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Teaching Kids in 140 Characters

By Minnesota Hockey, 10/24/16, 10:00AM CDT

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To say today’s generation of kids are growing up in a digital world is a major understatement.

A recent report by the American Academy of Pediatrics states children now begin interacting with digital media at the age of four months and most one-year olds (92%) have already used a mobile device. By the time kids reach the age of 10, nearly 60% of them will have used a social network, and teenagers ages 14-17 send a median of 100 text messages every single day.

What impact will that type of relationship with technology have on the development of this generation? That’s a question that will keep researchers busy for many years to come.

A more pressing question for coaches and teachers may be how to best adapt the way we communicate to kids in this digital age.

Ironically, the answer may come from a social network. When Twitter first came out, the 140 character limit seemed ridiculous to many. How can you possibly express yourself in such little space? It’s safe to say the world has changed a bit since then.

Society now emphasizes rapid communication and kids, who have historically had shorter attention spans than adults, are at the leading edge. Adjusting to shorter, more direct ways of communicating may be the most effective way for coaches, teachers and parents to communicate with kids on a day-to-day basis.

Here are a few tips on teaching kids in 140 characters:

The here and now – Focus on situations that will occur on the next shift or in the near future. That will give you the greatest chance of influencing behavior.

Concepts are more impactful – Developing specific skills is better suited for practice. During games, stick to teaching concepts that kids are likely to experience frequently such as keeping his/her stick on the ice. The same is true off the ice. Teaching kids they should leave each room better than they found it will be more likely to produce the intended result than instructing them to throw their tape in the garbage.

If you need to correct skills or tactics, say it to the entire team – Occasionally, there are details that should be addressed. Whether it’s keeping shifts to 30-40 seconds or being taught how to fold laundry correctly, make sure to communicate it to everyone.

Pictures are worth a thousand words....or more – There’s a reason images and videos are more popular than all-text posts on social media sites. If you can draw it or demonstrate it while explaining quickly, do it.

Reinforce good behavior – If there was ever a question about the importance of positive reinforcement in our society, the like buttons on social media sites have confirmed it. Make a point to notice the skills kids do right and let them know you can tell how much they’re trying to improve. You may be surprised how quickly they repeat it. 

Put the phone down – Just like there are times when kids need to learn to put their phones or tablets or video games away, there are also times when it’s okay to let kids experience things and learn on their own.

When the American Development Model was originally introduced, the phrase, “no laps, no lines, no lectures” was coined to describe the station-based approach to practices. The main goal of the philosophy was to keep kids, especially at the youngest levels, active and engaged throughout every practice because research showed it was the best way to make the game fun and help kids develop.

In today’s society, the same philosophy may be the key to any type of learning. 

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