As I finish my 15th year as head coach at Concordia and 27th year overall , it is obvious there are many more years behind me than there are remaining in front of me. As the demands and time commitment required to catch at the university level increase, balancing a full time job , a coaching gig that sometimes feels full time as well as home life is difficult sometimes. However I keep coming back because I still get the thrill in coaching as when I first got bit by the coaching bug , I still get to be around this wonderful sport that has been a huge part of most of my life and in the the positives outweigh the negatives.
On a soccer level, I simply love this sport , it's my passion and I get to have an active role in teaching it and participating at a highly competitive level. I feel the excitement each August as training camp opens , I look forward to stepping onto the field before each training session and I still get butterflies as I wake up each game day and they grow as we approach kickoff. But even more so, coaching st the university level has given me an appreciation of the privilege I enjoy being a coach in a whole new manner . Each August, I welcome a new group of incoming first year players, individuals that I have in many cases spent a year or more recruiting , discussing options with, getting to know them and most importantly convincing them that our university and our soccer program will be a great experience. In some cases , I am involved in helping these individuals make their first adult decision, choosing a path to education and future career. I get to spend 3,4 or 5 years with them , watching them grow as students, athletes and people. Truth be told, not everyone enjoys their time with the team or appreciates me as a coach and sometimes their frustrations and complaints are hard to accept but it is part of the role. You can never please everyone. Some players leave with regret and disappointment and others might take a while away to realize what being a student-athlete gave them. But then , when former players return for a visit or to watch a game then take a moment to say hi or thank you for all we as coaches did for them , or reach out asking me to be a reference for their grad school application or for a potential job, you realize that maybe you played a role that goes beyond just teaching soccer. And that is why I keep coming back !
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As a coach, the ability to evaluate players on their abilities and potentielas well as scout future players is an essential part of the duties . Being able to identify talent but more importantly determine how prospective players may fit in with your team can make or break your success.
I have been a head coach at three very distinct level, senior women AAA, provincial team and for the last 15 years at university. I was also an assistant with Quebec's Natiional Training Centrr and twice represented Canada at World University Games. Scouting futures players in these cases was fairly specific to the task at hand and the mandate and I was not ultimaly the decision maker. In all three of my different coaching roles , the ability to evaluate soccer players was crucial but yet the process and some of the criteria and methodology are quite different . Of course, evaluating a player's soccer ability remained at the core of it but the thought process differed. Each coach will surely have his or her own process for evaluating soccer players and certainly it will be influenced by the level and age group st which they coach but I would venture that at the base we all share the same starting point . Players will usually be evaluated on 4 distinct criteria - technical ability , basically soccer skills - physical qualities , size , speed , strength , agility etc - tactical awareness , understanding the game, ability to play different systems or styles - physiological profile , commitment , maturity . concentration etc Different coaches will probably prioritize different traits as being key indicators in a player's ability. For myself at the base of it all , if a player has good technical skills and the right mindset and is above average in these two areas, I feel that they can improve their physical qualities through commitment to training and will be committed enough to developing a better tactical understanding. However at each level I have coach the context influenced the process. How you might ask ? Well .... When I coached club , it was at the senior level and at time when technical and tactical coaching for female players was very underdeveloped. I was coaching players between the ages of 19 and as old as 30, dealing with different levels of maturity , interest and competitive goals Additionally I was evaluating players to build a team to be competitive in the moment, for the season. It was about putting together a team with chemistry , good level of fitness and competitive spirit . Basically picking what I thought was the best group from among the players who turned up to tryouts. Player scouting and recruitment was minimal . When I got to the provincial team, player evaluation was quite different. To begin with the age range was much narrower, generally just one or two years difference. Also the player evaluation was more age specific in the sense evaluating a player's ability in present but in relation to their peer group, to their positioning with the Federation's development plan and projecting their potential growth as a player. Yes we were building a team to play in tournaments and national championships but also selecting players with an eye to develop them, to get them to the national training centre and potentially on the national team. Finally, at the university level where I have spent the bulk of my coaching career , evaluating / scouting is the most challenging but also the most interesting. At the core being able to evaluate soccer ability remains essential but so many additional factors enter the equation and in many ways, scouting at this level combines many of the factors I experienced in my first two roles. We might first start tracking players at 16 or 17, evaluating their abilities in relation to their peers but also trying to project how they might develop physically , technically and tactically as they reach university level . How might they fit it with the team I might have on hand when they arrive. Do they fit a need of the team , will they be able to step in and start right away or is there potential that can be developed over a year or two being around older players ( and being able to determine that you have players to fill the same role while one develops). However at university , the intangibles are very important . Recruiting the right individual is as critical as finding the best players. There are many showcases these days, full of players looking to be given s chance to play college or university , being told by their parents and. coaches it would be great . In some cases there is the financial component of potential scholarships to help with the cost of school. Many players attending these showcases never play varsity soccer st university, or try and realize it's not for them. That's way , evaluating the intangibles becomes crucial. What kind of student are they ( they are student-athletes after all(, how will they integrate a group that it outside their social circle , how will the handle the commitments of being a student-athlete, if they are from out of province, how will they handle leaving home, living in the form or an apartment, being away from mom and dad. As a coach at the university level , I have also always felt the obligation to ensure I am helping the potential student-athlete make the right academic decisions for them. I have to know the academic programs we offer , what the prerequisites are, the potential course load , career possibilities possibilities are etc so that when I discuss my university as an option , I can give that whole picture, not just talk about what we can do for them soccer wise That's it for today. In the near future I will share more specifically and player talent evaluation I get asked a lot " what's your philosophy on coaching ?"
