As I've mentioned before on this blog, one of the many hats I wear is soccer dad. Both my sons play soccer now. The younger one took it up a couple of years ago after decrying for years that he hates his brother and that soccer is stupid. Now, that's changed to if my brother is good at soccer, I can be better and not just by a little bit. Only time will tell if there's truth to those words because his older brother is very, very good. The older boy plays for an Elite Club National League team known in the area as one of the "big four." He's also attracted attention from the Olympic Development Program. All this is to say, the entire household is quite involved in youth soccer, and the younger boy will need dedication and thousands of hours of hard work to catch up to his brother.
The younger lad still plays recreational soccer and has his eyes set on playing select—the entry point for competitive soccer in the area—next cycle. He's been feeling that rec soccer doesn't match his ability and ambition for a spell, but I told him when we moved up north closer to the sprawling metropolis that there would be more and better players for him to test his mettle against.
Coaches Needed
I was dismayed when the email came stating that my son's team needed a volunteer coach. What if they didn't find a coach? What if my son was without a team? I knew that after building up his expectations, I couldn't inform him he didn't have a team due to a lack of coaches. So I waited until the deadline and responded that I could coach if someone else hadn't stepped up. Well, I was the live body they needed.
Safe Sport
The first and most aggravating step of my coaching journey was becoming Safe Sport certified. This meant hours of online on-demand classes covering everything from preventing bullying to ensuring all players have fun. It was close to five hours in total. I think it is overkill for a U10 rec coach and could have been significantly shorter. On the other hand, the experience makes me believe that US Youth Soccer takes player safety seriously. My hat is off to the volunteer coaches who slog this training twice yearly for years.
Multiple IT Systems
A problem I encountered was having to use multiple IT systems to determine the schedule for my team and communicate that schedule to the families. Granted, having these web-based systems is wonderful, considering that the alternative would be printing something out or using a phone tree or something else thoroughly 20th-century. However, navigating multiple systems to perform an essential and common task was irritating.
Coach
So, what about coaching? Well, it is pretty fun, honestly. My players are at the age that they still mind the coach pretty well, and their parents are usually on the sidelines if one decides to become overly emotional or picks up an injury.
At first, coaching the team was a little intimidating. My coaching experience was from working with my sons, typically one-on-one. I have no special skill, ability, or bright ideas regarding groundbreaking training techniques. I would tell my sons that hard work pays off and encourage them to do more toe touches or take more shots, etc. But between sharks and minnows, good old scrimmage, resources provided by the club, an app given to me by my older son's previous coach, and YouTube, I manage to come up with enough activities to keep the team moving an hour twice a week. Due to the size of my team and absences, I often have to participate in the scrimmage, leaving me with bruised and bloody shins, aching knees, and sore hips.
My team has a spectrum of players, from those who have trouble concentrating on an hour-long game to those who are ready to jump to competitive soccer. This makes for a challenging coaching environment. How do I bring everyone along and make sure everyone has fun? Luckily, being there is over half the battle. Some players look up to the coach almost like a supernatural entity. It's a little strange and, of course, a great responsibility. For the most part, I've done OK. The boys have tons of fun, and I don't think anyone will quit soccer over having me as their coach.
As for the games, we have four wins and four losses. Our final match will determine whether we have a winning record unless we tie. Some of our games have been competitive, but most were blowouts. Either we were much better than the competition, or the competition was much better than us. Honestly, I have decided that's more or less a positive. It has taught the boys to be gracious in victory and defeat. They need reminders in both cases to be good sports, and the smiles come easier after a big win, but snacks still take the sting out of losing.
My younger son has done very well this season. Scoring goals, making assists, and being a good teammate. My impression is that he's ready to make the leap to select soccer.
Overall, I have enjoyed my coaching journey and I'll be happy when it's over. If you receive the dreaded email regarding a lack of coaches for your offspring's team, don't shy away from volunteering. You might find that being a youth coach is more gratifying than you ever imagined.
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