While I was working with Federation as a staff coach, I also run certification clinics for coaches under the old NCCP program. I no longer give these clinics I still do presentations on occasion for leadership and coaching and one topic that always comes up, what coaching style is the best.
I always start with something that the instructor opened up with at the first certification course that I ever attended. " It is important to remember that without athletes, there is no need for coaches. You exist to make things better for them and not the other way around" This message has stuck with me ever since. I firmly believe a good coach is able to adjust how he or she conveys the message depending on the age group, lever and gender at which they are coaching. How to you approach a team at the U10 boys recreational level varies very much from how you might approach a team of AAA Senior Women. Even among different team in the same age, gender , competition level segment might react differently to different styles of coaching. While the style and method you as a coach might choose can differ and what area you focus might change, I thing that regardless you proceed, you need to remain true to your convictions and personality. From a strictly soccer specific point of view, there are coaches you are great technicians, able to teach technical skills or great tacticians, who can build a style of play, manage a game and of course great motivational coaches who might not have great soccer skills, or fully understand the nuances of the game, but can get all the players to buy in and be the best versions of themselves. The reality is that a good coach might have strengths in one of these areas but is good in all three. They are all intertwined. You might be a great tactician and able to motivate your players but if there are technically weak and you are not able to correct their mistakes and show them how to "do it right" then it will break down. Most importantly, a really good coach surrounds him or herself with assistants that will compliment his or her skill set. There are many different ways to whip a recreational youth soccer team into shape – and it’s imperative that you choose a style that meshes with your team’s culture and attitude. Even competitive youth soccer teams adjust to the personality of the coach’s style. Even if you’re dealing with adults, it’s not easy to take a large group of individuals and turn them into a fully-functioning, cohesive unit. There’s a lot of intuition involved, and a lot of knowledge. You need to know the strengths and weaknesses of your players. You need to know what sort of strategies will work best in any given situation. And most importantly, you need to know who they are as people, so you can tailor your coaching strategies to fit their unique needs. To begin with, what is the primary focus of your approach to the team in front of you? Are you goal-oriented, or are you more interested in cultivating improvement in your athletes? Is immediate performance more important than long-term improvement?It’s important to note that this isn’t a dichotomy. There are plenty of coaches who borrow elements from both methodologies – and that’s perfectly acceptable. Again, it’s important that you pick and choose whichever techniques you feel most comfortable with. Let's start with the two main focuses of coaching. Processed based coaching These types of coaches can be summed up in a single sentence: a team is only as strong as its weakest link, and it falls to you to build each player up to reach their full potential. Your focus is on the individual first, and the team second. You hold athletes accountable for their actions, give them responsibilities, and focus on teaching them above all else. Results based coaching These types of coaches are focused on the end result rather than the journey towards it. They’re often highly demanding, and their techniques and strategies are all focused on utilizing the strengths of their team’s best athletes in order to achieve victory. If you fall into this group, you reward good performance, while at the same time punishing mistakes. Coaching isn't an either / or reality, you can be a bit of both. Most importantly it is how you manage your group and the way you convey your message. Convention dictates that there are 3 types of coaching styles Authoritarian Style : The authoritarian coach makes all decisions without any input from players in the learning process. He makes players execute correctly by having them do what is being asked of them. His players must listen, absorb, and comply with his commands. Feedback is usually given by means of directions (e.g. "Do this, don’t do that") Pros:
Cons:
Conclusion: This is never an effective style with very young players who require massive amounts of positive support and reassurance. It might help the players learn how to follow orders, but will likely not assist the young players to acquire a positive mindset and/or a good character for that matter. Casual Style The casual coach generally allows the players to run the program and determine his coaching. He tends to make as few decisions as possible as his approach presents little or no direction, discipline, or instruction. It surely may be the least difficult style to put into action and is often utilized by coaches that happen to be inexperienced or very naive about coaching. Of course, the players usually prefer this particular style of coaching. However, the biggest problem utilizing this ‘lazy’ style is the fact that the players do not develop a lot from the lack of direction and guidance the coach provides. For instance, the coach might only concentrate on the things being done well. Without any guidance about what should be worked on, the player continuously repeats a habit which hasn't been effective up to this point. Pros:
Cons:
Conclusion: Being a casual coach, you might be more a babysitter/supervisor rather than a teacher. Apply it only on the condition that you have total confidence in your players. Don't be scared to make use of this style, but use it wisely! Cooperative style A coach who implements this style is one who guides and shares the decision-making process with the players, while recognizing the responsibility to provide leadership with the goal being to form a 'team'. Through the use of questions, he also helps to set out objectives and goals on what to do, and how to do it in cooperation with his players. As result they will work harder to achieve these goals set by the team and will show more respect. Also they will be more willing to listen if they know that some of their ideas will be adopted with the coach being genuinely interested in their opinions as a whole and not just in their skill or ability to perform or help the team win. A coach should always show an interest in his players outside of the game itself which makes him more approachable if a player or the team has questions or concerns. Pros:
Cons:
Conclusion: Unless young people are given the opportunity to express opinions and make decisions, they will not become responsible adults which is the most important goal in all of this. Which style to use? Coaches are people who make a difference in the lives of their players, the players’ homes, and the local community. His or her decisions might impact a variety of areas of a player’s life which needs to be factored in when a soccer coaching style is selected. Coaches all too often go with a style determined by their personality and limit themselves and their effectiveness from the outset. Depending on the make-up, needs and goals of an individual and team, a good coach will draw from experience and use each style at different times. The cooperative style is recommended if your players can take on the responsibility of ownership and when the situation calls for learning progressive skill sets, decision-making, and problem-solving. Casual is best suited when a coach wants to excite players for the sport or when team morale needs improvement. Authoritarian would help in case the team isn't focused and requires to be reminded of what is important. Then again, the coach may very well apply his favorite style in virtually any of these scenarios or go with a particular one he believes is appropriate. Oh and to answer my own question in the title of this post, well I will keep that for another day.
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
|