Coaches Rewards System for your Gym

[kjf]

Hello Everyone!

I was wondering what a good rewards system would be for all age 4-17. I have thought about the sticker reward one, where you put there name on a board and they get stickers for good attitude and new skills. But that doesn't really work for the older groups. Is there any other way to make a reward system for all ages?

Thank-You!!

 

[CoachTodd]

My son's TaeKwonDo place gives them entry forms to put into a prize drawing bucket and they have prize drawings every so often.
Gymnastics team kids seem to like pizza parties or ice cream and such.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

pizza..........

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

when we get a new shipment of leo's one gymmie is selected to pick a free one. sometimes the coaches select. sometimes all the gymmies vote. sometimes it's a contest.

 

[gymnastgets10]

This year at my gym we are getting paper money for things like perfect attendence, new skills or stuck routines, which we will then spend at a flea market/raffle at the end of the year. Some girls are really motivated by it, others (like me) just think it's a nice bonus.

(since I recently started being a "helper" with some preschool classes, I feel ok posting in the coaches forum )

 

[Deanna]

At DDs gym...they give them play money (think monopoly..lol). In crazy amounts. Like $500 bill, $1000, $10,000bill..lol. They get such and such an amount for different things. If they get a skill they have been struggling with they get the $10,000. If they complete so many sets of such and such they get $1000. If they have pretty lines or such during their routine they get $500. They all get some "money" at the end of each practice. Today, Kadee got $10,000 because she climbed all the way to the top of the rope and rung the bell. (first time she has rung the bell..she has made it all the way up the last couple times..but too scared to let go with one hand long enough to ring it..lol. I dont blame her..its like 30-40 ft up there..and at 3 1/2 ft tall..thats a ways..lol)
They then can use their money to buy things like bottled water, a snacky thing (peanuts, granola bar, some kind of fruit). Or they can save it up and buy something like a gymnastics themed necklace, or waterbottle..ect. But since they give them insane amounts of money for their reward..then things cost an insane amount too..lol. Like a bottled water costs like $500..lol.

 

[CoachGoofy]

I think that concrete incentives are kind of ridiculous for gymnastics, especially as a constant thing (they should be motivated bc gymnastics is freaking awesome, not for a toy or sticker), but we did at one time have a new skills of the month poster. They got to write their name & new skill on a posterboard, & they really liked that.

 

[coachmolly]

I like the idea of giving rewards for good sportsmanship, work ethic, following directions, and all of those good things- either by themselves or in addition to small rewards/recognition for skill achievement. At the last gym I coached at we gave a "bring a friend" certificate to one child per class every so often. The coach/es would pick the child who showed the most progress, best listening, or anything that really stood out. The kids enjoyed the process and were anxious to behave well enough to get the reward. Currently I work with teenagers and they have a skill chart on the wall and can add a sticker and name of a new skill next to their name when they learn something new. It's a good system and some of the girls seem to enjoy it, but it doesn't really offer any recognition for anything beyond learning new skills.
I agree that incentives aren't necessary as I believe kids need to learn intrinsic motivation, especially in something like gymnastics where it can take months to learn a new skill or even though progress is definitely happening over that time. However, I also don't think there is anything wrong with offering small rewards every once in a while as long as the kids can still see the bigger picture and realize it's more about the process and love of the sport than the material reward every so often.

 

[slgc12]

what they do where i coach is they have a big gold bell that the kids get to ring when they get a new skill and the whole gym stops and watches the gymnast preform the skill and it have proven to be very effective.

 

[niklum]

In the past, I've had skill medallions, or circles, that we hung on the wall next to each event. When someone consistently got a new skill, whether they were class or team kids, they wrote their names, skill, and date on the circle and hung it up. Once a year I took them all down and compiled them into a list that I hung next to the gym door. The kids loved it! They worked hard to get their names on the wall and were proud to see that the list was a record of their yearly achievements.

 

[GymMom&Coach]

My preteam girls get a popsickle (I bought a HUGE box of ice pops for $3 at walmart. there is 85 in a box!!!) after they get a new skill. I also write them a congrats cert (I bought a few books of them at the $ store!) and I tape it on their locker!

 

[iwannacoach]

Years ago, I took an action shot of each team kid and had ten copies made of each one. Any time one of the girls would do something special, like progress on a new skill, sportsmanship, good grades, leadership, they got to "autograph" their photo and put it up on the wall. It was pretty fun because the rec kids really did think they were superstars, and It really helped boost morale for everyone in the gym.

 

[kholla]

We recently started a 'gymnast of the week' system. The criteria include being a good listener, being a respectful teammate, showing progress, and working hard. The gymnast of the week is announced at the end of the week. The coaches made a t-shirt that says "gymnast of the week" and the initials of our gym on the back with puff paint and gems. The winner gets to wear the t-shirt during warm ups every day of practice the next week, and also has their name and picture on the wall. They keep the shirt in their cubby during the week so they don't forget it at home.

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I'm not a fan of having reward systems for skills. The skills should be their own reward.

 

[GymMom&Coach]

I'm not a fan of having reward systems for skills. The skills should be their own reward.

I agree with this for older athletes, but preteamers or anyone under 10, they feed of off positive rewards. Why would you not want to show how proud you are of them and make them feel special for doing something great?

 

[Valentin]

I have done lots of things
1- I set a daily challenge (it ranged from 10 presses in a row, not talking, getting all work/assignments complete, improving significantly a skill etc..)..for those that accomplish it they get certain points.. easy challenges get 5, harder can get up to 15.. By end of month whomever has most points wins, and i get them a prize.. this could have been a t-shirt, a voucher, something. By being able to always change the challenges i could stress things i wanted more work on, and get them to stay focused on it.. It works pretty good. but when numbers get bit it got hard to manager
2- Along with 1 - i added daily challenges.. so for something like sticking a routine 5 points, completing conditioning, etc.. things that you would want always done in practice, but that don't always get done.. they would tally their points at the end of practice and and add to monthly total
1 and 2 were modeled on basically a the way video games work.. (i used it on boys, not sure how well it would transfer to girls)
3- Gymnast of the week is really good i have to say.
4- I setup a website for the team i was coaching, and posted videos and stuff of the kids on a youtube and club page as they got skills.. they always wanted to be filmed and get stuff to put up on YouTube

just a few things.. Overall thought, goal is to motivate and teach the to find that internal motivation.. So no matter what you use, I suggest change it up every 3-6 months, make sure that the it challenges them to be internally motivated to achieve it,