Set the tone for your first session of 2025 now
As we head towards a break in training for the holidays, here's some things you can do to welcome players back in 2025. (Trigger warning: diet culture is discussed)
I know it’s still only the middle of December. No one wishes for the holiday season to be over, that includes me! However, it’s important to think about how we might greet players on their first training session back after the holidays.
Especially if that impacts any messages during the final sessions of 2024. How we send players away before a break impacts how they might return.
Research by Women In Sport says that the dropout rate for women being active during the winter months are high:
Findings from the research
“Activity levels for both men and women decline in November, before dipping to the lowest level between December and February.
A higher proportion of women drop out compared to men.
The dropout rate from autumn to winter increases with age for women.”
So here’s a few suggestions to help you plan those first sessions back and keep engagement high.
Socialisation
Having the chance to socialise at training is important all year round. However, after a break ensuring players have time to chat has increased importance.
According to the research by Women In Sport, having a social community helps keep women engaged in sport and being active in the Winter months.
Give players time to connect. That includes chatting with you and any fellow coaches.
Players need to keep warm at training, so use an activity that enables them to move whilst also offering time to reconnect with teammates. You could also give a water break/social opportunity after an active game.
You could structure the socialisation, by having a prompt up by the drinks station or having players compete in a bingo game. However, in the first few January sessions, I’ve found the conversation flows naturally without any coach-led interventions.
Bring the excitement
In the same Women in Sport research, one of the recommendations is to recognise and talk about the buzz that people get from being active.
You can do that after some pre-holiday training sessions. Ask players to reflect on how they feel before training and how they feel after.
Bring some excitement for the first session back after the holidays by having some music at your session. You could also invite players to make a collaborative playlist or send in some suggestions.
Make it fun. Players have had time off in the holidays, but it can also be a time of stress and lonliness. Make that first session back the most fun they can have.
Ask them what their favourite activities are and include them in the session. Plan activities where laughter is guaranteed.
Be mindful of language
Just like asking players what activities they enjoy or what music they’d like to have, being mindful of language is something you can also start to do before the December break.
Diet culture is everywhere, but it’s particularly rampant in the New Year. This handy guide from the University of Colorado Boulder, as part of their health and wellbeing service, explains some more.
People can often feel guilty or voice concern about how much they’ve eaten over the holiday period. They might feel the need to push themselves more in training to burn off this food, or work harder in the run up to Christmas to earn the food.
However, food is not earnt. It’s fuel for our bodies.
As coaches, we can play an important role in not reinforcing poor messages. Instead, training is a space to celebrate what our bodies are capable of.
I’ve used a training session before the break to mention this to players. I’ve also been mindful of avoiding any diet culture messages in the New Year recruitment push I’ve done with teams.
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