I'm currently a college student, just finished my first year. Somewhere in the past two weeks I had the Eureka type of moment and realized that coaching soccer is what I want to do with my life. The game is my passion and I find myself pretty tactically astute, I enjoy learning about the game and working with people. I'm going to get my E & D License as soon as possible, and then get control of a team and begin coaching, and move on up from there. I have three main questions... 1) I'm currently at university (UF) and I do want to finish up 3 more years there and get a degree. However, I'm not really sure what major would coincide well with coaching...Obviously coaching soccer in itself is not a major but this is a big decision from me and any insight from some current/former coaches would be appreciated. I was thinking possibly Psychology (with a concentration in sports), Sports Management, couldn't think of anything else. The problem with these majors is that they don't have very promising career outlooks, so if I end up not coaching it may be tough to find a job. One other I've thought of is education. Another option is to study something totally different and just have that as a backup if coaching ends up not working. But as I said this is a big decision for me so any insight is valued. 2) Will my age (19) be a strange thing in the coaching atmosphere over the next 3 or 4 years? I feel as if I may be treated a bit differently by possible employers, fellow coaches, parents, even players. I don't think too many people get coaching licenses at this point so I'm not sure if this is a potential stumbling block? 3) Finally, any coaching resources (more tactics based than teaching soccer based, will take anything though) would really be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I have seen DOC's with Child Development and Physical Education degrees. I think it depends what route you want to go but there is always room to grow/change your mind. I wish I would have picked what truly interested me when I was younger.
My goal is to eventually manage a professional outfit, may that be in the USA or Europe or elsewhere. I don't want to stay coaching U# forever. Yeah. The internship I did this summer definitely made me realize I'd rather do something I really enjoy than just pursue a traditional thing.
Elementary Ed. Should make you good around kids. Also gives you summers off to work soccer camps. The teaching will provide a better income than coaching will ever.
Strikeb4ck, It is good to hear of someone keen to get into coaching at a young age. Let me give you a bit of my background so you can understand the source of the information I will be providing you below: I have lived and worked in Canada most of my life. I have been coaching soccer since I was 16. I began getting paid to coach when I was 23. I have made a full time living in the game since I was 26. I have coached both genders at most levels of play (absolute 4 year old beginners to elite level youth, semi professional women and a college program and special olympics programs). I have won titles, lost titles and never been in the running for titles. I have developed players who dropped out of the game, played collegiately, internationally, professionally, and those who will continue to enjoy the game for life and build that joy into their kids and grand kids. I am now coaching the kids of some of those that I used to coach. I have been an assistant coach, head coach, technical director and general manager of various teams and clubs. I have a B. A. Sc. in Mechanical Engineering, a B. Ed. in Elementary School Education and am currently completing a M. Ed. in Coaching Studies. I have completed every level of coaching certification available to me in Canada (CSA National A license). I am overlooked for some coaching jobs and actively recruited for others. I am 34. My perspective on your questions... 1) If you want to pursue coaching related courses for your degree I would suggest a Sports Science degree (sometimes known as Human Kinteics or Kinesiology). You should be taking courses on skill acquisition, biomechanics, physiology, administration and anything related to fundamental movement behaviours. I would also suggest you take some psychology courses (anything to do with sport psych but also social psych, educational psych, behavioural psych and organizational psych). As for an education degree, in many places an education degree is a 1 year add on to your undergrad degree (you finish your undergrad and do an additional year of teacher training). At least this is the case through most of Canada. The biggest thing you can do is to get your coaching certifications and apprentice under someone you respect as a coach, who is working at or close to the level of player you want to work with. I would also suggest you begin volunteering as a head coach in the trenches (absolute beginners, to teenaged recreational players). Capable volunteer coaches are always needed at these levels and the fact that you are not related to any of the players makes you a desirable individual to handle the reigns. You need to get a ton of experience with managing players, parents, practice coordination, seasonal coordination, club coordination, field and referee processes etc... This is valuable experience that will probably not receive as an assistant coach. Personally, as a TD/DOC I would not bring you on board with a top tier team (or in any paid capacity) if you did not have this type of experience. 2) Age is not the issue, experience and opportunity are the issues...Andres Villa Boas was the head coach of Chelsea at 34 years of age. Do not turn down any opportunity to coach if it will afford you some for of experience different from what you may have had in the past. Get involved wherever you can. You should have an easy time volunteering with lower tiered club teams or with spring / summer camps for any organization...if you have ZERO experience ro certification DO NOT expect to be paid...you have to prove worth value before clubs/academies will want to hire you. 3) Resources...there are a ton of resources on tactics and formations available to you. Do a search through any search engine or an online book store. You can also check out WorldClassCoaching.com (they offer a regular newsletter you may find helpful) or http://www.humankinetics.com/...they will have some resources for you. I hope this helps to paint a clearer picture (based on my experience so far away from your situation). Feel free to touch base is you want any more info/perspective/feedback and be sure to let me know what you decide. Cheers, Ciaran McMahon @coachciaran11
