Reply to Soccer Coach in Northern VA

Forum Index » Soccer

Reply to "Soccer Coach in Northern VA - Ask me anything"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=asksoccernova]Hi Coach...as a coach/trainer, what are some of the better clubs to coach for? Why do you stay at your current club? Do you think it's important for a club to set a curriculum and all the teams adhere to it pretty closely or should coaches/trainer have a lot of independence?

A "better club" to me just means that the people making the important "soccer decisions" are actually qualified to do so. People that are experienced in soccer understand that all decisions need to be made in the best interests of the players. A good club is one where people are actually qualified to hold the positions they have and make the decisions they make.

Some coaches are more comfortable working independently and mostly being left to do their own thing, and some like being part of a large club where they coach several teams. It's all individual preference.

Having a Technical Director that wants you to succeed is important... not someone who keeps track of all the things you've unknowingly done wrong in their head and then surprises you with a list one day out of the blue. If you make a mistake, they let you know right away and don't make it personal.

Also not having parents that go around your back with their complaints up the chain of command, with the club president or the county recreation department for whatever the grievance is.

The biggest source of parent complaints that go on in the  background (at least at younger ages) usually come from tryouts, the A/B/C team splits and the movement between teams, especially as parents are overprotective and stressing about their kid's future. ESPECIALLY in tight-knit areas of northern VA where everyone knows everyone else in their "burb" because they all live next door to each other, their kids have all played on the same rec teams for years, and everyone is in each others' business.

Also working with players that challenge your own coaching ability because you can test their limits, and a talent pool that allows your team/s to be competitive at least within the DC area.

Knowing that there are other good coaches also and colleagues you can chat with or do other things with off the field once in a while. Opportunities to work summer camps, offseason programs, etc and having freedom to do different things.

Being able to stay with the same team for as long as you choose to as long as its a fit and not being forced to move to a different team after U9-U10 when you have built the players up from raw talent into up and coming players.

A club should set a curriculum for training programs for non-travel players from U9-U12ish ages (and younger), but age group coaches should have the freedom to do as they want if they are good enough to design their own sessions. Age group coaches should be experienced enough to do that on their own. Different age groups have different starting points and it is not a one-size-fits-all curriculum for travel.

I stay because I like the people I work around, have a good relationship with the parents, TD, kids, other coaches, its a club that doesn't have ultra-high expectations attached to its name but still has been around for a while has a good reputation and is large enough to put together good teams but not a lot of bureaucracy. Plus I have built up a group of players that I like and want to continue with. Switching clubs is a hassle and you only do it if you really have to or if there is a career opportunity too good to pass up on.

No club is perfect, whether you are a coach or parent, its just a matter of what +/- tradeoffs you can accept. If you are in one place for a while, at least you know what the negatives are and can hopefully live with them.

When you switch clubs, you get a whole new different set of negatives to deal with that you can never see from the surface. At least if you are in the same place for a while, you can work around the negatives as you figure out what they are, so you can focus on why you are there in the first place, which is to develop players and make a difference for your kids. As a coach working year-round with the same players, you are a very influential adult in a kid's life, after their parents.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics