UNDERSTANDING AND PROVIDING BETTER COMMUNICATION WITH MILLENNIAL AND HOMELAND GENERATION STUDENT-ATHLETES:

THE MILLENNIALS

THE HOMELANDERS

WASHINGTON INTERSCHOLASTIC ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATION

18th Annual Summer Coaches School

Yakima Convention Center

Yakima, Washington

August 1, 2014

3:00 pm Session

&

4:00 pm Session

PRESENTER:Dr. James Forkum

�Recruiting Coordinator: Concordia University Irvine

Masters in Coaching and Athletic Administration Program

�Athletic Director Schutz American School

Alexandria, Egypt

�Retired Dean and Athletics Director - Santa Rosa Junior College, California

�Principal Consultant Generational Differences Consulting

�Men’s Basketball Coach 33 Years

OUTCOMES:

�Understanding the Generational Divide and Importance in the Middle and High School Educational and Athletics Environments

�Foundational Impacts on the Millennials and Homelanders

�Knowledge of Millennial and Homeland Generational Characteristics

�Tools and Applications for Your Use in Teaching and Coaching

WHY SHOULD YOU BROADEN YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF SELF AND OTHERS?

� “6” in the Societal Setting

� Must Know Our Own Generation to Better Understand Other Generation’s Characteristics

� Change, Motivation, Recruitment, Team-Building, and Maintaining/Increasing Growth and Productivity

� Retention of Relationships: Students, Educators/Coaches, & Members of Various Organizations

� Remember your most effective teachers and coaches. What did you learn from them to bring to your student-athletes?

INITIAL DISCLOSURES:� Not all members share all the characteristics of a generation

� Not a pure science but based on centuries of experiences and

past histories

� Can be an effective tool to further benefit communication and

understanding of generational groups in the educational setting

� Use knowledge to change cultures- we do not have to cater to

Millennials or Homelanders, use awareness

�We enjoy and respect these young people

GENERATIONS

� G. I. – 1901-1924 (ages 90-113)

� Silent – 1925-1942 (ages 72-89)

� Boom – 1943-1960 (ages 54-71)

� Generation X – 1961-1981 (ages 33-53)

� Millennials – 1982-2004 (ages 10-32)

� Homeland – 2005 – to present (ages 9 and under)

DEFINITIVE CHARACTERISTICSSILENT BOOMER GEN X MILLENNIAL HOMELAND

Size 52 Million 78 Million 70.2 Million

(Decreasing)

92+ Million Increasing

Other Names Traditionalists Me Generation

Baby Boomers

Modern “Lost”

Generation

Slacker Generation

Generation Y

Echo Boomer

Generation Next

“Z”

Re-Gen

Anti-Gen

Heroes GI Generation Themselves Anti-Heroes Parents Too soon to tell

Family Life Earliest marrying

and babying

generation

Silent women

Large numbers

of women in the

workforce later in the generational

cycle

Religious and/or

spiritually

oriented

Health oriented

Waiting until later

in life to have

children

Became first

“helicopter”

parents

Adult oriented

from an early age

“Anti-child”movement

Less parental

supervision than

ever before (Latch-key)

Little peer

interaction in

childhood

Continue as “Blackhawk”

parents

“Special” –

eagerly

anticipated

Lowest parent to

child ratio ever

Universally

protected

Sheltered

Most Child

Safety Laws

Signed

“Spy” Devices

Younger M’s are

velcroed

More “Special”

Planned

More Protected

More Security

Noncommuni-

cative

Digital-focus

P’s are anti-

public ed

Borage of Anti-

Everything

CONTINUEDSILENT BOOMER GEN X MILLENNIAL HOMELAND

Work Large increase in number

of people in “helping professions” in 1960s

Workaholics

Career focused

30+year career

First to seek work/life

balance

Not constrained by time

and/or place

First to seek work/life

blending

More discretionary

income than any previous group

Service and Green

oriented

Unknown

Significant Life

Events

Depression

Sexual revolution occurred while this

generation was in mid-life

Korean War

Vietnam

Sexual revolution

Kent State

JFK

Gulf War

Berlin Wall comes down

Challenger explosion

Columbine

September 11

Afghanistan & Iraq

Continued incidences

Death of Bin Laden

Death of Bin Laden RecessionHome Mortgage CrisisShrinking Middle Class

Notes Generation of jealousies

and role reversals

Focused on previous generation while young

and subsequent

generation in adulthood

Intense attention

focused on this group for the entire Boomer

lifespan

Self-aware and self-

centered (largest number of self-help

books)

Mired in an age of death

*AIDS

*Homicides drug-related deaths increased

*Suicidal (at a near record

rate of almost 5000/year in

mid 1980s)

Optimistic

Conventional

Racially diverse

Pressured

Body Art – Inked and

Pierced

Tiny HelpersTethered Close to Home(like Silents)Not encouraged to take chancesNaiveté

School Life Described in college as:

