E n g L i s h jenni Currie Santamaria

 

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Better Reading English
VI. READ IT AGAIN
Answer the question.
Why should parents involve their children in making decisions about the 
household chores?
ESTABLISHING YOURSELF AS COACH
I. PRE-READING
A.
Background information
This excerpt is from the book 
Coaching Youth Soccer: The Baffled Parent’s 
Guide
,
 
by Bobby Clark. He offers advice on how parents can coach their 
children’s teams successfully, meaning teaching children the basics of soccer as 
well as the fun and rewards of the game.
B.
Words to know before you read
Match the words to their definitions.
_____ 1.
establish 
a. to lose or give up something
_____ 2.
instill 
b. the surrounding environment
_____ 3.
forfeit 
c. a way of behaving that shows a 
willingness to obey rules
_____ 4.
signal 
d. showing someone how something is 
done
_____ 5.
discipline 
e. a shape that has a pointed top and sides 
that form a circle at the bottom
_____ 6.
distraction 
f. to set up or put into place
_____ 7.
demonstration 
g. rate, rhythm, or pattern of an activity
_____ 8.
push-up 
h. something that makes it dificult to pay 
attention
_____ 9.
cone 
i. to gradually cause someone to have an 
attitude or feeling
_____ 10.
tempo 
j. a sound or nonverbal gesture that tells 
someone to do something
_____ 11.
atmosphere 
k. exercise in which you lay on your 
stomach and raise your lower body by 
pushing up and lowering down with 
your arms

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C.
Reading strategy
Quickly read the first line of each paragraph. Then answer the question.
What is the topic of each section?
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II. READ
Read the text. Mark the words you don’t know, but don’t stop reading to look 
them up.
Establishing Yourself as Coach
Creating an Atmosphere of Good Habits
One of the most important things you can do as a coach is to instill good habits 
in your players. By teaching them to attend to the little things, such as getting 
to practice on time and coming with their soccer balls properly inlated and 
their equipment well cared for, they will start taking care of these details at the 
games—and perhaps in life as well. Players will learn to work as part of a team, 
and since this may well be the irst time your players will be a part of a team, 
instilling good habits in them now lays a strong foundation for the future.
Keep It Fun
You can help your players learn good habits only if they respect you and your 
position. Kids respond best to authority if they can have fun while they are 
learning what you expect of them, and if they are a part of the process. The 
best way to do this is to make everything a game. I’ve found that kids respond 
well to little forfeits that everyone enjoys. For example, if you want the team to 
come in from the ield or to pick up all the cones, give them a challenge, and 
ask them how long it will take them to inish the job. They come up with the 
challenge for themselves: they may say they can pick up the cones in 30 
seconds. Make it a contest: if they can get the cones in 25 seconds, they win, 
and you will do 10 push-ups. If you win, they do 10 pushups. The task becomes 
a game, and you’re a part of it—they can catch you the same as you can catch 
them. They are learning to take responsibility for their actions, and learning this 
valuable lesson can be done in a fun way.

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Better Reading English
Let Your Signal Be Their Guide
Your players will need to learn to listen to you and to respond to your signal. 
When you want them to listen, speak in a quiet voice—when you speak in a 
loud voice, their volume will rise to meet your voice. Speak to them softly, or 
don’t even speak at all—when someone is not paying attention and you stop 
speaking, your silence will get the message across. Then everyone refocuses on 
you, and you can carry on.
Set a Good Example
The coach has to set standards—if you expect your kids to play like a team, to 
pay attention, and to focus on the sport, your discipline has to be the best of 
everyone’s. You have to be dressed to play, ready to play, and focused on what 
you are doing even more than your players.
Be Aware of the Environment around You
When you want your players to focus on you, be aware of other distractions—
such as other practices or games. Position yourself and the demonstrations so 
that the kids are looking away from other distractions. You can repeatedly bring 
them in close around you, but this takes a lot of time. I’m a strong believer in 
keeping a good tempo during practice. Bring your players in close enough so 
they can hear you, but don’t waste time stopping and bringing them in just to 
send them out again. If it’s a strong wind, bring them in closer so they can hear, 
and if it’s a low sun, be careful where you position yourself so they aren’t looking 
into the sun to see you.
Assess Their Attention Span
You will need to learn how long your players can pay attention without getting 
bored or restless. The biggest mistake you can make is to do all the talking or 
demonstrating. I watched a camp in New Jersey many years ago. The head 
coach was working hard, and as the day wore on, the coach enjoyed doing the 
demonstrations more and more. It ended up that the kids were moving for 
about 30 seconds or so, and then the coach was demonstrating for 3 minutes, 
and it wasn’t clear who was having a good time—the coach or the kids. The 
players are the ones who need the practice. Keep that in mind.
Source:
 Coaching Youth Soccer: The Baffled Parent’s Guide
,
 
by Bobby Clark, 
New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000
III. COMPREHENSION CHECK
Mark the main idea of the title for each section.
____
1.
Creating an Atmosphere 
a. make everything a game or a challenge 
of Good Habits
____
2.
Keep It Fun 
b. understand ways in which your players 
can be distracted
____
3.
Let Your Signal Be 
c. your own behaviors best show players
Their Guide
how you expect them to act

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____
4.
Set a Good Example 
d. keep players active so they stay focused
____
5.
Be Aware of the 
e. teach players to listen to you 
Environment around You
____
6.
Assess Their 
f. teach your players good habits and to
Attention Span 
work as a team
IV. VOCABULARY BUILDING
A.
Classify words
Find these words in the text, and decide if they are nouns, verbs, or adjectives. 
Write them in the correct places in the chart.
assess
set
attend to
inlated
respect
habits
valuable
authority
refocus
position