But, where would these athletes be without their coaches?

The truth is that some athletes would still be extraordinary, however, there are an even greater number of athletes that may not have learned vital life lessons, received unwavering support for the first time in their lives, or felt like they were part of something bigger than themselves if a coach didn’t uplift and push them to their full potential. These are the unforgettable coaches, the ones that remind us that we can do anything we put our minds to.

Are you this type of coach? If you aren’t sure, keep reading to learn about the 5 characteristics that make a great sports coach. If you already know you’re a great sports coach, keep reading and maybe you’ll learn something new that you can add to your coaching toolbox.

 

1. You’re in it for the athletes

It’s a great feeling to be the coach of hard working athletes. Their success feels like your success and can bring a host of positive emotions for everyone involved. While some coaches may just be in it just for that winning feeling, one of the things that makes you a great coach is being in it for a little bit more than that.

Great coaches combine their competitive edge with a passion for teaching and mentorship. Great coaches also take pride in helping others reach their goals and work to create environments that teach lifelong skills. When you’re in it for the athletes and relieve yourself of the winning as the only measure of success, it opens the door to so much connection between you and the athletes you coach. It may only take one heart to heart conversation, one training camp experience provided by your staff, or one team bonding experience that changes the life of an athlete for the better.

 

2. You’re patient

Patience is a valuable skill to take into any career or passion. Practicing patience is especially important when it comes to coaching. We live in a complicated and sometimes unpredictable world that can throw challenging things our way. Whether you’re dealing with internal team obstacles such as a losing streak or external obstacles like weather delays, it will always be up to you as the coach to set the tone for your athletes as you respond to these challenges.

Modeling and teaching patience can translate on and off the court for your athletes. Displaying patience when athletes make honest mistakes can help them understand that not every misstep in life deserves a meltdown. Setting aside practice time for athletes to work on specific skills shows them that progress often takes perseverance. And putting a calm and collected foot forward during a weather delay shows them they can handle tough situations with grace. These are just a few examples of the ways that great sports coaches incorporate patience while continuing to nurture athlete success.

 

3. You’re knowledgeable about your sport

You don’t have to know everything, but a great sports coach is knowledgeable about the sport they’re coaching. It’s key to understand the rules of the game and the skills athletes must master to win, improve, and reach their goals.

Sports are always evolving. It seems like every year there’s a new technique or new technology that is transforming training. The cool thing about great sports coaches is that they know there’s always more to learn. As a forever student of the sport, you study everything from tykes to professionals to find the right drills, game prep, or workouts to prepare your athletes for greatness.

Related: How to Keep Athletes Engaged in Essential Drills

 

4. You’re an expert in effective communication

Great coaches know that communication goes beyond just calling plays or showing up for practice. A great coach understands how to break down difficult concepts, provides correction without humiliation, and makes certain that they’re on the same page with their athletes. If there is any miscommunication a great sports coach always takes responsibility and improves their methods as needed.

Taking the time to learn the best ways to relate with the athletes you coach also makes it easier for them to focus and commit to training. This could show up as learning common terminology your athletes use so you can speak their language or encouraging them in ways they find supportive. As you better understand your athletes and they better understand you, the lines of communication remain open and honest.

 

5. You understand winning

There’s truly no feeling like winning. But, winning isn’t just crossing the line first or scoring more points. A great coach knows that winning can be so much more.

Winning may be defined differently as you coach new athletes and guide new teams. For some athletes, winning a state championship, improving free throw percentage, or learning a new position may be the highlight of their season. For others, it may be sticking it out through a tough personal situation and showing up everyday ready to compete. Great coaches take pride in helping athletes figure out what winning looks like for them. They encourage athletes to reach higher and push through roadblocks to get to their desired goals. And lastly, great sports coaches know that winning is fun. Both the journey along the way and the win itself can be made better when coaches incorporate fun activities and prioritize celebrating athletes as they grow in the sport.

 

Ready to elevate your coaching game?

There’s no such thing as a perfect coach and there’s so many more qualities that make a great one than we listed here. What we know for sure is that great coaches are separated by the positive impact they leave on their athletes and their unwavering passion for their sport.

We hope you see yourself in the qualities above, but if you struggle with one or more of these skills you always have time to improve or learn something new. Don’t be afraid to pick up a book or connect with a coach you look up to as you explore more ways to help athletes succeed.

You got this, coach!

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