I often get asked the question that you see in the title of this post.... " Is coaching women's soccer really that different ?" . As the years have passed, the reactions from people who find out about my involvement coaching women's soccer has changed. As I have written a few times in the past, the logic that seemed to exist in the past that I was coaching on the women's side because I was somehow not good enough or sufficiently qualified to coach me, is not as prevalent as it once was. I think the growth of the women's game overall not to mention the impact the the success of Canada's women's team here in Canada, has significantly changed most perceptions. However, while people seem less intent on trying to figure out why I chose and continue to choose to coach on the women's side, I often get asked about how it might be different.
I have to start out by saying that I have fairly limited involvement coaching male soccer ( whether at the youth or men's level). I have never been really in charge of a men's team so I can't comment from direct personal experience but I have been around the game long enough that I can certainly provide generalities. So to answer the the question from the title, the easy answer would be to say no, it is really that different. Coaching soccer is coaching soccer and like any coach, I have to adapt to the group in front of me, male, female, youth, teenagers, adults, recreational or competitive. Furthermore, my coaching style and philosophy is an extension of my personality. If I am not the type to yell at athletes, come down on them hard etc, I wouldn't do it if I was coaching men or women. However, the reality is such that yes, there are differences. Are they significant? Are they such that a male with have issues coaching females, or vice-versa? I will share some insights and I will leave it up to the readers to draw their own conclusions. To begin with, I will say with conviction that overall, there are more similarities than differences in the two forms of the game. As you get higher into the elite category, there are nearly no differences in terms of attitude from the players They know what is needed to become an elite athlete and so their attitude is very professional. In some areas I would say that female players can sometimes be too serious. Occasionally it is good to relax and just enjoy the moment. Another thing is that women always seem to want to know why they are being asked to do something, while men just get on with it. That’s not to say one attitude is better than the other - sometimes it is good just to act and not overthink, and at other times it is good to ask questions. Emotionally I think that you can find as many differences from one man to another, or from one woman to another, as there are between men and women in general. What’s important is to get to know the players you are working with. After that you can ascertain their strengths and find a way of playing that suits the type of players you have. Obviously there are physical differences between men and women. There are differences of strength, which you see in particular when it comes to tackling. Speed is a difference too, but there is not so much difference in the relative changes of speed. Theoretically, this means female players should not have any problem dictating the speed of matches in the same way as the men do. But in practice, my own experience has shown that this is still a problem for many women’s teams. When it comes to tactical understanding, I think male and female players are pretty even off the field, but when it comes to making decisions in the middle of a game, the men still seem to have the edge. Technically, I think there are many top women players who are just as skillful as the men. But there are more players with those good technical abilities in the men’s game, which is why it’s perceived – wrongly – that men are naturally more gifted at soccer. I think that you see the on-field scenarios more clearly in the women’s game because there is less tackling than in the men’s version. Clearly you can enjoy both: appreciating the men’s matches with their high levels of intensity and good technical skills, and the women’s matches with technical and tactical skills that you can recognize more clearly. From my experience, having had the chance to coach at two fairly significant international tournaments, which in additional to the competition itself, allowed me to interact with coaches from other countries, the variations between the soccer cultures themselves in different countries are often more pronounced than the differences between male and female players specifically. As the women's game grow, we have started to see a change where the top players act professionally, but sometimes this concept of ‘professionalism’ is not always properly understood. It is not about how much money players are paid, but more about how they care for their bodies. The soccer cultures in countries where soccer is by far the more mainstream sport, the so-called professionalism in soccer seems to come about much easier even with amateur players, because the examples are ever present. One clear difference that does exist between male and female players across the world is that the males usually start to play soccer in a serious way much earlier than the females. Even at the age of four or five, boys are often attending soccer schools and learning the technical and tactical aspects of the game. They are therefore much more prepared than women for the demands of the elite game. In the end, though, it is all about being competent regardless of whether you are male or female, particularly from a coaching point of view. I don’t think you need to be a man to coach men or a woman to coach women, with perhaps one exception. When it comes to young female players, I think it helps to have a female coach, because when a woman tells them they can do something it is more credible coming from someone with the same physical attributes. Off the field, there is definitely more of a family atmosphere in women’s soccer. and women are also far more receptive to coaching. They recognize that they can always learn more, while men tend to think initially that they already know it all - it takes them a little bit more time to realize that they don't. "I think men also show very little emotion in training, perhaps because they would see that as a sign of weakness. Women can go too far the other way, being too sensitive at times and often taking things personally. There are other differences, such as the better spatial awareness that you tend to see in men and particularly young boys. They see the ‘pictures’ of a game quicker, probably because they have had many more years of playing the game in an organized manner. On the field men will of course always be physically stronger and faster but the women’s game has improved significantly in this area, as has heading, which is still a weak area of women’s soccer. Otherwise I don’t see any differences technically. While the women’s game is slower, that gives more scope for skill, compared to the greater focus on physicality that we see in the men’s game. As a male having pretty much exclusively coached females,the key differences concern communication, team focus and self-responsibility. As far as communication is concerned, the manner, content and frequency with which a coach speaks to the team plays a much bigger role in the women’s game. Female players want feedback on a regular basis. They especially want information in relation to performance; areas in need of improvement and reinforcement on the positive aspects of their game. They also require reassurance at times when confidence is low. Female players will be more inclined to dwell on their weaknesses, while male players will confidently expound upon their strengths - even if these are only perceived. "In terms of team focus, women tend to be more team-orientated and supportive of the team as a whole, whereas male players are primarily concerned about their own performances. In the right environment there is a far greater degree of genuine loyalty among female athletes. And finally, I would say that many of the elite female players also take on more self-responsibility than their male counterparts, perhaps because the prospects of becoming full-time professionals or, even if they are, they are still only modestly paid are so slim. This means they have to juggle their other commitments outside of soccer, so they are often more responsible, with better organizational skills. Aside from those differences, however, there is little separating the men’s and women’s game. In relation to on field physical, tactical and technical requirements, I don't see myself alter my demands or expectations depending upon the gender of my players. As part of this, I often call out players of mine who on occasion may use their gender as an excuse for me to somehow lower my expectations of them. In fact the lack of financial rewards in women’s football tends to produce an attitude that, ironically, can often be more professional, not to mention that female players remain in the game largely based on the love of the game. Similarly to how it is with the men, women’s football really is the world game. It is the only female team sport played in every part of the globe and I think every other team sport in the world must envy this great asset that we have. Overall I believe that the quality and entertainment value displayed in the women’s game has brought great credibility and acceptance of the sport among the whole football community. If we think about Canada specifically, hosting the U20 and women's world cups in 2014 and 2015 but primarily the back to back Olympic bronze medals, has put women's soccer on the radar with people hugely exceeding the niche fans who might have followed it previously. So it coaching women's soccer really that different? I guess you can ask 10 different people and might get 10 different answers depending on who they are. I will let you the reader draw your own conclusions.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
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
January 2023
Categories
All
|