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Kids Coaching

  • Coaching Kids Classes
  • Shadow Protocol (Kids)
  • Shadow Session 1 (Little Lions): Simplicity and Energy
  • Shadow Session 2 (Little Lions): Behavioral Management and Safety
  • Shadow Session 3 (Golden Tigers): Complexity and the Drill-to-Game Pattern
  • Shadow Session 4 (Golden Tigers): Culture, Adaptation, and the Big Picture
  • Assist Protocol (Kids)
  • Assist Session 1: Being Present and Handling Behavioral Moments
  • Assist Session 2: Being Present and Handling Behavioral Moments
  • Assist Session 3: Running Segments and Managing Partners
  • Assist Session 4: Running Segments and Managing Partners
  • Assist Session 5: Owning Full Segments
  • Assist Session 6: Owning Full Segments
  • Co-Lead Protocol (Kids)
  • Co-Lead Session 1: Warmup + Standing Game (Plus a Taste of the Ground Game)
  • Co-Lead Session 2: Warmup + Standing Game (Plus a Taste of the Ground Game)
  • Co-Lead Session 3: Ground Game / Main Topic + Recall + Closeout
  • Co-Lead Session 4: Ground Game / Main Topic + Recall + Closeout
  • Co-Lead Session 5: Proving Consistency on the Hard Half
  • Co-Lead Session 6: Proving Consistency on the Hard Half
  • Solo with Supervision (Kids)
  • Solo Session 1: Running the Show
  • Solo Session 2: Running the Show
  • Solo Session 3: Proving Consistency
  • Solo Session 4: Proving Consistency
  • Solo Final Assessment (Kids)
  1. Coaches
  2. /Kids Coaching
  3. /Co-Lead Protocol (Kids)

Co-Lead Protocol (Kids)

Kids Coaching · Lesson 14 of 26All lessons

4 min read

How to learn by sharing the room with another kids coach.

After completing six kids assist sessions, you'll spend six sessions co-leading with an experienced kids coach: three Little Lions classes and three Golden Tigers classes. The order within each pair of sessions doesn't matter, but you need reps in both programs at each stage of the progression.

Co-leading means you split the class: one of you runs certain segments, the other runs the rest. You're both coaching, but the experienced coach is still the safety net.

For the fundamentals (adult) co-lead protocol, see Co-Lead Protocol (Fundamentals).

How Co-Leading Works in Kids Classes

Co-leading is collaborative, not rigidly partitioned. You and the experienced coach share the room, with you taking on progressively more of the hard stuff across six sessions. The general progression:

  • Sessions 1-2: You run warmup + standing game. The experienced coach runs the ground game / main topic, but hands you one game segment within it to run. You run the closeout if the experienced coach asks.
  • Sessions 3-4: You run the ground game / main topic + recall + closeout. The experienced coach runs warmup + standing game, but may still jump in with a concept during your segment if they see something important.
  • Sessions 5-6: Same split as 3-4, but the experienced coach steps back further. Less jumping in, less steering. By session 6, they should barely need to say anything during your segments.

The ground game / main topic is where the hardest coaching lives in kids classes: game selection, teaching points, partner pairings for the primary skill-building game, and all the behavioral management that comes with the longest segment of class. The progression gets you into the hard stuff early (a handed-off game in sessions 1-2) while building toward full ownership.

In practice, two coaches sharing a kids room will naturally overlap. The experienced coach might step in on a behavioral moment during your segment, or you might help with pairings during theirs. That's fine. The point is that your responsibility grows each session.

You plan your own segments. Know the class structure, pick your games, know your targeted goals, plan your pairings. The experienced coach isn't handing you a script anymore.

You own your segments. Rules communication, coaching between rounds, partner pairings, behavioral management during your segments. This is the real thing.

What Changes from Assisting

Everything from the fundamentals co-lead protocol applies, plus:

  • You're picking all the partners for your segments. During assist, the lead coach made or approved pairing decisions. Now you're matching kids on timidity, size, and social dynamics on your own.
  • Behavioral management is fully yours during your segments. The experienced coach is backup, not the default disciplinarian.
  • Time pressure is tighter. Kids classes are shorter (35 min for Little Lions, 50 min for Golden Tigers). Every minute of over-talking costs more.
  • Energy management is your problem. If your segment kills the energy, the next segment starts from a deficit.

Before and After Each Session

Before class:

  • Know the class structure for the program you're co-leading (Little Lions or Golden Tigers)
  • Pick your games and know your targeted goals
  • Plan your partner pairings (or at least the kids you need to separate and the kids you want to pair)
  • Know which kids to watch out for (behavioral patterns, injuries, new students expected)
  • Coordinate with the co-lead coach: who's running what, pairing strategy for the day

After class:

  • Debrief together. How were the transitions? Did either segment run long?
  • Discuss partner pairings: did they work? Any mismatches?
  • Discuss behavioral moments: who handled what, and how?
  • What would you change about your game selection, pacing, or approach?

The Sessions

Each session has its own page. Read it before that class, then do its quiz and reflection after.

  1. Co-Lead Session 1: Warmup + Standing Game (Plus a Taste of the Ground Game)
  2. Co-Lead Session 2: Warmup + Standing Game (Plus a Taste of the Ground Game)
  3. Co-Lead Session 3: Ground Game / Main Topic + Recall + Closeout
  4. Co-Lead Session 4: Ground Game / Main Topic + Recall + Closeout
  5. Co-Lead Session 5: Proving Consistency on the Hard Half
  6. Co-Lead Session 6: Proving Consistency on the Hard Half

When You're Done

After six co-lead sessions, you move to Solo with Supervision (Kids) for four sessions. You run the entire class. An experienced coach observes but only steps in if something is genuinely wrong.

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