Anonymous wrote:Some programs require you to attend age appropriate youth training, background checks, appropriate relationship awareness training.

It is a shame that it appears Stoddert does not.

My DH is a volunteer youth hockey coach and is required to go to 2 full day training sessions each year as well as take a series of online trainings to understand what is age appropriate development.

To clarify, Stoddert DOES require it for one coach per team. Does not for people assisting the coaches or managers.

Some programs require you to attend age appropriate youth training, background checks, appropriate relationship awareness training.

It is a shame that it appears Stoddert does not.

My DH is a volunteer youth hockey coach and is required to go to 2 full day training sessions each year as well as take a series of online trainings to understand what is age appropriate development.

Anonymous wrote:it depends on the age of the kids -- for the Stoddert league, for kindergarten, being a 'co-coach' if there's already one 'licensed' coach (who went to a 3 hour class) - it's mostly about substituting kids in during a half hour, half field game & just being enthusiastic. And the only practice at that age is the first 1/2 hour of the hour designated for games. Basically making sure kids get turns (some sideline parents worry if their kids are getting playing time but at that age, they need breaks), trying to cajole reluctant players to go into the game but not going over board on it, and just basically being encouraging effort. At that age, the coaching 'experts' at Stoddert push the idea that it's about letting the kids just try to play & problem solve & they are too young for any of the real skills. The book they suggest is coaching for 'baffled' parents. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/007138488X?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

Oh - and a lot of chasing balls that go out of bounds and rolling them in!!

it depends on the age of the kids -- for the Stoddert league, for kindergarten, being a 'co-coach' if there's already one 'licensed' coach (who went to a 3 hour class) - it's mostly about substituting kids in during a half hour, half field game & just being enthusiastic. And the only practice at that age is the first 1/2 hour of the hour designated for games. Basically making sure kids get turns (some sideline parents worry if their kids are getting playing time but at that age, they need breaks), trying to cajole reluctant players to go into the game but not going over board on it, and just basically being encouraging effort. At that age, the coaching 'experts' at Stoddert push the idea that it's about letting the kids just try to play & problem solve & they are too young for any of the real skills. The book they suggest is coaching for 'baffled' parents. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/007138488X?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

Get the USSF F license. It's online now. Takes two hours and $25, and it tells you nearly everything you need to know to get started. Your club's technical director should (but too often doesn't) help you beyond that.

I find the worst coaches are the ones who think they know it all. The ones who realize how much help they need will go out and get it, and they're often great with kids.

Yeah, it is very rewarding once you get the hang of it. If you've never done it before, go watch somebody else's practices for ideas - somebody that knows what they're doing. Read books about it, there's lots of stuff online for coaching every sport. Take it seriously enough that you want to do a good job, but not so seriously that wins and losses are the most important thing.
What is important is the effect you have on the kids you are coaching. Be kind, encouraging, and supportive.
And don't yell!

I'm not familiar with Stoddert but I've been an assistant coach in the Arlington soccer system. I enjoyed it. For me, it meant attending a majority of practices and games, occasionally leading practice (if the head coach was out) and taking some sort of role during the games, like timekeeping, refereeing, managing who was on the field and who was a sub. There wasn't a ton to it, and the commitment was just a few hours a week. If I had to lead practice, I'd spend a little time prepping for it - figuring out how I wanted to structure our 45 minutes, which drills to do, etc.

Sometimes it just involved keeping the boys from tackling each other and the girls from hugging each other and missing a goal opportunity. (truth.) I thought the parents were, for the most part, nice. And not crazy.

Absolutely worthwhile, if you ask me.

You have to go to all the practices, and plan out ahead of time what you're doing during them. At some point it is nice if you actually know how to play, do footwork moves, drills, etc but some you can probably get from other coaches and on-line. You have to organize all the medical forms, snack sign-ups, end-of year trophies and/or parties. Plus any fun things during the year, like extra practices, costumes, special treats, etc. Know that some parents you will have to track down for everything. Plus some kids won't show up to games without telling you. You have to plan out who is starting and subbing during games, and find and train the goalie.

get ready for some miserable parents who think every game is the worldcup final.

A warm body.

My husband has been coaching 2 teams (one my kid isn't even on!!!) because nobody else will step up to the plate.

He keeps getting requests for more kids to be placed on his team.

I told him make another dad coach the other games.

Rec is volunteer and without volunteers it doesn't work. DH works 70+ hour weeks and can still hold the 1 one practice per week so others should be able to as well.

In my opinion, every kids' sports team needs at least one coach who truly knows the game and how to coach. I think at the younger ages, it's fine to have helper coaches who are there to supervise, organize, support the coach, etc. but someone out there has to know what s/he is doing. If you have no experience with the sport your kid is coaching, I'd suggest you volunteer to be a team manager which is more of an administrative role. Even in rec/house sports, many parents have some expectation that their kid will actually learn something about the sport he or she is playing and improve at it over the course of the season. I appreciate volunteers but don't want to pay money and invest time for my kid to play for a coach who knows little or nothing about the sport. And reading a how-to book or watching a YouTube video doesn't count as "knowing the sport."

I'm sure it's a resource issue, but sure would be great if rec/house leagues that depend on parent coaches invested more time in providing coaching support - training, practice plans, educational resources, etc. There was another DCUM thread about travel soccer programs having 5 or 6 teams - I'm guessing this is driven in part by parents being dissatisfied with the level of coaching (and the resulting quality of play over time) in the house leagues.

Our team has paid coaches for the practices but will rope in parents to help out with games. As such the only real commitment is the time it takes for the games themselves, and if you are already going to those matches it isn't that much added time.

I got a plea today that my child's soccer team needs coaches, assistant coaches and managers. This is Stoddert. Can any experienced parents tell me what's involved in terms of time commitment?