Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Are you coaching a soccer team or running a program?

During a coaches meeting at Niagara College in September 2013, our Director of Athletics and Recreation gave us an important reminder "You are running a program, not coaching a team".

I took that to remind us of taking a more long term and holistic approach to how we deliver our program.  I feel I've always run programs, but the statement still begs thought and reflection.

Coaching a team is team centric.  Running a program is player centric.  The team's sustained success will come from the collective development of your individual players.

First, you need to answer the main question yourself.  Are you coaching a team or running a program?  As soon as you giver the question some thought and come up with an answer, your coaching will change.

My sons have had both types of coaches through their sports.  There were some who plucked group of players  and worried about that season.  There were others who treated their coaching as a long term project.

Friday, March 28, 2014

How is your program's reputation?

reputation - noun - the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something

Does your program's reputation matter?

Quick answer: YES

I am not talking about your reputation, but your program's.

If trophies are your only way of assessing a program and trying to form a reputation, please do me a favour and stop reading now.

People who like working for a company do so because they appreciate how they are treated and respected.  You never (very rarely) hear somebody say "I love working there, we make the best brake drums ever and always within specifications, +/- 0.1mm".

Look at the OSA's Club Excellence Overview.  It does not list anywhere in the criteria "How many Ontario Cups has your club won?"

Your program's good reputation is what will draw quality people to join you.  Your good reputation makes it easier to garner corporate and community support. 

Your reputation needs to be guarded and protected.  It can take years to build, and minutes to destroy.

With a group of wonderful people around me, we coach at Niagara College and we will soon be

Friday, March 7, 2014

Everybody has a talent. It's YOUR job as a coach to help a player find what they are good at.

People are strutting the streets and fields in their fancy track suits bragging about the great programs they're with.  That's OK.  But never forget that all soccer is soccer and everybody playing is a soccer player.  I am reminded of that every Wednesday night in Welland.

My wife coaches a CoEd U15 indoor house league team and I am her able-bodied assistant.  My youngest son trains with his travel program but also plays in this league. 

The skill level in this league varies.  There are travel players, house league payers and some players who only play soccer during the winter, but all players nevertheless.

I always leave with a good feeling because every week somebody has a very good game.  Do we coach?  Not in the "fancy tracksuit" meaning of the word, but we do give info and we encourage.   When we find something that somebody does extremely well, we let them do it.
 "... there is something for every player to do."
When I hear people say "just house league" it bugs me because I feel more magic can happen at

Friday, February 14, 2014

"Age Appropriate" a simple and powerful call to action for any sports program.


"Children are not mini-adults"  Remember this as you read this article.

I've been spending a lot of time on both ends of the education equation in my adult years.  In the world of sports and education, I can claim to have experiences both as a learner and educator.

Being a participant in those worlds, I enjoy reading about the theory and science of learning and teaching.  One thing has become obvious to me: Canadian Soccer's LTPD is probably the most powerful, decisive and courageous educational/philosophical shift I have ever seen.

There are a lot of guidelines and background information to support programs but the two most important words to me are "age appropriate".  You can present opinions and arguments against

Friday, January 24, 2014

Young children need to learn how to lose. I DISAGREE!

Why do children need to learn how to lose?  What motivational speaker came up with that?  When people talk about youth sports, you hear it all the time, sometimes to justify decisions.

The biggest cry of the anti-LTPD army is that young children need to learn how to lose. (for the record, LTPD is not about removing scores ... but that's another story).

For the record, in my humble opinion, when it's done at an adult level, kids don't need to learn how to lose.  I didn't always think it was very wrong, but I did always feel it was wrong.  Now, as I reflect back on mistakes and successes and learn from that, my position is more defined.  Watching my nephews come through their respective systems now, I feel even stronger about age appropriate programming.  (writer's note, I write this article drawing on YEARS of making mistakes.)

First and foremost, kids don't need adults to teach them how to win or lose.  They live and learn it everyday at the schoolyard and playground and I think it's great.  Most playground games have a winner and loser.  Some kid has to get picked last for teams.  Not everybody gets to be Sidney Crosby in street hockey.  Somebody dumps their bike quicker and gets to the Slurpee