Coaching Education content provided by the NSCAA

Curing Common Coaching Problems
(Pt. 1 of 3)
Although each situation is unique, there are similarities 
By Dan Woog
 
The player who wants to play more than one position
"I'm a left winger."
"I can't play defense."
"I've never played halfback before."

This is a problem that is best nipped in the bud. The sooner a youngster learns that a soccer player is a soccer player, period -- that a soccer player plays offense and defense always, that a team needs change and that different coaches see players' abilities and roles in different ways -- the better off that player will be.

There are two good ways to deal with this problem. One is through communication -- explaining to the team as a whole and to the player individually how fluid "positions" must be (especially compared to specialized sports like baseball and football). This verbal communication works only if the player is old enough to reason and mature enough to have a dialogue with his/her coach.

The second method is to ease the player into a new role during practice. Let him/her get the feel for a new spot during non-threatening, non-pressure situations. Spend time teaching new responsibilities; don't simply announce before the game, "Jordan, you're our new stopper." Follow this up with concerned questioning: "How do you like playing in the back? What's better about it, compared with striker? What's worse?” You may be surprised how many times the answer is "It's fun!"

The player who thinks the coach's lineup/strategy/substitution policy/etc. is wrong
This is more insidious than the previous problem. Usually, the player is older, more independent. Often in fact, it's the better player, the one with excellent skills or a solid game sense, who is apt to challenge the coach's way of coaching.

Certainly coaches can learn from their players. Someone out on the field has a different perspective than someone on the sidelines. Not always better, or worse, or right, just different. That player's insights or suggestions often can be valuable.

But it's the coach's job to see that those suggestions are offered at the appropriate times; that is, the time designated by the coach. Time can be allocated during certain practice sessions for questions about strategy. That's when a rational team-wide discussion can be held. Possibly the halftime remark, "Anyone have any comments about the first half?" can elicit some responses. However, no coach can allow killer statements about other players or negative comments about coaching policy to disrupt team unity. Criticism by players must be restricted to private conversations with the coach. Breaches should result in loss of playing time.

There is a time for open discussion and a time for coach's authority. Any coach who does not recognize the difference, or who abrogates this responsibility, is doing the team and his/her young athletes a grave disservice.

Parent interference
This can get pretty hard, indeed. Dealing with peers, friends and colleagues is a lot different than dealing with children. Coaches need the wisdom of Solomon, the patience of Job and the diplomacy of Kissinger when interacting with the numerous and varied adults who make up the so-called "cheering section."

One clever way of dealing with parental pressure is to suggest that the parent come help you coach. Often the loudest mouths are those who know the least. "You know, I really appreciate your interest. Could you help me run practices and take over next week when I'm away?" This will usually produce the response, "Oh, I couldn't. I don't know enough about the game." Use that line as a wedge to open a discussion about the need to let the coach operate without interference, unless the parent wishes to "put his money where his mouth is."

When the critics do know what they're talking about -- for instance, your assistant or a particularly knowledgeable parent -- and they're vocal enough to be undermining your authority, organize a meeting of all the adults. Calmly confront the issue head-on, ask for criticism, answer it as rationally and articulately as you can, then stress the need for a united front. The next time the critics carp, they'll be facing pressure themselves from other parents -- the middle-of-the-roaders -- who will pay them less mind. To switch the maxim around, the best defense is a good offense.

Coaching a "superstar"
This is a problem? You bet! And it can take several forms.
One form is the player who clearly knows more than the coach, especially when everyone else knows it, too. (This is almost always an adolescent problem.) The coach must be smart enough to recognize the situation and to admit it. He/she must learn from the player while not surrendering the team. Good one-to-one communications skills are a must. The coach has to impress upon the player the need for cooperation and patience, with both the team and the coach, while at the same time letting the player know he/she is not special, that rules or expectations will not be bent or twisted on their behalf.

Another problem occurs if the superstar believes he/she is too good for the other players on the team. If a coach expects a team to always feed the ball to the star or singles that player out for constant praise and uses him/her for every good example, yet is loathe to offer criticism, this reinforces the player's feeling of being special. Good young players should be used as examples for others, but they also need to be criticized constructively, prodded and shown the necessity for working selflessly with others. Too many great athletes have stagnated as youngsters because they haven't been pushed to improve even more, pushed to develop team concepts and skills they'll need once they advance to a higher level of play.

A coach can't be afraid to sit a superstar down. If too many practices are missed, the player should sit; if a rule is broken, he/she should sit; even if the superstar is having an off day -- and everyone does -- the coach should resist the temptation to think that the star must be on the field at all times or the team will fall apart. As far as can be determined, no youth soccer player in the U.S. is God -- and the sooner our youth soccer players learn this, the better.