coaching during the game

the problem with side coaching is that it can be counter-productive to what the coach is trying to have the kids do in the game. what has been taught in practice, preached at halftime, and during the game can be overturned in a second by an overzealous parent. by nature, younger players will want to please their parents' more than their coach.

 

My son played a team this weekend that he used to be on. I'm not sure the old coach knew he was out there. Anyway, after the game, my son told me he kept on waiting for the coach to yell, "Pass it to Jim!". At which point he would step in front of Jim and intercept the ball.

 

We got our first lecture about side line coaching when a parent who hadn't been to any of the practices or games showed up. During our corner kicks, he would be yelling at kids to get to the back post. It didn't matter to him that it contradicted what the coach was having them do in this situation.

 

Sideline coaching from parents.... it's as inevitable as death and taxes. I have taken a note from my wife's teaching playbook and I have now begun "co-opting" them.

Once or twice a week I send out an email with details about the technical and tactical principles we have been working on under the guise of "Parents please read this with your kids and discuss it". The parents all think it is for the good of the kids, which it is, but it is really just a way for me to start having the parents yell what I want them to yell instead of the inane nonsense that usually issues forth from their mouths.

Second, I am required by my DOC to send him game reports detailing everything from time and place, to team formation, to summary notes on the action itself. At the end I have to give conclusions and note my plan for fixing what went badly, or could have been better. I send this to my DOC and my parents, again under the guise of sharing it with the kids, but mostly because I want the parents to start to see the game through the eyes of a coach who has played for 30 years and coached for nearly 20.

The parents, as I said think this is grand! I just love to hear a mom or dad on the far sideline yelling at the kids "stop forcing the ball back where it just came from", or "The near side forward needs to check to the ball!", even before I do

 

And just as inevitable is having to correct the "helpful parent".

I've started sending out e-mails this year to my players to give the kids a coaching point they can think about during the game. This weekend I will be away at a wedding and the guy who run the game while I'm away was a big proponent with his daughter's team last year of parking his two defenders on the edge of the penalty box. I don't do that, and in my e-mail to my girls I pointed out the team we beat handily over the weekend did just that, and our dominance in midfield is why we won. Anyway, this dad came out to practice yesterday to get to know the girls and when we were scrimmaging pointed out that he'd read my letter with interest and thought it made sense. He has a younger daughter than the one on my team and it is very conceivable he could coach again, so I was able to coach the coach through this very simple e-mail. I don't know why I didn't think of sending e-mails earlier. I've also been sending youtube clips and the girls have loved them.

 

Love the email idea. I have pretty good parents, but they're largely inexperienced with the game. I think our practices are organized enough to present a coherent set of ideas every week to both the players and the parents. Thanks folks.

 

Sure beats the heck out of "KICK IT!" or "SHOOT!"

I just tell the players not to listen to the parents. I tell them: if the parents really want to coach, they can get all the licenses I have, coach 12 months a year, go get 20 years of playing experience and then they can be my Asst. coach.

The license thing isn't important to me. But, every now and then, I like to rattle off the courses I've taken to show a girl that I'm actually doing this stuff full-time... and her Dad isn't. It doesn't take them long to figure out who they need to be listening to.

 

I have come this close [ ] to establishing a yearly parents vs coaches game, just to pound home (and with certain parents I do indeed mean POUND) the difference between playing soccer, and birthing a soccer player.

Everytime I think of the idea I know its a bad one..... but oh would it feel so good!

 

Everyone has a bad day. Dust yourself off and resolve to be better next time.

Hell, I went through a period where I yelled a lot to a point where I was getting angry looks from the parents, my wife, my father-in-law, the kids. I was also working nights and coaching games on very little sleep. I struggled to see my errors. So the problem persisted. It wasn't until my kids started pulling away that I realized the damage I was causing.

I'm still working nights, but I drink a lot of Red Bull and have my wife on the sidelines to help temper me. Plus I feel I have a much better perspective. Also, the wife says I'm a lot calmer when I coach girls versus boys. She thinks I get uber competitive when I'm directing boys. Go figure.

Regardless. You had a bad day. Apologize to the parents and the kids at the next practice and move on.

 

Might as well make a small coaching point on this.

Too many teams including the womens national team forget about the no "Get" part and just do the no "Turn" part.

Meaning they let the opponent get the pass but don't let them turn after they "Get" the pass.

"Get" an intercepted pass better chance for some kind of quick strike or counter attack attack goal.

 

Look, it's really very simple:

Coaching soccer (once you get beyond teaching basic skills) is about teaching the players to make decisions.

That's what playing soccer is about: making decisions.

Shall I say it again? Soccer is about players making decisions.

So if some old guy with five o'clock shadow is on the touchline making their decisions for them, then they aren't playing soccer. And the oly way to learn how to play is to play, to go through making those decisions, to make mistakes and to correct them.

And if they're listening to you, they're not thinking, not focuing on the play. Which is, of course, exactly the wrong thing to be doing.

The coaches job is to provide the framework within which the decisions are to be made based on how he wants things done.

