Advice On Coaching High School Boys

[CCSC_STRIKER20]

Hello all,

In less than a week, I am taking over as the junior varsity head coach and varsity assistant at Bismarck High School. I will be coaching the boys this Fall, and I am just asking for some advice, tips, or experiences when coaching older boys.

Here's my coaching background. I have assistant coached one year of high school boys soccer. 3 years of indoor soccer, and 3 years of club outdoor. The club experience has been mainly with boys and girls U10-U12.

Now as an assistant coach I got to learn a little bit. I am good at learning names and I feel like I am a good coach. But now, I am walking in as the new JV head coach and varsity assistant. And it's a new school as well.

I am not so much worried about being successful as a coach. Well, I am a little bit. But I am more worried about properly managing my own team of 14-16 year old boys. Any tips, advice, etc is welcome!

Thank you.

[Twenty26Six]

* Be POSTIIVE. Expect the best from each of them; believe in them. They will work to make you right - even the worst ones.

* Be honest with yourself and them. Don't hide.

* You can yell at them, but don't yell at them because _you_ are angry. Yell at them when they need to be yelled at. Learn to be an actor. But, don't do this often.

* Above all else, strive to build a personal relationship with every player. They need to know that you care. The worst discipline problems are usually kids trying to see how much shit you'll put up with from them before you give up on them. If you don't give up on them, they'll remember that.

[ranova]

This is probably off topic, but be sure you know what the school board's, school's, athletic director's, and varsity coach's policies are. Its the ones that you don't know about that can trip you up.

[CCSC_STRIKER20]

This is probably off topic, but be sure you know what the school board's, school's, athletic director's, and varsity coach's policies are. Its the ones that you don't know about that can trip you up.

That is why I was brought in as the junior varsity coach. The varsity coach cleared out all of his other coaches, because some were moving on and the others were from the old varsity coach. We have had lengthy discussions about which way he wants to take the program.

Like you said, I have to make sure I don't trip over any policies or regulations that the school has.

[MB433]

As a JV coach, make sure your emphasis is on development, but do not ignore the players' competitive spirits. Your ultimate job is to develop players for Varsity, but the boys on your team have limited future orientations and are much more into winning now. So, you have to do your best to keep the team as competitive as possible to make your players happy and also develop the players worth developing.