Youth Coaching Qualifications

[Anonymous]

We all often speak of Pay-to-Play being the biggest element holding back top tier development overall for soccer here.

There are multiple facets to that argument.
One would be, even if it were free, don't we need high quality U8 to U12 coaches?

We stress how important the foundation of quality early learning education is for academic and intellectual development down the road. Why haven't we realized the same exact thing applies to soccer?

Especially if you're paying big money at a big organization.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most clubs list the names of the coaches and their respective certifications and qualifications.

Remember that most coaches are not full-time coaches as they have other full-time jobs/professions. Hence, most don’t have time to attend coaching seminars unless it’s held on weekends during the soccer offseason.

But remember that certifications and/or attending seminars doesn’t make a coach a good/great coach. Heck, even the best former professional or college players aren’t good at coaching/teaching either.

It’s how a coach effectively communicates, teaches and develops players which can’t be determined by certifications, etc.

Isn't it lowering and accepting a low bar by diminishing the education and knowledge gained in coaching courses taught by qualified coaching educators?
Coaching formal education teaches you the what, why, where, when and how. Teaches you best practices and the scenarios applications.

Also, coaching, teaching youth is different than coaching adults, no?

I’m not saying that education (coaching certifications) are not valuable. What I’m saying is that a coach can have all types of certifications but can still be a jerk, abusive and/or horrible coach.

Par for the course with all professionals.
Bad lawyers and doctors and pilots out there with all the proper paperwork hanging on the wall.

However, we aren't trusting one who doesn't

[Anonymous]

I’ve been through USSF coaching courses and am certified and, frankly, was pretty unimpressed with the content. It’s heavily focused on the mechanics of structuring and running a practice, correcting issues, communication, feedback loop, etc. but didn’t really provide a lot of meat (imo) in terms of the technical aspects of the game. It would be analogous to getting a job as an Algebra teacher straight out of school and all of the training is focused on how to lesson plan, take attendance, set up a classroom, and didn’t delve into ensuring you really understand quadratic equations, keys to teaching them, etc…And there were people in the class who clearly didn’t have very deep knowledge of the game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been through USSF coaching courses and am certified and, frankly, was pretty unimpressed with the content. It’s heavily focused on the mechanics of structuring and running a practice, correcting issues, communication, feedback loop, etc. but didn’t really provide a lot of meat (imo) in terms of the technical aspects of the game. It would be analogous to getting a job as an Algebra teacher straight out of school and all of the training is focused on how to lesson plan, take attendance, set up a classroom, and didn’t delve into ensuring you really understand quadratic equations, keys to teaching them, etc…And there were people in the class who clearly didn’t have very deep knowledge of the game.

I think that's why there are levels. Teaching a teacher how to teach and a coach how to coach begins with how to structure, organize and run a lesson plan/practice. They aren't going to just go right into how to press in a 4-2-3-1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been through USSF coaching courses and am certified and, frankly, was pretty unimpressed with the content. It’s heavily focused on the mechanics of structuring and running a practice, correcting issues, communication, feedback loop, etc. but didn’t really provide a lot of meat (imo) in terms of the technical aspects of the game. It would be analogous to getting a job as an Algebra teacher straight out of school and all of the training is focused on how to lesson plan, take attendance, set up a classroom, and didn’t delve into ensuring you really understand quadratic equations, keys to teaching them, etc…And there were people in the class who clearly didn’t have very deep knowledge of the game.

I think that's why there are levels. Teaching a teacher how to teach and a coach how to coach begins with how to structure, organize and run a lesson plan/practice. They aren't going to just go right into how to press in a 4-2-3-1.

+1
Exactly
The good coach is a compilation of learning the structure taught in courses, good experience, knowledge passed down, research and openness to continued learning.
Just like playing, there are levels to coaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:US Soccer has a directory where you can search for any coach. So you can verify that license.

https://learning.ussoccer.com/directory

Ok, I'll bite.

https://lmvsc.org/2023-2024-travel-soccer-coaching-slate/
Scroll down to the 2011 Girls White coach
Now check with the directory

So, clearly lying but who's holding them accountable?

