Too often I have parents tell me that their child has been told by their coach that they aren't a good player by using negative words and phrases towards them. One of the things I always press all of our coaches with is that we must always use positive reinforcement with any player no matter what the age.

When I was at the University of Georgia, Head Coach Jim Harrick always use to say, "it's amazing, absolutely amazing how much a youngsters hearing improves when they hear praise. Praise 'em, praise 'em, praise 'em. And they will open up like a flower." What I learned from him in the summer of 2000 was so true. Young players hear and absorb everything around them. Saying negative things towards them can damage their confidence quite quickly.

Coach Harrick always used a positive reinforcement with our players. If a player missed a layup, he would say, "you're too good of a player to be missing layups." This reinforces players with positive thinking, but also allows them to realize that they have made a mistake.

With so much negative in our society today, there has to be at least one place a kid can go to hear words on encouragement and that place should be the hardwood.