Each August, when I kick off my university team's training camp with a player's meeting, I lay out the foundations of my coaching philosophy. The first of my 4 principles is always the same " Soccer is a game and be definition games are supposed to be fun".
Not, perhaps if my livelihood depended on the success in terms of wins and losses of the team, or the ability to put food on the table will directly related to how much performance I could get out of my athletes, my believe in that principle might get stretched but I would like to think that I would still adhere to that principle. I get it though, for professional athletes, playing their sport is their job. Like all of us, we don't always like our job, or certain parts of our job. Certainly we don't always like our boss or certain co-workers, but come on, making money to play the same sport that that one has enjoyed since they were a kid, maybe it can be tough at times but there are tons of worse things you could be doing with your life. However, for the nature of this post, I want to exclude the notion of professional sports and focus on competitive sports for kids, both male and female as they start playing at a young age and progress into their teens, playing recreational, elite, high school , university or some other variation of non-professional sport. At the beginning, I think the focus should be simply on getting physical exercise and participation. Kids need youth sports; they encourage teamwork, provide exercise, teach discipline, and practice, etc. It’s their first exposure to the kinds of games and physical activity that will be a part of their lives, one way or another, for a long time. If they don’t start early, they’ll never have a chance to develop a potential passion or aptitude for them. When kids start out they may occasionally sit down during the game, or spend his time on the bench asking about a snack or looking forward to the post game Popsicle or ice cream. However maybe during the course of the season, they will enjoy it more than they did at the start of the season. It probably helps if they feel that they are getting better at their sport of choice. It possible that for that moment in time, scoring the occasional goal, get praised for the occasional good move, tackle, throw, hit, shot, etc might just be sufficient reward to keep their interest. It probably should because at the younger ages it’s not about competition. Well let me rephrase, it probably shouldn't be. Eventually, when as they get older, it will be more about competition and results and earning playing time, getting all-star selections, making travel teams. When it start to get to that point, it's very possible that they might lose interest.. They might be one of the 70% of kids that stop playing organized sports by age 13. Doesn't mean they all stop playing sports altogether, just that the competition level might get replaced by pick up games in the park or some form of school intra-mural league. I don't have kids, but to be best honest, I think if a kid stop playing sports for the right reasons, then it shouldn't be discouraged. If they stop enjoying their chosen sport(s) because of overbearing parents, because of an environment based on an attitude of results at all cost, that saps all the fun out of the game then that is a problem. As kids become teens and the competitive component of sport becomes a more significant factor things like loss of fun, riding the bench, and fear of mistakes as reasons kids quit, and those reasons are unacceptable. They’re usually imposed by adults who are teaching kids the wrong things about the game. Most teams aren’t playing for any significant stakes, not until the kids get older at least into high school, cegep, university or maybe play on some sort of regional or provincial team. However until then and if they are truly strong enough athlete's to play at those levels, if it’s not fun, it’s not going to be easy to keep them interested. Let's be honest, is winning the U10 championship of the local rec soccer league really what we hope will be the highlight of someone's life. If they stop enjoying organized sports because they have other passions, or discovers they don’t have the skills to compete with the other kids of the same age at the level they have reach, or sometimes if simply they don't have the cutthroat competitive attitude that might be required that’s fine. They can find exercise, teamwork and camaraderie via other avenues, and they can experience success and failure, discipline and humility via plenty of other pursuits. Playing competitive sports isn’t for everyone; In this age of options, instant gratification and easier access to multiple pastimes many usually stop as they leave their teens Physically they might not match up anymore and it can become disheartening to be on the bench every single game even though they feel they are putting in the same effort as everyone else but them seeing the same athletes getting all the playing time. If it is just an issue about playing a sport that is fun, then they will find a way to play it. Unless your kid is on the fast-track to the pros, fun is or should be what it’s all about. If organized sports stop being fun for your kids, let them walk away. Support them finding satisfaction is something different. As usual, just my opinion.
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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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