The Four ‘R’s of Coaching Soccer

Regardless of the level of soccer you coach, from Rec to College, you have an important job. Impressionable youngsters are looking to you as an example, as someone to lead and teach them. How you react, how you talk to them, how you encourage them, are all lasting memories that they will take with them into adulthood.

I’d like to share with you some of what I’ve learned during my four years of coaching soccer:

Responsibility

Responsibility as a soccer coach comes in all different sizes – you have to be responsible for your players, their safety, their behavior, and their education. You can only do this by being focused at the job in hand. During your training sessions are you aware of your surroundings? Are the goalposts secure? Is the playing surface fit to use? I turn up before every training session and walk around the field to make sure there are no sharp objects, no left over rubbish, or anything that would injure my players. I remember playing in England and we had to deal with bottles, tin cans, dog waste – pretty much anything you can imagine. But we played because we loved to play. As a responsible soccer coach, player safety should be paramount.

Impressionable young soccer players will look up to you for leadership. You are responsible for your words and actions. What you do, your players will look to emulate – you set the standard. After a tournament last Fall I sent out an end of season email. One of the responses I received from a parent was that they had witnessed some less than positive behavior from coaches. The email said that they never had to worry about their son hearing any bad language or bad behavior and that they were glad I was their son’s coach. I make it clear that I don’t tolerate bad behavior, but I hold myself under the same rule. I don’t scream and yell at the kids on the field or in training, shout obscenities at the officials during games, or show any kind of disrespect to the other teams. I let my players know that without the officials, there wouldn’t be any game – they have a tough job as it is. As players and coaches we are all responsible for our behavior, both on the field and off it.

I strive to give the players on my team the best soccer education that I can. If I don’t know something, or there’s something I want to teach and I don’t necessarily have a lesson plan that will work, I will call my DOC and ask him for advice or some drills I can use. I try to attend a license or coaching course annually so I can expand my knowledge of the game – I watch soccer every day of the week, I love the game – I hope to pass on not only my knowledge but my passion for the game because ultimately, if youngsters don’t have passion for soccer, the game in this country is gone before it even arrived.

Respect

As in most walks of life, respect is not something that your players or their parents will give you freely, you have to earn it. Set out your own personal goals for the team at the start of each season and communicate those goals clearly and honestly. Whenever I’ve done this the response has always been appreciative.

On game day don’t ignore the officials, opposition players and coaches, and all of the fans. At the end of the game, make sure your players shake hands or high-five the opposition players and coaches (for the older players shaking hands is appropriate), and make your players also do the same to the officials. Although the game has seen increased popularity, it’s still a relatively small community. Being seen as a coach and a team who is disrespectful is not likely to win you many fans or friends.

Your players will respect you if you’re open and honest with them and they will return the favor. Some of the best coaches I’ve had knew when to kick my butt and when to talk to me one-on-one. I knew where I stood and I respected them for that – respect is a mutual relationship but is beneficial to all.

Relationships

Building relationships is all about trust, it is no different in soccer. When I first took over my current team I stressed that the team comes first. There are no star players, superstars or primadonnas and there are no exceptions – we win as a team and we lose as a team. I like to use this quote from Mia Hamm:

I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.

Wow! What an inspiring quote. As a team there are multiple levels of relationships, and not everyone will be friends, and they don’t have to. If you’re all pulling in the same direction and for the same reasons, the team will be the winner. Foster and work on team building. Make sure there are team social nights. Sometimes off the soccer field you can work on those relationships and build strong bonds with the players and the parents.

I’ve found that coaches meetings are a great place to get to know the other soccer coaches at your club. You can’t really get to know the coaches immediately before or after a training session, so when your DOC holds coaches meetings, be sure to attend. Get to know the experienced coaches and learn from them. I also try and set up lunch meetings with my DOC before or after a season. I get to tell him how the season went, how he would have approached certain situations, and what he thinks I should do to improve or work on for the next season. This is great feedback – I’ve been coaching soccer for a little over four years and the amount of things I’m still learning is amazing. Plus, I’ve never known a DOC to refuse a free lunch.

Reputation

There is often a reputation and a stigma which comes from being a foreign soccer coach. A lot of coaches get by just with their accent. They’re foreign, from a soccer nation, they have the accent, they know soccer – right? Well, sometimes. There is a difference in knowing soccer and being able to teach it. Would you rather have a reputation for soccer knowledge or being able to teach it? At coaching licenses they stress upon being able to teach in the moment – get in, get out, get on with it. Good coaches will teach not dictate, regardless of their nationality. When I talk with other coaches about coaching and they’re complimentary about opponents they’ve faced, the question which always gets asked is who was the coach? The response being it was coach X, they’re a real teacher, those kids are in great hands.

Be aware of who you are, where you are, what you’re saying, and how you’re saying it. Your actions and words have a great impact on today’s young soccer players. Their future in the game would be a terrible thing to waste.