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How to Get the Most Out of Coaching Young RPS Players

by Brock Gallati

Becoming a coach to young players can be one of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences in one's life. But, fostering the development of these kids can be a difficult task to many. Just because you may be a good player yourself does not automatically give you the skills to teach. Some of the best trainers and coaches were never able to “make it’ in professional play, so even if you don’t think you are good enough player yourself, this does not disqualify you from become the single biggest influencing factor in a child’s career.

Obviously it is every coaches dream to find a player such Jasmine Meade (National Womens Junior RPS Champion and subsequent author of the Grrrls Guide to RPS), but unless you take pleasure in having a positive impact on youth, you will never have the right attitude to find, develop and recognize players such as German sensation Ravi Wenngarten.

What should be at front of every coach’s mind is ensuring that with each level change that your are reinforcing the experience as a positive move forward or backward in the lives of a youngster. The developmental curves of players mature at radically different points. Children often start to get serious about RPS during their formative young teen years. This is a very awkward stage for many. Children must endure growth and hormonal issues that combat with their training. Growth spurts in particular must force a player to modify their training and competition techniques in order to cope with the messy and confusing changes that are developing uncontrollably inside their body. Conquering “Muscle Memory” after a particularly ferocious growth spurt may require “unlearning what were once good habits”.

Case Study – Regression Therapy

In this case, “black box” thinking was used to change the behaviour of a player who often got caught in stalemate situations by throwing the same throw as his opponent. “Regression therapy” has the young player engage in a practice training match in reverse by starting with the released throw and end with the prime and thus playing backwards. This is often the only and the best “way out” for a player trying to break out of a stalemating deadlock situation. Be forewarned that young players often tend to rebel against this training technique as they feel it “boring, stupid and pointless” or any combination of these words. Use an outburst like this as a perfect entry point to assert yourself as a coach by stopping the entire practice session to single out the offender with any of the following clout-building comments:

“How they hell (or heck) would you know what is right for you, you’re just a kid”

“Let me ask you, who is the coach and who is the student?? (Don’t let this question be rhetorical, force them to answer it as continual reinforcement of your position over your player)

“Ohh, you want something a little more exciting, drop and give me 70 primes! (Don’t let anyone in the group begin practicing again till the offending player has finished)”

“No abusive backtalk kid, I get enough of that at home (this is a particularly good one as they will often attribute your grumpiness to a poor relationship with your wife)

You think I’m here for your amusement? I’m not a circus clown! (Clowns have a polarizing quality to them as most young children are afraid, yet drawn to them and referring to them is often all that is needed to re-establish your authority and control)

The Coach’s Dilemma

Since RPS is typically played between two players, it can be seen as a zero sum game. For every winner there is a loser. So how does a coach deal with these seemly antipodal situations when coaching two children? Coaches must focus the youngster’s energy towards the “method” rather than the “end result”. Winning is great, but it must not come at the expense of another player losing. Don’t make a big deal about scores. Above all coaches must make the young players “feel” like they are making progress forward, even if they really aren’t.

The Truth of Lies

Herein lies one of the most important hallmarks of coaching. You MUST lie to your young players. If you can make them “feel” like they are progressing through “false confidence” you may be able to successfully delude even the worst RPS player. Young children, tend not to be as smart as adults at this stage in their life. Take advantage of this critical piece of learning a provide false praise with any of the following suggestions:

“Your getting better, I’m thinking of making you Club Captain (If you don’t let the other players hear this, you can use the same line with any number of players to stimulate competition)”

“That’s it kid, sometimes losing is the best way to win”

“The other kids are bums, if you could just get better, I’d have all my hopes on you”

How to Provide “Good” criticism

Often a good technique is to place your criticism between positive comments of the child’s technique. This is known colloquially as “serving up a crap sandwich” Here are a couple of examples you can use:

“Good move, if you are wanting the get you clock cleaned in competition” (the initial ‘good move’ comment gets them ready for praise, which makes this particularly effective)

“Wow, if I didn’t know you better, I would have though you played that scissors by mistake” (This comment also has the effect of making the player think that you actually know them well)

"Where did you learn to play like that!? Not from me, I don’t teach people to lose!" (Useful also as a reminder of how good you are as a coach)

If a child makes a particularity bad move say “interesting use of paper and rock play but I think the strategy you are using is a way beyond your skill set right now.”

Dealing with Really Bad Players

Can’t find anything good to say about a certain dimwitted player. No problem, memorize a couple of stock answers:

“Interesting Gambit play there kid, you make that up all by yourself?”