I think this is the least best kept secret around. She's not a good coach and never has been, but nobody goes there to be coached by her either. Slightly funny too as WAGS host coaching courses regularly for free and she's in attendance for the photo ops. Maybe just stick around next time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been through USSF coaching courses and am certified and, frankly, was pretty unimpressed with the content. It’s heavily focused on the mechanics of structuring and running a practice, correcting issues, communication, feedback loop, etc. but didn’t really provide a lot of meat (imo) in terms of the technical aspects of the game. It would be analogous to getting a job as an Algebra teacher straight out of school and all of the training is focused on how to lesson plan, take attendance, set up a classroom, and didn’t delve into ensuring you really understand quadratic equations, keys to teaching them, etc…And there were people in the class who clearly didn’t have very deep knowledge of the game.

I think that's why there are levels. Teaching a teacher how to teach and a coach how to coach begins with how to structure, organize and run a lesson plan/practice. They aren't going to just go right into how to press in a 4-2-3-1.

I’ve been through half of the levels and have some familiarity with the curriculum above, but okay, I guess you’ve got it figured out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:US Soccer has a directory where you can search for any coach. So you can verify that license.

https://learning.ussoccer.com/directory

Ok, I'll bite.

https://lmvsc.org/2023-2024-travel-soccer-coaching-slate/
Scroll down to the 2011 Girls White coach
Now check with the directory

So, clearly lying but who's holding them accountable?

I think this is the least best kept secret around. She's not a good coach and never has been, but nobody goes there to be coached by her either. Slightly funny too as WAGS host coaching courses regularly for free and she's in attendance for the photo ops. Maybe just stick around next time?

But ED of the whole club?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:US Soccer has a directory where you can search for any coach. So you can verify that license.

https://learning.ussoccer.com/directory

Ok, I'll bite.

https://lmvsc.org/2023-2024-travel-soccer-coaching-slate/
Scroll down to the 2011 Girls White coach
Now check with the directory

So, clearly lying but who's holding them accountable?

I think this is the least best kept secret around. She's not a good coach and never has been, but nobody goes there to be coached by her either. Slightly funny too as WAGS host coaching courses regularly for free and she's in attendance for the photo ops. Maybe just stick around next time?

But ED of the whole club?

Again, what's the mechanism to keep her and her likes in check? Private organization and US soccer has no oversight on how they operate. There's no standard to be held to other than the bottom line. Since there's so much demand in the area, the club will always have players, thus never forcing change. It probably will never happen in the US due to laws and such, but if the federation wanted to progress things, they should have minimum standards for a club to meet to operate in the US, to include education requirements for coaches.

[Anonymous]

There is no way we can call MLS Next and ECNL teams 'elite' and top tier (behind MLS Club Academies) if they have coaches who do not have quality recognized licenses and certifications from reputable organizations.

As a nation trying to achieve and earn respectable status and growth in the international soccer world, we cannot treat U6 - U12 coaching resources like babysitters instead of an important role in the key years of development.

We have a system of waiting to see which special unicorns survive the harvest through harsh conditions instead of tending to the crops properly from early.

Coaching education and true knowledge is a part of the fabric elsewhere in strong soccer nations.
We focus on the business side.

How can we catch them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:US Soccer has a directory where you can search for any coach. So you can verify that license.

https://learning.ussoccer.com/directory

Ok, I'll bite.

https://lmvsc.org/2023-2024-travel-soccer-coaching-slate/
Scroll down to the 2011 Girls White coach
Now check with the directory

So, clearly lying but who's holding them accountable?

I think this is the least best kept secret around. She's not a good coach and never has been, but nobody goes there to be coached by her either. Slightly funny too as WAGS host coaching courses regularly for free and she's in attendance for the photo ops. Maybe just stick around next time?

My DD had her for a coach and really liked her. She's not for everyone though

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:US Soccer has a directory where you can search for any coach. So you can verify that license.

https://learning.ussoccer.com/directory

Ok, I'll bite.

https://lmvsc.org/2023-2024-travel-soccer-coaching-slate/
Scroll down to the 2011 Girls White coach
Now check with the directory

So, clearly lying but who's holding them accountable?

