It literally never occurred to me to think about this. My DD went to a practice, got offered a spot, liked the coach, that was enough.
Clearly I’m not doing the travel thing right.

Anonymous wrote:Young and not much experience coaching, but played at a high level growing up and is playing semi pro. Seems enthusiastic about teaching kids the game. This would be for a mid-level kid just starting travel. FWIW we have another kid who has had two "C" level licensed coaches who frankly were just ok. So I am kind of wondering how much the license matters vs. the person and about people's experiences with that.

So coaching is different at each age group. You would have to see who is the best fit for the age group and understand what should be taught at the age group. Also former players don’t always make the best coaches. Many players got by on their athleticism but are not students of the game.

License shows you have been instructed and tested on the best practices but does not mean you will implement those practices or be good with an age group.

The best coaches are adaptable and do not have a system.

The only think I would add is that the US license is almost a negative in IMHO. I would rather a coach with European license

We had a young coach like you describe a few years ago and he gave our kid a love for soccer that no other coach could. The downside to this coach was that there wasn't always the same level of skills development that you get from some other coaches.

Ultimately, a license shows that a coach knows tactics and knows how to run an effective practice. Just like with school teachers, I believe it's important that they have a certification to prove their knowledge, but the license alone doesn't make them a good teacher / coach.

My son's first travel coach was exactly what you describe here and it made us prioritize experience moving forward. But I think it's less about age and more about maturity in the coaching relationship - setting boundaries and having high expectations for kids. There are some older coaches who can't do that, and some younger coaches who can. Observe the coaching interactions - team and individual - during tryouts.

Anonymous wrote:Young and not much experience coaching, but played at a high level growing up and is playing semi pro. Seems enthusiastic about teaching kids the game. This would be for a mid-level kid just starting travel. FWIW we have another kid who has had two "C" level licensed coaches who frankly were just ok. So I am kind of wondering how much the license matters vs. the person and about people's experiences with that.

Sounds like a VSRC coach..LOL

I've seen fantastic young coaches without licenses and very average coaches with top licenses. I would absolutely try the young person if your child liked him at tryouts. Energy and enthusiasm can't be taught in a coaching course, but make a big difference on the sideline.

Anonymous wrote:Young and not much experience coaching, but played at a high level growing up and is playing semi pro. Seems enthusiastic about teaching kids the game. This would be for a mid-level kid just starting travel. FWIW we have another kid who has had two "C" level licensed coaches who frankly were just ok. So I am kind of wondering how much the license matters vs. the person and about people's experiences with that.

Coaching licenses are not a good indicator of a good coach. We had a B licensed coach that was garbage. They were older so they'd just gone through all the training over multiple decades.

Supportive and engaged coaches that are trying to improve players at the mid tier level is a million times better than a licensed coach that is just there for extra income. Any C or higher licensed coach that is good isn't coaching mid tier teams.

My daughter was lucky enough to have the best of both worlds this year. A young ambitious head coach who is the process of getting the higher level licenses. I'd go for the enthusiasm every time.

We've had better experiences with coaches who didn't have all of the whatever level certifications they love to tout. The certifications equate to nothing about being a good coach in our experience. I think the coach you are describing sounds like a great experience.

One of my kids has a coach like you describe, and he’s been fantastic.

The licenses show they are ambitious, not that they are a good coach. And, some leagues require coaches with higher licenses.

More important: fit of your player with the team and with the coach. Seems like a good fit? Give it a try, and don't be swayed by the newest shiny thing - if your player is learning, improving and having fun, that's all you can ask for.

Anonymous wrote:Young and not much experience coaching, but played at a high level growing up and is playing semi pro. Seems enthusiastic about teaching kids the game. This would be for a mid-level kid just starting travel. FWIW we have another kid who has had two "C" level licensed coaches who frankly were just ok. So I am kind of wondering how much the license matters vs. the person and about people's experiences with that.

Kids thrive better under a youthful coach with real enthusiasm! If I ever had the luxury of picking my coach ahead of time, I would pick this kind of Coach.

Don't get me wrong, experience and the licenses do count a lot. A higher level license is actually required to coach at a higher level. You need those licenses otherwise you open yourself to letting anyone coach teams with no standards that are set at all.

And eventually, that young & enthusiastic coach will start pursuing his license. FWIW, the travel coaches can obtain a C license in under 2 years time...so, it's not too high of a level in reality.

This is our 5th year in travel and we have literally had 5 different coaches. 2 D-licenses, 1 C-License, 1 A-License, & 1 Grassroots license.... the coaches were all a mixed bag, except for the A-License guy who was pushing 55 year in age. He was good, but once my kid a Coach who was 20 and was amazing with the kids! He was so enthusiastic and passionate about showing the kids how to play, all the kids loved it so much.

Without a doubt, I'd take the enthusiastic coach.

I would give it a shot. My kid likes young coaches.

Young and not much experience coaching, but played at a high level growing up and is playing semi pro. Seems enthusiastic about teaching kids the game. This would be for a mid-level kid just starting travel. FWIW we have another kid who has had two "C" level licensed coaches who frankly were just ok. So I am kind of wondering how much the license matters vs. the person and about people's experiences with that.