Thanks a ton for the great post. 1) I definitely see that experience in coaching is far more important than any degree. Luckily, I think I am well placed to gain this sort of experience. In my hometown (for summer/holidays) I have A LOT of connects from my years playing, so I'm sure volunteering at a camps or even taking charge of a seasonal team would not be a problem whatsoever. Better yet, I think I might look at taking charge of a team (U6-12 I'm thinking) in the area around my university, at a local club. But I think the best experience I could get is doing as you said, an "apprenticeship" with the soccer team here. There is no men's team at the NCAA level unfortunately, but the women's team should still provide excellent CV experience, there is a big step up between state competitive/travel teams and NCAA. I am going to send the coach an email soon. And of course, as I said I don't think I will have any difficulty obtaining E and D licenses (US classification), and I am going to hopefully have the E license as soon as the end of August. I think I may look at the education major and see how it is. I don't think our system works the same as Canada however, here a bachelors in education is a 4 year program, my university strongly pushes you to add a year to that to make it a masters. So this road is a possibility, but I'd have to look at it a bit more. I'm seeing that we actually have a top Applied Physiology and Kinesiology major, so that will be something I look at. I might consider double majoring in the two. I'll keep looking. 2&3) Noted, thank you again!
I'd get a degree in something that will allow you to make a living out of the gate. The career you choose should, as others pointed out, allow you afternoon and evenings off to coach and weekends as well. Into this coaching thing, I feel like I can learn how to deal with kids relatively easily but I struggle to get really good info into exercise science, kinesiology, and biology. There's a lot of coaching resources out there, but curious why interested in tactics right out of the game? Your age won't be a problem as long as you carry yourself professionally.
My son is working with a local college student that has the same aspirations as you. The student in question is a keeper for a local Div III team and in order to gain some experience at 20 years old he became a volunteer keeper coach for a local community based club and agreed to assign refs for their in house league. My younger son plays in the in house league and I met him through my coaching in that league. I was looking for some additional keeper training for my 13 year old and he was excited for the opportunity. He now works with my son once or twice a week and I think he may enjoy it and get more out of it than my son (the results for my son have been astounding as well). We have also connected other players with several of his teammates, working on skills training and it has worked out great for all involved. At the end of the day he is getting coaching experience, making a little money, and is getting a trial run, almost an internship, for his future career. Looking longer term, he is also making connections with several local clubs, enhancing future job prospects. FYI, he is a finance major to have as a fall back and to generate some early cash flow while he establishes himself in the coaching ranks.
I just made the point and so did keeper dad, but the fall back I think is very important. I have a couple of younger coaching colleagues who are full-time coaches. They enjoy what they do but it's not an easy way to make a living or a life. The practical aspects of life are always there. Young coaches rarely have health care through their clubs. It's an active job so injury isn't so far away. Plus the money just isn't great when you're starting out. Listing "coach" on a loan application will not fly in most instances while you're in your 20s. The health care issue may sort itself out with new legislation but who knows. Coaching courses and getting your licenses ain't cheap. As a coach you make your money coaching, so if you're at a course or traveling, you're not making money. Again the flexible job schedule helps with this. Teaching seems to be a great complementary career because you're done early and you have summers/winters off to take courses. You're in the system and that makes hiring you for school coaching gigs much easier. Your education will also give you insight into child/teen psychology and how kids learn at various stages of life. I know a lot of coaches whom I respect that are also teachers—it's just a natural extension, it seems. Teaching isn't the only right path, I'm just saying from experience. Also, more on the benefits of teaching, there is high demand and high pay for teachers in growing areas of the country. Not coincidentally the clubs also pay more in those metro areas than others. Also at the moment you get a guaranteed pension—which is more of an "old guy" concern but very important nonetheless.