“You are playing even worse than you were yesterday” (very good, as it confirms that you are keeping a close eye on their game )

“It’s all in the prime, try concentrating more on that rather than what you’re going to throw”

Appealing to “Beyond Help” players

If there is nothing positive say about a player then your only option at this point is to pepper them with confusing notions to make the child “feel” that they are being coached even when they are uncoachable. Many children at this age are terrified of their coaches, so use this to your advantage. As an added bonus, the more that children have difficulty understanding your direction and teaching, the more they will respect and want to learn from you. This also has the effect of keeping the children under your “grip”, as they will continue to see you as the only way out of their pitiful slump.

Dealing with Fast Learners

Remember if a child happens to develop too fast, this can often lead to cockiness or an inflated view of their skills. It is absolutely critical for a coach not to let the child know they are progressing too fast as it will undermine your authority over the player which can lead to errosion of the coach/player divide. Techniques that one can use to keep a player from “developing beyond your own coaching skills” are:

Tell them within earshot of the other club members that their use of the Avalanche Gambit or the reverse Scissors switch will never work outside of the confines of this gym against “real” players.

Another technique is to tell them about previous players who showed a lot of promise and who got cut down in no time flat once they got into competition play.

Best Practices for Developing a Good Club

The key to being a good coach is to keep your best players around for as long as you can. Having good players around is the best way to attract other young players.What you are trying to do is create a little world around where the children see you as the all-knowing wise absolute leader and master of RPS thought. Managing the different skills levels of your players is critical to the long term success of your organization. It is all about balance. It is the mid-range players that are often the most lucrative to coaches as you can keep them around the longest which leads to more coaching fees.

Dealing with Slow-Learners

Keep the crappy children around in order to boost the confidence of your mid-range players. Mid-level players need these crummy players around so that they always have someone to beat should they need a confidence boost.

Curious Onlookers

Invite the really young children to watch the other club members play, but never let them play themselves. Make them feel like they have to earn the right to play RPS. A great side-effect of this, is that it provides you with instant control and respect over these kids before they are even paying members of your RPS club. By the time you actually allow them to play they will be so honoured that it will take years before they dare to second guess anything you say.

Mid-Level Players

The key with mid-range players is that it is an absolute must to make them feel like they are always “almost” there. A good technique can be to make constant references to some “mystical” knowledge that you hold that they aren’t quite ready to learn. This keeps the mid-level player hungry. Deep down inside they already know that they will never make it and it is the promise of this false hope of “mystical” knowledge being passed that keeps them playing. Managing these players correctly can often keep a child under your tutelage for years longer than they would otherwise.

Dealing with Protégés

The promise of coaching fees at the lower levels must not deter your from taking advantage of the wonderful opportunities that present themselves should a truly gifted Rock Paper Scissors player come your way. If you are going to get the most from this player, it is important to recognize them early and plan accordingly.

Many coaches have ridden on the coat tails of “divine” players their whole careers. Remember, tournament purses pale in comparison to the marketing endorsement contracts. Every good coach should know how to position the personality and style of the player that can be so attractive to potential sponsors. Keep abreast of the other Tournament players. What angle will position your player as unique and different in the circuit? Do you want your player to be the “Bad Boy” that fans love to hate or do you want to foster a more “All-American” look that may lead to more mass appeal? Will a unique haircut be your ticket to marketing nirvana? Some players even find that getting rid of their hair and going bald gives them the “attitude” needed to stir up the crowd into a frenzy. Combine this with a goatee and you can create a very “rebellious look”. (Note: may young players have trouble growing facial hair, so plan accordingly). Get to know the other coaches and orchestrate a newsworthy “rivalry” between your players. Having one player accuse another of “big-time cheating” can often lead to increased interest at the next tournament This extra PR can be just the right push to get your player in the “big Leagues” of sponsorship deals.

Early Stage Development Issues

Before you can get into any of these critical areas of play, you have to take great care in developing this talent. Once you have identified a potential world-class player, do not let them know their abilities until you have had a chance to get them under your total control. Never let on that they are any better than the worst player in your league. Let’s be clear, there is nothing you can teach a World Class RPS player that could be of any real value. This point can not be stressed enough, the longer you can keep this player down the more they will attribute their eventual rise to you. The benefit is threefold, it will ensure that you keep control of this player, it will increase the respect you deserve within the RPS coaching community and more importantly attract more young players (and thus more dollars) to your club.

Other Coaching Tips

Make sure to tell young payers that they must continue to train to keep their skills at their peak. This is just common sense. The more often that you make them train, the more fees you can collect fees from them over time.

If you are considering club t-shirts, make sure to charge at least 50% more than they are worth. If you have a lot of students this kind of extra money can supplement your coaching fees quite nicely. Also consider, developing both “home” and “away” shirts for weekend tourneys as this can easily double the potential t-shirt revenues available to you

Always charge a coaching supplemental on any competition fees for your players. Get them used to paying you this fee early in their career and they are unlikely to question it for years to come.

Good coaching can be summarized as:

Play down the skills of your best players.

Keep your mid-level players confused.

Play up the potential of your worst players.

Maximize your revenue opportunities.

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