It isn't the question most asked question as usually that refers to me preferred formation or system of play but for me it's the question whose answer is probably the most important for young coaches. I have coached for over 25 years, always female soccer and unconventionally always at the higher more elite levels , never having to pay my dues at typical entry level teams. I started out coaching Sr. women st the AAA level , moved onto the provincial team level and National Training Centrr (CNHP) and then to my current gig of the last 15 years, university. As I always message during presentations I give on the subject, your message , coaching style , objectives etc might change in the face of the age and level you are coaching at but at the core, there is a guiding philosophy that remains constant. So what's mine you may ask ? Well the foundation of my coaching philosophy is grounded in 4 statements - soccer is a game and by definition games are meant to be fun - create a positive but competitive environment where athletes can reach their potential . Encourage them to be the best version of themselves. - provide athletes with experiences and opportunities that go beyond just the game . They should be doing the right things not because coach is watching or expecting them but because they are the right things to do. - and finally focus on the process and not just the result Now those may seem like well crafted clichés and in some form they are but they guide my coaching decisions and actions. Players are not robots to be spoon fed instructions and execute on demand just because they are asked to. It's important they understand the why behind decision, that they are part of the solution . Give them the tools to make good decisions in the heat of competition while allowing for their individual creativity and personality to shine. Some coaches want to control every aspect , tell players exactly what to do in what situation. I prefer to present them with scenarios and allow them to individually and colletively find solutions . There are many factors that influence the outcome of a game, many of them outside our control. So focus on what is with your sphere of influence , focus on the process , prepare your players to deal with in game situations by giving the the tools and the environment to express themselves. After that it's up to them My philosophy is my own and might seems wrong to some but I can always look myself in the mirror knowing I have done my best and stayed true to myself . why the title of this post ? For 25 years I hVe been involved in coaching, I have often heard the comment that somehow women's soccer is less legitimate that the men's game.
I found it funny how women's hockey is so celebrated when really only two teams , Canada and US are competitive plus there is no real extensive women's pro league like in soccer or even basketball . The women's game has legitimate pro leagues in various countries , a deep competitive field with many countries playing an attractive quality came and many of the female players becoming bonified stars. People need to stop comparing the men's and women's game and simply accept it as two different sports which have their own audience. Female soccer is a different purer form of the sport without all the diving, faking and time wasting that we see on the men's side. It may not bring out the same type of technical ability orphysical attributes but there is a high quality tactical execution and emotional investment. I have given my entire coaching career to growing the women's game hold my to leave a legacy of successfully having done so. Hopefully players I have coached will give back and become role models for today's younger girls taking up the sport So, I get asked quite often how I got started in coaching and why women's soccer.
The answer to both is really the same. As they might say in a movie , it was all about a girl. A fairly serious ankle injury was basically causing the end of my playing career. I was dating a top ranked female player playing with Lakesire AAA Sr ( still married to her actually ) and her new coach was looking for someone familiar with team and players. Since I attended most of the games anyways, he asked me. That first year wasn't really great in some ways and I really saw how out of my element I was. To make matters worse, the coach quit halfway through the year and I was one my own. I finished out the year and we lost in the provincial semi-finals. I decided to try the coaching thing for a year and set up a club structure with a reserve team. We had a decent season in the league but most importantly won provincials and went to nationals. It was at this moment that the coaching bug got a good bite in me. That's it for today but I promise to share more well almost two years later as my footprint on social media get bigger , I am going to once again try and keep up with some periodic blogging. Check back for updates
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AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
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