But if you're standing there telling Billy to push up and Johnny to pass the ball to Chuck and Bobby to make a run and Alan to mark up on # 15 and on and on and on, they may do it but they're not playing soccer because they're not making decisions, they're taking orders.

And you don't learn to make decisions by taking orders. Taking orders makes you STOP thinking.

Sorry.

You want to tell me your kids are "too young" or "too inexperienced" to make decisions and they NEED you pushing them around like chess pieces? Well, to that I say "bullshit". Instead of making them follow instructions, make them solve problems. Will they get it wrong? Sure will. So you fix it at practice and try again next week. Games are there to prove your methods, and if your kids can't execute then your methods suck.

And the poster is correct: the best coaches I know say very little if anything. Because games are the test of how effectively the are learning and how effectively you are teaching, and your powers of observation go way, way down while you're hollering at everybody.

Sit. Observe. Figure out what they need to do better, what decisions they're making incorrectly, and then fix them. In practice.

If you really want to make a point with a kid who keeps making the same mistake over and over and he's just not getting it or refuses to get it, try this:

During a game, immediately after he makes that mistake, call him over to where you are. While the game is going on. He can't leave the field, of course, but he can stand there while you make him look you in the eye and slowly, carefully make your point to him while action continues on the field. Makes them crazy, but they hear you because they don't ever want it to happen again.

And coach, don't flatter yourself: the more constant chatter you direct at the players, the less they hear. Good coaches understand this. Lousy ones never figure it out.

 

Bueno that's is what you want to put out skillful good decision makers. You can't do that overnight it takes years of training and self motivation on the players part.

 

Bill, which post are you responding to?

 

You think it matters???

 

My boys played (like crap) in the United Cup this weekend in Louisville. Our first match on Saturday morning was against the United International team coached by Thabane Sutu, the Eurosport competative coach of the year and last year's Kentucky state coach of the year.

Thabane is a fantastic guy, and a proven winner on the sidelines. His team of U13 boys has qualified to play in Super Y league this year, so I knew they were going to be talented, disciplined, and organized.

Thabane could not be there for the early kick off as he was still at work, so one of the club coaching directors, a norwegian guy if I remember right, took his place.... and spent the entire first half yelling instructions on every touch of the ball as he walked up and down the sideline keeping pace with the ball. Halftime score, 0-0, as my scrappy little team found it a bit too easy to contain their attack, even though we had alot of trouble getting any penetration on the counter.

Thabane showed up a few minutes into the second, quietly sat down on the bench, and thanked the "expert" and sent him back to the headquarters tent. I smiled as I watched him observe the game silently for about 5 minutes, make a couple of subs, and give instructions to the players on the bench before sending them back in. Within 15 minutes the score was 3-0.

Now, I was not at all happy to get beat, but I have to tell you that we did not "lose" that game, they "won" it fair and square by being the better team.... but not until their quiet, confident coach showed up and allowed them to play the game the right way. I honestly believe if norway would have stuck around a bit longer, we may have just sneaked a goal and stolen that game (sighs).

Hats off to Thabane... we'll get you back next year dammit!

 

To Bill? Or to me?

 

With my Park & Rec team, if I didn't coach from the sidelines then I've lost a coaching moment in my opinion. Some of these 8th graders have been playing soccer since 5 years old, but some are just starting their first year. If I don't help them when they are on the field, then I feel that I haven't done my job. Not every situation can be replicated in practice so games are sometimes the best place for coaching. Now, it's not like I'm sitting there screaming the whole time, but I don't sit there quietly either. I've seen tons of examples of where I tell someone to do something on the field a couple of times and what do you know, they do it on their own the next time. Now, if I didn't say anything at all, and I talk to them after the game or when they come off the field, I'd lay pretty good odds that they'd repeat the mistake over and over again. Repitition is a way of teaching/learning. Now let me say that I too have seen plenty of overcoaching from the sidelines and yes it can be detrimental. To summarize, in my opinion no single approach covers all scenarios.

 

Where are your manners?

 

Here's a related question:

What do you do with your players right after the game? I see coaches enter into a full blown lecture after the game. I used to do that too, but now I tell them in 30 seconds that I'm: a)proud of them for the way they played, or b)disappointed at their performance. And that assessment has nothing to do with the scoreline. Then a quick "see you at practice" and off we go.

Thoughts?

 

I don't talk much about the game. I appraise their effort, go over what us happening over the next two-three days and assign players to pick up the balls, water, med-kit, etc. Other than that, I try to leave one statement in their minds for the night. Something either contemplative or positive.

I'd rather talk about a game before/during/after the next practice. In a relaxed and objective way.

 

Exactly. I figured, why dissect the game when there's nothing I can do about it? Its not like I'm about to put cones out and have them work on their defending or something?!

thanks...

 

Right now, I am coaching junior varsity high school girls. We play 4 20 minute quarters. Even then, I only give small "notes" in the 1st and 3rd intermission. Stuff like "let's keep the pressure on them in their half" or "we need to control the ball and make decisions".

At halftime, I do 1 or 2 (which is stretching it) conceptual things with a visual aid. I like to lay down cones or "act it out" using a couple of players. Real simple.