This is a great approach and gives you the best education for a training position (While a good resume won't get you hired, it will get you interviews), and the vast majority of positions involve training. There are a few exceptions, like at top tier professional clubs as in the EPL, where they can afford to have a structure that separates training from management. In a pure management position, the subjects of economics. statistics, and business management are more important. There are few places where you can obtain a masters in Sports Science or Physical Education, but MBA programs are offered everywhere. So I would focus on preparing for a training position first. And since you aspire for the top position at a professional club, you should keep in mind that there is no job security in the field. Unless you own the club, you will always need a "Plan B" even if you finished top of the league last season.
Think about becoming a sports medical trainer, and or a sports masseur. Our clubs masseur has been with us since 1952. He still can't speak English. He had become our club historian. Evidently you don't have a player ressume. It I'd hard to get an advanced players respect without it as far as coaching goes.
Check this out I have been studing things like this for years. If I was still young I would be an expert in things like this. Take the sport in places it has never gone before. "Span of perception/ chunking" What this really means. See the field and the opponents and team mates. Then instantly do something from the picture you saw. Without having to waste time thinking about what you saw. So it is see the picture and do an action. The action being making a good decision pass or taking on the defender or defenders or making a good shot. "Teaching it scientifically in a non sport context was done in the 1950's. "The Perceptional Speed Test was developed in the 1950's by LL Thurstonand TD Jeffrey of the University of North Carolina and is still used to test for checking the span of perception. It contains a 140 mini test search consisting of a picture in the farthest left column and five more figures to the right You must write down the column number of one figure to the right that is identical to the one in the farthest left column. It is now published by the Human Resources Center at the University of Chicago."Span of Perception; Ability to visually process a sequence of information instantly." I kept this because I thought it was very interesting, and can be applied to our game. I like to get my hands on this test, and actually test my players. To see how they do. Maybe by taking this test at different times during the season maybe they can get better at it, and use it in games. Why don't you get this test and study it and see if it can be used for better vision in our game. I didn't do it. Maybe you could and become an expert in this field. That would be something my young friend. I think some players are born with this ability like Valderrama, but maybe it can be learned. -------------------------------- Now can we use chunking in our game? Even if you could, before you could you have to be confident skillful player with the ball to make it actually useful in a game. -------------------------- You still have to be able to hold off pressure, you still have to think ahead before the first touch, have to be able to dribble, and you have to be able to pass accurately, and you have to be able to shoot. You have to be able to get your head up confidently and take that picture. Then you can immediately see and do without taking the time to think. I think peripheral vision exercises is part of this. Ever play handball like they do in Germany the one where you can pass the ball with the hands and find open players. Do that but try not to make a pass directly in front of you. There was a friend of my wifes Mother who was legally blind since world war 2. 15 yrs ago he had some laser eye surgery. From that day onhe had better then 20/20 vision and his peripheral vision was greatly improved. There might be something to this in helping with a player vision through this kind of laser surgery. Another thing you might want to look into. I know it might happen in the future. If someone focuses on it now your young maybe you can be part of that future. Just some other things you can think about. Best regards Nick
Nick is right, but that is something he has less control of. I don't think it matters with players as much as it matters with non-players. It amazes me how many people believe professional playing experience signifies an ability to coach or manage. Professional player experience will get you an interview, might even get you a job, but it doesn't make you a good coach or manager. I think to be a good coach or manager, you need to be a student of the game. Some professional players are, some aren't. I think to be a good coach or manager, you must have playing experience, but there are far more successful coaches that were mediorce players than stars. Jurgen Klinsmann is the exception, not the rule. Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley are more typical, both played college at a time when that was as high as it got for US players. (Not putting them down, Bruce Arena was an all-american while playing for a junior college.) The op is very young still, even in the player development terms he is years away from full development. Bottom line along with the education and licenses, you should continue to play at as high a level as you can. Play for as good a coach as you can. Learn coaching from the inside too.
