Are you a successful coach?

This is sourced from http://www.footy4kids.co.uk/

Some very intersting survey results in this article.


There are many articles that suggest a team's win:loss ratio is not the correct way to measure success in youth soccer and we should measure the development of the children who play the game instead.
A coach who takes the opposing view – that I am a good coach if my team wins matches – is, in effect, saying that he is the most important person on the team and that the needs and wishes of the children who play for HIS TEAM are secondary to their own.

That may be an uncomfortable thought for the thousands of "win at all cost" coaches that prowl and growl along the touch lines every Saturday morning but there's no getting away from it: if you put winning matches at the top of your list of objectives, you are doing the children who play in your team a great disservice.
I can hear emails winging their way to me already. Emails along the lines of: "Steve... if we don't put winning at the centre of everything we do, our best players will leave the team to go to clubs that are more successful and eventually we'll have nothing!"

But if players go to other clubs, they are still playing soccer. So what are you worried about? That your team is weakened? But it's not your team. It belongs to the children who play in it and if they are still getting what they want out of soccer then your win:loss ratio is (or should be) irrelevant.

So let's consider for a moment just why our children want to play "the beautiful game".

A recent study in the USA asked 3,900 children why they played sports outside of school. [1]

Boys
1. To have fun
2. To do something I'm good at
3. To improve my skills
4. For the excitement of competition
5. To stay in shape
6. For the challenge of competition
7. To get exercise
8. To learn new skills
9. To play as part of a team
10. To go to a higher level of competition 

Girls
1. To have fun

2. To stay in shape

3. To get exercise

4. To improve my skills 

5. To do something I am good at

6. To learn new skills

7. For the excitement of competition

8. To play as part of a team

9. To make new friends

10. For the challenge of competition.

Note that winning matches doesn't get a mention.


Other studies have found similar results so it's reasonable to assume that your players play soccer for the same or very similar reasons.[2]
These findings suggest a "Top 5" way of measuring the development of our players and give us a true indication of our success (or otherwise) as a coach.
1. Fun
Do our players have fun? Do they arrive and leave training sessions with a smile on their faces and do they look forward to playing in matches?
2. Skills
Do we teach our players new skills and are they encouraged to try them out in matches without worrying about making a mistake?
3. Friendship
Are our players friendly with each other? Do they support team mates who make errors and do they respect players on other teams?
4. Fitness
Are our players fit enough to show off their skills? Do we encourage healthy eating habits?
5. Effort
Do we praise effort rather than performance and say "well done" to players who give 100%?

If you can put a tick against all of these (or even most of them) I suggest you can consider yourself to be a successful youth soccer coach, regardless of match results.
Cue more emails: "OK, so my players are happy. But what about my parents? They won't like it if the team keeps losing."
Sure, some parents want coaches to produce a winning team and will take their son or daughter elsewhere if the results aren't great. But just as many don't care if the team wins or loses. All they care about is how their kids play and, if you ask them, the majority of parents don't want the team to win if it means some children don't get on the pitch. [3]
So talk to your parents. Explain how you measure the team's success. You may be surprised to find that they aren't so preoccupied with winning as you thought they were.

Summary

We all want to be successful but in youth soccer, as in other walks of life, it's important to measure yourself against the correct criteria. Don't assume that if you are winning matches you're doing a good job. You might be, but if your players aren't friends, don't laugh much or look scared on match days you need to make some changes.

References


US Youth Soccer Coaching Education Department, Youth Soccer in America: how do we measure success?
[1] Cox, R., (2002). Sport Psychology: Concepts and Applications 5th Ed. (p.108). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
[2] Dr. Colleen Hacker, Understanding Why Children Participate in Soccer, q.v. http://www.footy4kids.co.uk/why_children_play_soccer.html
[3] John DeBenedictis, Executive Director (National Soccer Coaches Association of Canada), Are Coaches Being Glorified?