Savannah Linhares is a biology teacher by day and the head coach of girl's basketball by afternoon. The Chowchilla Union teacher goes above and beyond for her students and her student-athletes.

Coach Linhares won the Positive Coaching Alliance's coveted National Double-Goal Coach Award for her positive impact on youth sports. She is one of 25 national winners, named for coaches who strive to win while also pursuing the more important goal of teaching life lessons through sports. The accolade includes a $1000 prize and media recognition.

"Coach Linhares helps athletes win in and out of sports," said Chris Moore, CEO of Positive Coaching Alliance. "By creating a positive, character-building youth sports experience and serving as a Double-Goal Coach, Savannah helps youth develop into better athletes and better people."

What does "positive coaching" mean to you?

Positive coaching means holding athletes accountable on and off the court while giving them the support needed to be both successful and resilient. I want my athletes to have the skills needed to overcome challenges and setbacks because that will serve them well when they compete not only in athletics but also in life.

How have you been connecting with your swimmers during this unique situation with the COVID-19 pandemic?

The first thing is to make 1 on 1 contact with each of the athletes and check in with them to see how they're dealing with the changes we have had personally and academically. It has been difficult to not be able to physically see them. Now, more than ever, it is important to make sure they're doing well and adjusting to online learning and being away from their teammates. Our program also uses the Band App, which is a social network for teams/groups. This allows us to stay in contact, post workouts, and encourage each other even though we can't physically be together.

We're focusing on filling players' emotional tanks this week at PCA. Can you share how you work to ensure you fill your player's emotional tanks each day at practice or in games?

We explicitly teach the difference between having a growth mindset vs. a fixed mindset. That allows athletes to be more self-aware of their thoughts and reactions to situations they may encounter. We also use the concept of Temperature Check where athletes are asked to rate themselves 1-5 (1 being bad, 5 being great) on how they are feeling that day or in that moment. It important to remember that our athletes have "stuff" outside of our practice or game times. I want them to know I care about them as people.

Many parents with athletes now at home full time are looking for advice about how to maintain the balance of being both a positive parent and coach. Do you have any suggestions for them?

I think the first step is allowing athletes to feel disappointed with not being able to play or compete with their team. Those feelings are real and should be heard. With that being said, it is also a great time to do things that allow our kids to become a better athlete, teammate, and person. I would encourage athletes to reach out to their teammates, do virtual workouts, and stay focused on doing what you can do to be better off when you get to compete again.

Are there any particular resources that you've found and are using for yourself or your team that you could share with us?

The Band App is a great way to stay connected with your team. It closely resembles most social media platforms but specifically for the members of a team.

Another resource I'm using an article titled 10 Characteristics of an Awesome Teammate. I used a much longer list during the season but wanted to focus on this list while we are all apart. I am using the band app to post workouts and keep in touch with my players. But I'll also be featuring a different Characteristic of an Awesome Teammate on a weekly basis along with a Teammate Challenge.

For example, the first characteristic is "They Develop Real Relationships." The challenge associated with this will be for each player to reach out to three other players individually and ask them the following questions:

1. What is your favorite subject in school?
2. What is your favorite tv show to watch?
3. What is your favorite quote and why?
4. Who do you look up to? Why?

Do you have a favorite book you've read and can you tell us why it's a favorite?

My favorite book that inspires a lot of what I do in both coaching and teaching is "Mindset: The New Technology of Success" by Carol Dweck. When I first started teaching and coaching I learned very quickly that the mindset of my students and athletes played a key role in their ability to keep going even when they faced challenges. I started to do research on what that looks like in education and athletics and became, for lack of a better word, obsessed with Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset. Carol Dweck is an amazing researcher and author that uses this book to show that a Fixed Mindset causes people to believe that their abilities are fixed or set, while a person with a Growth Mindset believes they can develop their abilities by taking feedback and not giving up. This book showed me that explicitly teaching the difference to my students and athletes made a huge difference in the way they thought about themselves and what they could accomplish.