Make your team feel like champions at the end of the season

The end of the fall youth sports season usually comes with some elation and some relief -- and, for some, not so many wins.

My friend's 6-8 year-old midget football team is getting ready to play its last game of the season. It has been a season of ups and downs, lots of laughter and a few tears, and one big, fat zero in the win column.

He talks incessantly every Monday morning about how his players love to practice, can't wait for games and give him everything a coach could ever ask for from kids that age.

He claims you probably couldn't even tell they've never won, and yet he wants to win the last game more than anyone. And not because he really cares that much about winning, but more so because he cares that much about his kids -- and doesn't want to see any of them have to go through an entire season without winning a single game.

He also knows there's a better chance of seeing Santa than winning the last game, and so he's trying to figure out how to address his team afterward. He needs a speech that for the first time can't include the words, "We'll get them next week."

I suggested that after the game he gather the entire team around him and invite the parents to come over, too. And then ask a simple question to his players who gave him so much throughout the season: "What was your favorite part of this season?"

My guess is he'll get plenty of kids volunteering answers. I also assume some will be very good football-related memories, while others will be the favorite snack that was served or something goofy a player or coach did during the season.

But the bottom line is that no matter what the answers are or who they come from, they will be positive and from the mouths and hearts of those most important -- the players.

Once every player has had one or more turns to share a memory, let the coaches and maybe even the parents share theirs.

By the time the postgame huddle is over, I'd venture to say there won't be a sad face in the crowd.

Nobody likes to lose at all, let alone all season. But by not even mentioning that fact in the postgame speech, the coach can instead immediately put the focus where it should be -- on all the great things that happened during the team's time together.

Whether it be a touchdown or a mom's brownies, the players should walk away from the final game not focused on zero wins, but instead, zeroing in on all the fun times.