Some think we should never yell at the players and some seem do not seem to know another way to communicate. Think of the concept of an “old-school” coach. You probably got the image of the high socks, pulled up gym shorts and an old guy getting in a players face screaming trying to “motivate” them to perform. Many of you are probably seeing a specific face in your thoughts, too. The idea of coaches yelling at their teams is ingrained into our image of being involved in athletics. However, there are some parameters that all coaches should consider if they choose to communicating with their players this way. When done incorrectly, it can create a real disconnect between player&nbsp;and coach, and the team’s chance&nbsp;for success and the athletes’ chances&nbsp;at&nbsp;having a great experience can suffer. However, when it is done with the right intent and in the right way, yelling can be a part of the team experience that actually leads to some moments of inspiration, motivation, and success.Some of the keys to consider when deciding to do&nbsp;it are the audience, the timing, the purpose &amp;&nbsp;intent for your yelling, what you yell, and how you yell.Purpose &amp; IntentWhy are you yelling? What is your purpose in choosing this form of communication? Is it the best method to elicit whatever it is you want as an outcome from your team? Are you yelling because you believe that this will benefit your team or this player with some motivation to perform, or are you yelling to benefit yourself because it makes you feel better to “get it off your chest”? In other words what is your intent when it comes to yelling at your team?If you truly believe that it is an appropriate way to communicate to your audience, the timing is good, and your purpose is genuinely intended to help bring out the best (or stop the worst) in your team, then by all means yell. But always keep in mind that you can’t “rewind the tape” and take it back. If you are yelling with the sole purpose of venting as your emotions are getting the best of you, you need to re-consider this method of communicating at this time.AudienceThe fact is that with a large group on a large field it is hard to be heard with raising your voice.&nbsp; Are there moments when you need to yell, no matter who the audience is? Sure. If you need to get a large group’s attention that isn’t paying attention to you, and they are somewhat spread out in a gym or on a field, yelling at them (or more likely to them) is an acceptable method to get their attention. With the being said if you are talking to an audience of 1-3 and just getting in your face you may just sound like a ineffective jerk.TimingAlong with the audience, another critical thing to consider is when to yell. Have they just gone through a very frustrating time in a game where they lost a lead or lost a big game? Have they had an extremely difficult, physical or mentally draining practice? Are they being lazy? Are they not paying attention? Are they being poor teammates to one another?&nbsp; Are they getting in trouble in school? Did the team suffer a tragedy recently?You need to consider each of these questions and hundreds more like them before you choose to yell at your team or individual players. In other words, what is the team going through at this particular time? Is yelling at them an appropriate response to bring out the best in them, or could it have the opposite effect and basically crush their spirit? Understand their psyche at this particular time and choose your words and methods for conveying those words wisely.Along with this, consider how much you yell. The greatest chance for success for a coach who yells is if s/he only does it occasionally. Too many coaches make yelling at teams such a common part of their approach&nbsp;that the team tunes them out when they start yelling. This is not good, for there may be a very important message in the words, but because they have learned to tune the coach out when s/he yells, the team never picks up the message.For the greatest impact to occur, it is better to pick and choose your moments when to raise your voice and yell than to deliver a steady diet of it to your teams. That way, when you do yell, your teams will subconsciously think, “Uh-oh. This must be really important because we never hear coach yell at us like this.” Again, moderation is a good guide when it comes to the amount of yelling you do.What You YellWhen most people think of a coach yelling, their first thought is that the coach is mad and that s/he is scolding the players. However, there are lot of things that coaches yell at players that have nothing to do with being upset at them. Sometimes, it is based on the arena in which they compete. To communicate across a large field or in a loud gym requires coaches to raise their voices, so they yell. At other times, they are merely yelling instructions or words of encouragement. Of course, there will be times when coaches are upset and they will yell. When doing so, though, they must choose their words wisely so as not to hurt, belittle, demean, or embarrass their players.How You YellYou must also consider your body language, facial expression, and tone like when you raise your voice. Are these non-verbals expressing what you want expressed? You must consider how you yell what you yell. In fact, you should consider this dynamic even when you are not yelling. How one says what one says speaks volumes to the audience to whom one is speaking. Choosing your words carefully is important; choosing how you communicate those words can be monumental.

Why do we some teachers who are extremely calm in the classroom scream and jump around on the field? While most teachers don’t yell too much at their classes, we do see this happen more often in sports with coaches yelling at their teams. Today, I want to talk about the concept of yelling in coaching. Should we or shouldn’t we?