I think this is the least best kept secret around. She's not a good coach and never has been, but nobody goes there to be coached by her either. Slightly funny too as WAGS host coaching courses regularly for free and she's in attendance for the photo ops. Maybe just stick around next time?

My DD had her for a coach and really liked her. She's not for everyone though

This is definitely not a topic matter intended to bash individual coaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no way we can call MLS Next and ECNL teams 'elite' and top tier (behind MLS Club Academies) if they have coaches who do not have quality recognized licenses and certifications from reputable organizations.

As a nation trying to achieve and earn respectable status and growth in the international soccer world, we cannot treat U6 - U12 coaching resources like babysitters instead of an important role in the key years of development.

We have a system of waiting to see which special unicorns survive the harvest through harsh conditions instead of tending to the crops properly from early.

Coaching education and true knowledge is a part of the fabric elsewhere in strong soccer nations.
We focus on the business side.

How can we catch them?

And that’s the problem…we generally have a model where the best coaches coach the highest or most prestigious teams, while in European academies, they make sure they have the strongest coaches on the younger teams.
But then again, they tend to have enough high level coaches to go around.
As referenced earlier, it’s really hard to get higher coaching licenses, and we have as much of a shortage on high level coaches as we have with referees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no way we can call MLS Next and ECNL teams 'elite' and top tier (behind MLS Club Academies) if they have coaches who do not have quality recognized licenses and certifications from reputable organizations.

As a nation trying to achieve and earn respectable status and growth in the international soccer world, we cannot treat U6 - U12 coaching resources like babysitters instead of an important role in the key years of development.

We have a system of waiting to see which special unicorns survive the harvest through harsh conditions instead of tending to the crops properly from early.

Coaching education and true knowledge is a part of the fabric elsewhere in strong soccer nations.
We focus on the business side.

How can we catch them?

And that’s the problem…we generally have a model where the best coaches coach the highest or most prestigious teams, while in European academies, they make sure they have the strongest coaches on the younger teams.
But then again, they tend to have enough high level coaches to go around.
As referenced earlier, it’s really hard to get higher coaching licenses, and we have as much of a shortage on high level coaches as we have with referees.

The failings happen at many levels of the pyramid. While I agree in most clubs, the good coaches tend of want "older" groups, there are a lot of good coaches that stay with the younger ones. A big problem with have is everyone wanting to be labeled "elite", which really dilutes competition. IMO, this has many bad repercussions, but one of the main ones I have seen is players being able to dominate on physical tools for too long.

To this thread's point, the coaching levels are all over the place. From coaches with 0 licenses regurgitating what they learned when they played to coaches who haven't taken a coaching course in 20+ years, too often players are just being let down. Even "high level" teams can suffer from a coach who has completely stopped caring about improving his craft. This is not to say there aren't plenty of good coaches doing the right thing but the environment in the US doesn't reward their work.

Then there's college soccer... Where as in footballing nations, an 18 year old's goal is to sign a professional contract, most parent's goal is to get their kid to play college soccer. College soccer isn't a good level (in the context on the international game) and is a real impediment to progress for players. By the time these players get to the MLS, they've wasted 3-4 years of their best development years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:US Soccer has a directory where you can search for any coach. So you can verify that license.

https://learning.ussoccer.com/directory

Ok, I'll bite.

https://lmvsc.org/2023-2024-travel-soccer-coaching-slate/
Scroll down to the 2011 Girls White coach
Now check with the directory

So, clearly lying but who's holding them accountable?

I think this is the least best kept secret around. She's not a good coach and never has been, but nobody goes there to be coached by her either. Slightly funny too as WAGS host coaching courses regularly for free and she's in attendance for the photo ops. Maybe just stick around next time?

My DD had her for a coach and really liked her. She's not for everyone though

This is definitely not a topic matter intended to bash individual coaches.

Yea, my point wasn't about her likability. She's just emblematic of the issues brought up in this thread, which is a lack of qualification and lying about qualifications.