Withdrawn, cautious, unimaginative,

unadventurous

Grade inflation at all

time high

Overall SAT scores

decreased from 1946-60

Enjoy learning for learning’s sake

Grade inflation decreased

First generation to be less educated than parents – by

both choice and circumstance

Largest segment of online owners

Grade inflation on rise

Expect active learning in classroom

Study less than previous

generations

Volunteerism part of

graduation requirements

Readers (Internet)

Suicide/death increasing

Higher standards (Constant flux)Everything is simply expectedMultilingual(Suicide/death increasing due to Social Bullying and gun violence)

LEARNING/COACHING ENVIRONMENT OF THE FUTURE

• Paperless Environments

but…psychologically people are tactile

Like to hold, handle, open something/tablets,

expect stats on tablets and social media

• Telecommuting/Virtual Worlds

but…social, need to work in groups

Meet physically

Interact

PERCEPTIONSSilents – view Boomers as self-absorbed, share too much

information, question authority

Boom – view Silents as rigid/dictatorial, company men,

accept party line

Boomers – view Gen Xers as too impatient, throw out tried

and true, not “company”/fickle

Gen Xers – view Boomers as inflexible to change/ say the

right thing to the right person, don’t have a

life

Gen Xers – view Millennials as too spoiled/self-absorbed,

too “Me”, entitled

Millennials – view Gen Xers as cynical/negative, no fun

Millennials – view older Boomers and Silents as worth

listening to, “buddies”, models

Boomers and Xers – view Homelanders as anti-social and out of control

at home and at school (classroom management

overload)

REMEMBER…

A team that allows choices and openly explores ideas, and whose members value learning, will better accommodate the needs and

values of members of different generations.

Constance Patterson, Ph.D.

10 ATTRIBUTES OF AN INFORMATION-AGE MINDSET (J. FRAND)�Computers are not technology

�The Internet is better than TV

�Reality is no longer real

�Doing is more important than knowing

�Learning more closely resembles Nintendo than logic

�Multitasking is a way of life

�Typing is preferred to handwriting

�Staying connected is essential

�There is zero tolerance for delays

�Consumer and Creator are blurring

WIRED/WIRELESS• Digital Natives

• Smart phones, smart watches

• Tablets

• Texting/Sexting

• Web Surfing

• Social Networks (What policies are in place?)

• Finger on the pulse of the World

• Right Here/Right Now Generations (Superficial information)

LEARNING CHARACTERISTICS

�Teamwork Activities

�Cooperative Grouping

�Experiential Activities

�Structure

�Use of Technology

�Email/Instant Messaging are Natural Communication and Socialization Mechanisms

�Authenticity, honesty, and humility are more important than an authoritarian leader

SOME NEGATIVES

�Multi-tasking

� Poor Communication Skills (writing)

�Oral Communication

�Math Skills

�Mass Stimulation

� Lack of Critical Thinking/Problem Solving as an individual

� Plagiarism/Cheating (turnitin.com)

� Problem Discerning Truth (Wikipedia)

STRATEGIES

• Awareness of new Technology (Textspeak) ‘Dis maks my teacha cry’

• Different methods of reporting information: podcasts, vodcasts, course management systems, forums, use of PowerPoint, RSS (Really Simple Syndication), LCS (Lecture Capture System), Students

• Setting Parameters

•Websites

• Recruiting

7 TOOLS FOR COMMUNICATING WITH MILLENNIALS AND HOMELANDERS

1. Understand Yourself and Your Beliefs

2. Engage Them (Intentionally)

3. Listen

4. Ask Questions (constantly check for understanding)

5. Clarify What Has Been Said (Eligibility)

6. Impart Tools of Decision Making

7. Affirm Lavishly and Correct Sparingly(Adapted from McAllister’s Saving the Millennial Generation)

THE MILLENNIALS ARE:

• Optimists

• Rule Followers (Thrive on Structure)

• Volunteers and Servants (Mandatory Draft)

• Accepting of Authority (If honest and humble)

• Were the first most protected in History

• Bright

• Loyal (brands)

• “Heroes”

• Accepting of ALL (Diversity)

THE HOMELANDERS ARE:

• Tunnel Visioned

• Rule Followers (Thrive on and need structure)

• Most Protected in History

• Lack of interaction with peers (forced)

• “Lost”

• Most diverse

SUMMARY

�Provide Structure

�Provide Leadership and Guidance

�Encourage the Millennial’s Self-Assuredness, “Can-Do” Attitude, and Positive Personal Self-Image

�Take Advantage of the Millennial’s Comfort Level With Teams. Encourage Them To Join

�Listen to the Millennial

�Millennials Are Up For The Challenge and Change

�Help Socialize Homelanders – Collaboration

�Be the model

�Read Carol Dweck’s Mindset, and find out your own mindset on mindsetonline.com

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

It’s not the first half of the game

that counts, but how you leave the

court at the end of the game.

TIME FOR YOU