What to look for in your childs coach

Saw this article on the boys forum thought it was a good read since we are about to be at the end of contracts.... :-)

http://www.socceramerica.com/article/41382/how-to-navigate-your-childs-path.html

Love these questions from the article. A few do make you think:

Without being a “helicopter parent,” be mindful when watching your child’s team play:

* Are players encouraged to solve problems and think, or are they simply running around and kicking?

* Does the team try to possess the ball (good sign), or do they seem in a rush to go to goal immediately every time they get the ball (bad sign)?

* Is coaching in the game given to players away from the ball (good sign), or is the coach joysticking the player with the ball (bad sign)?

* Is most of the coaching concerned with “working harder”? (What do you do when “working harder” is no longer sufficient because of a lack of knowledge or skill?)

* Does the team rely primarily on serving the ball forward to a fast player up front to score, and on a fast player in the back to cover for mistakes? (Very bad sign)

* Does the team play differently at the end of the season than it does at the beginning? Is your child a noticeably different (and improved) player?

While the focus of this article has been primarily on coaching, it is important to realize that if parents do not encourage self-directed play in the hours their child is not with their coach, to some extent the selection of a club, team, or coach is a moot point -- the player’s ceiling is already established.

weatherbug wrote:Love these questions from the article. A few do make you think:

Without being a “helicopter parent,” be mindful when watching your child’s team play:

* Are players encouraged to solve problems and think, or are they simply running around and kicking?

* Does the team try to possess the ball (good sign), or do they seem in a rush to go to goal immediately every time they get the ball (bad sign)?

* Is coaching in the game given to players away from the ball (good sign), or is the coach joysticking the player with the ball (bad sign)?

* Is most of the coaching concerned with “working harder”? (What do you do when “working harder” is no longer sufficient because of a lack of knowledge or skill?)

* Does the team rely primarily on serving the ball forward to a fast player up front to score, and on a fast player in the back to cover for mistakes? (Very bad sign)

* Does the team play differently at the end of the season than it does at the beginning? Is your child a noticeably different (and improved) player?

While the focus of this article has been primarily on coaching, it is important to realize that if parents do not encourage self-directed play in the hours their child is not with their coach, to some extent the selection of a club, team, or coach is a moot point -- the player’s ceiling is already established.

Love this point.

Key question is how much time does the coach spend in practice and games on encouraging / teaching players to outwork the other player relative to developing / teaching how to out think the other player, relative to out skilling the other player. For some coaches there is even a question if they have the capability to do the last two.

The older they get the more it becomes a 3 legged stool for success.