Coach's Lab with John Murphy

Redefining Success In Youth Sport - Petey Shaw Part 2

Apr 18, 2025
Petey Shaw, Director of Rugby at Terenure College, transforms youth sports by prioritizing enjoyment and participation over early wins. He discusses how removing pressure has boosted player involvement to over 90% and encourages multi-sport participation. Petey reveals innovative training methods, like informal games to increase touches and decision-making. He shares insights on redefining success through confidence metrics and creating inclusive environments, emphasizing that friendship, safety, and belonging should be at the core of youth sports.
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ADVICE

Let Kids Play Multiple Sports

  • Encourage students to play multiple sports and avoid forcing them to choose early.
  • Allow players to attend other sport finals and return to your program without pressure.
INSIGHT

Winning Isn't The Core Metric

  • Winning isn't the primary measure of youth success; enjoyment and effort matter more.
  • Players felt like the best team despite a 44% win rate because they enjoyed and pushed themselves.
ADVICE

Prioritise High-Volume Small-Sided Games

  • Use small-sided, informal games to massively increase touches, decisions and learning.
  • Replace long prescriptive drills with high-volume gamified play to accelerate skill acquisition.
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