Getting in to coaching

[Soccermid8]

I am a 19 year old college student, I grew up playing youth soccer at a competeive level and was a 3 year varsity starter at my high school who made two trips to state, so I have a decent playing backround now that I am older I would like to start getting in to coaching what do you guys suggest as the best way to start gaining experince in coaching, and set myself up for the future. I'm not trying to do it for a living but i would like to coach competeive youth teams and stay involved in the sportas much as possible.

[blind_clown]

Call up the local youth club and volunteer. It's that simple. They'll probably use you as an assistant or trainer with a lower age team to start. When you hear about a coaching course (and license), take it. Usually a director of coaching will host one for their club and invite other coaches from the area.

[EJDad]

Good advice so far. Licenses are great. They give you techniques for getting your soccer knowledge onto the field. Very helpful. You might want to think about working camps as well. A great way to get some coaching experience in a low pressure environment, meet (and learn from) other coaches and make a little $ too! Most colleges run them and are looking for staff. Probably too late for this summer but...

[Ray Luca]

I am a 19 year old college student, I grew up playing youth soccer at a competeive level and was a 3 year varsity starter at my high school who made two trips to state, so I have a decent playing backround now that I am older I would like to start getting in to coaching what do you guys suggest as the best way to start gaining experince in coaching, and set myself up for the future. I'm not trying to do it for a living but i would like to coach competeive youth teams and stay involved in the sportas much as possible.

Ok just to be honest your playing backround is average at best. But you really don't need a great playing back round to coach.

But you do need to be able to demonstrate all the skills used in the game. So practice them and start playing again it's fun. or you need to hire a trainer gor your players. A lot of very good past players do that once they get old and can't demostrate properly any more.

That was one here is number two you have to really love the game and want to pass that love of game to everyone around you including the parents.

If and when your not having more fun then the kids you coach quit.

Learn never stop learning get your coaching licenses. You need an A to ger jobs. They might hire you with a B license with a promise to get the A.

No one knows you soccer people have to know who you are helps you get coaching jobs. When people found out I retired they came out of the wood work to offer me positions to coach.

learn the game you may think you know the game now, but you don't.

Try to be an assistant on a good youth club that has a good coach and learn from him. But you have a brain keep what you like about him and discard what you don't like. Go by your common sense you will be right most of the time.

Watch other coaches practices. Coach like you play think a head. Think a head in life as well.

Your game ends watch other coaches games and practices take what you like that they do and discard what you don't like.

It is not development or wins as some say. It is development get's you wins.

Picking a team take players with potential do be starters after you work your magic on them. So in travel you just can't take anyone. So now you have no reason to favor one player over another because they all have the potential to be startes eventually aftyer their hard work and your magic works on them.

Never hurt a player to win a game words to live by. You work hard traing the player you should expect the player to work hard as well. it is a team effort between you and the player to make a great player.

[JohnW]

Rule of thumb: at best, you can expect to coach at the highest level you played at. (Note: this, of course, doesn't include the many very able and committed youth coaches--many of them parents--who never played before.) But you specifically mentioned wanting to coach competitive youth teams.

That means you probably want to work toward coaching high school-aged players, but you're likely to have better luck getting a job working with U-14 or younger, at least at the outset.

Since you want to coach competitive teams--I assume you mean travel teams, as competition is often in the eye of the beholder--I suggest trying to hook on with a bigger club. It will be more difficult to break in, but bigger clubs, by definition, have more teams and more teams should translate into more opportunities to coach.

Of course, it would be nice if one of your former coaches would introduce you to a club DOC. A coach that has taken his team to state twice in a three-year period has got to have some connections to local clubs. The same would be said for your own previous club experience. If your youth coach is still coaching, go to one of his games and reintroduce yourself. Either one of these avenues can get you at least an introduction to the person/s who will make hiring decisions or recommendations.

Since you haven't coached before, I suggest at least one or two seasons as an assistant. Try to get on with a competitive boys' or girls' team. The main thing, though, is you want experience working in an environment similar to what you want for yourself in the future. You want to see how a competitive youth team is run and coached by being there and making observations firsthand.

You might have to be a volunteer assistant for the first season. To be honest, you really don't have much to offer an experienced coach (and there's no reason for you to work under an inexperienced coach).

Reread Ray's post for some things to do as an assistant. I would add that you will need to be content setting up for drills, keeping track of statistics, warming up the keeper, etc.

After you've worked as an assistant one (preferably two) seasons, then you will be more competitive as a coaching candidate. You'll probably have to coach a B-team at a big club for a season or two before they let you have your own travel team or you can probably go to a smaller club directly from assisting at a bigger club. Pros and cons to either.

Finally, IMO licenses don't teach you how to coach, but they are useful because some teams/clubs require them. They are also an excellent way to meet other coaches. I felt like I learned a lot about team management and to look at what I was doing with a critical eye. The last two are very valuable.

Good luck.