Let me put it this way it is easier to get a advanced players respect if you had a pretty good playing history then or if you had a pretty good coaching history.
Thanks for the help guys. I have played since I was 3 years old, just stopped competitive once I got to college (knee injury). I know what I'm doing and certain parts of my game are probably as good if not better than some college players. The main thing is I've always had great vision and understanding of tactics/space/movement in the game, and I think coaching is a great way to translate that. Either way I've decided to go with a major in statistics, not only does it interest me but it is very versatile for career choices. Am gonna get some coaching experience throughout college, hopefully will have my E and D licenses before the year's end. Thanks again. Any cool sites regarding tactics and stuff would be appreciated, I love reading Zonal Marking so if anyone has any other ones like that, thanks in advance.
My mind has been blown Hello Strikeb4ck, I am also entering my second year at UF (University of Florida), and decided during the school year that coaching was what I wanted to do. Coaching kids would be something I'd love, but I do want to move up and become a pro coach eventually. If you're up for it, I'd definitely like to have a chat sometime about this and share some thoughts as well as resources I have gathered. Let me know
Learn about networking and start identifying contacts. Create a one page resume, and keep it current. Long term: since you like statistics, keep track on where the technology is going on measuring in game metrics and read up on the economics of player acquisition. You could eventually market yourself two ways--1) knowing how to analyze the metrics and use them to plan training and tactics (helps training at any level), and 2) understanding how to apply statistical analyses to maximize value in trades (this could be a fast track for you into a professional operation somewhere). Join NSCAA. It is an association for soccer coaches. They have a magazine, website, and their members are a who's who of coaching. Start networking. They have an annual conference. Start networking with your area's state association people including ODP coaches. I highly recommend anything written by Jonathan Wilson. He writes books (Inverting the Pyramid), sports articles for CNN.com, and edits his own UK soccer magazine The Blizzard which is intended to be a forum for articles with more in-depth analysis. For instance CNN restricts each article to three points and about 2 pages max.
On networking it helps to be known. More people know you and what you can do the better off you will be. It is more important to get recommendations from people that matter in the field you want to be in. Want to be a high end coach here? You need a A coaching license. If you can get a recommendation from some one that matters in the sport even better
A lot of people that I know in the sport who went on to coaching Pro teams and even their countries national teams. Started off as adult club players. From their they became youth coaches in their club or other clubs. Then they became an adult coach of their clubs or other clubs. Then from their in all other directions to college to a lower level pro team, to a high level protean to their countries nation team.
Age won't be a factor. Lots of coaches start out around 19. My club's boys' DOC has his doctorate in Physical Therapy and the girls' director has a bachelor's in English. I think an Exercise Science major would compliment it well. I'm in a similar situation as you and I'm finishing up my bachelors in Sport Management. Just make sure to get lots of experience whether it's paid or volunteering. Connect with your DOC or a coach that's been coaching for awhile and hopefully you can get some mentorship that will help you out and possibly get you a letter of recommendation or just a straight job offer in the future. I have lots of coaching books but, honestly, I just like the raw data in the USSF D Manual. Too many of the coaching books are just fluff and no substance. Also just downloaded some of the NSCAA manuals but haven't had time to take a look yet.
Glad to see you decided on Statistics as a Major, good choice. If I were you I would get out and start networking and meeting coaches. The soccer industry believe it or not is a small world. Try to become as knowledgeable about the game as possible. If you understand the game and are able to run effective training sessions your age will not be a factor. Try searching on Google or Youtube with keywords such as soccer drills, skills, techniques, 1v1...you get the idea. I have played professional soccer for 5 years, coach on the side, and am still learning new drills. Check out www.goalacity.com to become a private soccer coach and let GOALACITY bring the athletes to you. It is a great way to get your foot in the door and start training kids who want to take their games to the next level. If you have any questions feel free to email us at contact@goalacity.com -