Team-based sport is a fantastic vehicle through which coaches can teach young players about important core values and principles.

At KIKOFF, we believe that the right values and principles, delivered in the right way, can have a profoundly positive impact on the way a young person thinks about and interacts with the world around them, and the people within it.

That is precisely why we have developed the R.A.I.S.E.D.I.T principles and integrated them across our entire KIKOFF coaching program; attendees will emerge from our programs with a sound knowledge of each principle & how to apply it in a sporting context – we call this knowing it & showing it.

R.A.I.S.E.D.I.T

R.espect

Know it - is a way of thinking about, or treating, someone with compassion.

Show it - by being polite & kind – when you arrive at a session, shake your coach’s hand and say hello. Before you leave, shake your coach’s hand and thank them for the session. Make this a habit.

A.ssurance

Know it - is confidence in one’s own abilities.

Show it – by being unafraid of failure & preparing properly for every session – after every session, write down 3 things you think you did well and 1 thing you could have improved on; put them on your bedroom wall & read them before your next practice. Make this a habit.

I.ntegrity

Know it - is the personal quality of being honest, fair and true to yourself.

Show it – by giving your very best at every practice – after your session, go home and write down (out of 10) how hard you think you worked at practice tonight, Make this a habit.

S.portsmanship

Know it - is playing by the rules of a game, acting fairly towards team mates / opponents and being gracious in victory and defeat.

Show it - by applauding good play (team mates / opponents), not criticising another player & staying cool in victory and defeat – at the end of a game, line up as a team to shake hands with the opposition and applaud their efforts regardless of the outcome. Make this a habit.

E.xample

Know it - is being a person worthy of imitation; an exemplary player is someone who acts as a role model for other players to aspire to.

Show it - by stepping up as a leader in training tasks – when your coach assigns your team a task, be the first person to act, the first person to motivate others to act and the last person to criticise – lead by example. Make this a habit.

D.etermination

Know it - is the quality of continually trying to do, or achieve, something despite difficulty or setback.

Show it – by setting goals that are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound). Before your next session begins write down 3 things that you’d like to achieve in practice and a time frame for them e.g. do a believable step-over turn during a game by Week 10. Make this a habit.

I.ntellect

Know it - is the ability to think and reason logically about problems/challenges; an intellectual player is someone who enjoys the task of solving football problems and shows a keen focus on the task.

Show it – by engaging and contributing to Q&A with your coach. Listen carefully, be inquisitive, ask questions and, most of all,  immerse yourself in the activity; you’ll often discover a lot of answers through trial and error. Make this a habit.

T.eamwork

Know it - is a group of (2 or more) people working together to achieve a common goal. It is losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group. Seek to be an unselfish player who trust their team mates to do a job; don’t crush their space or nip in and take the ball off them if they’re struggling, encourage and teach each another.

Show it – by working together to strengthen individual weaknesses. During practice, if you see a team mate struggling with a particular skill that you’re good at, I’d like to see you offer help in teaching them how to improve. Make this a habit.