The Premier League Trophy - (Photo: Qehb.org)

There are still two games to go in the English Premier League, but there are now eight reasons to believe that Manchester City will be champions.  The two clubs in Manchester are level on points, and one is assuming they will play out the season in fine form with two wins.  But a season-ending tie between the clubs means the league would be decided on goal differential, and City has an eight goal lead.

Such is the result after a fine performance against Manchester United, where they easily won a 1-0 match.  Although tense, the match was all one way traffic.  United didn’t have a decent look at goal all evening and though Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure missed chance after chance, a Vincent Kompany headed goal off of a corner kick sealed the three points for City.

United appeared to have played for the 0-0 draw, such was their defensive presence and strain.  In the first half, Rio Ferdinand tried to ease the clock along and even drew jeers for being too casual and slow in taking a free kick from his own half.  Manchester City propelled forward time and time again, coming so near on little one-two combinations in the box.  Everything was just a slight pass or pulled shot away from being decisive.

Then City captain, Vincent Kompany, got on the end of a corner and banged it right down the center of the net!  Right before half time, the Citizens were joyous and the statement was said!

For much of the second half, the tables were turned.  Manchester United began to press, and brought on Danny Welbeck, Ashley Young, and Antonio Valencia to provide a spark.  Manchester City could take their time, and often did. As one recalls, a goalkeeper by the name of Joe Hart spent a good deal of added time receiving assistance from the City medical staff.

But City were brave on the counter attacks, nearly doubling their advantage on several occasions.  Samir Nasri was seen pounding his angry French fists into the ground as he blew an extremely good chance in the twilight of the match.

Arguments were brief but constant throughout, from the pitch to the touchline.  In the second half tantrums escalated as yellow cards came flying out, and managers Sir Alex Ferguson and Roberto Mancini hurled words at each other from across a group of men holding each back.

Manchester City held on for the vital win and the Premiership crown is in their hands now.  All they have to do is win their next two games against Newcastle and QPR.  That’s all that is standing between them and righting what has, for their fans, been wrong in Manchester for the past 44 years!

The World Cup - (Photo: Citizenseye.com)

Part of the American psyche is that we must be the very best, at everything.  America usually shines during international sporting tournaments such as the Olympics, but when it comes to soccer we are disastrously average.  In the last World Cup, America progressed to the final 16, but was eliminated by Ghana.  Seven American coaches were asked recently by ESPN as to what they thought our country needed to improve upon to develop better players.  Here are my thoughts on their response.

A big focus of the responses were that American’s youth soccer tended to focus too much on winning, not developing skills.  In an eerie manner, the very winning mindset that Americans rely upon is holding our young soccer players back.  It appears counter-intuitive but the fact remains, what does it matter whether an eight year old kid wins a game or not?  Because everyone is too focused on the end goal of lifting the trophy, few youngsters are harnessing their skills in youth games.

Coaches and parents should spend more time helping the kids learn how to play better.  In America, they reside by the sidelines, spouting excited yelps of encouragement.  Conflictingly, British matches occur with relaxed parents, who are told not to put pressure on the kids by yelling, but to merely applaud goals and at the end of a period.  Coaches wait until intervals to teach tactics to kids.  Leave all the crowd drama for the pros.  During practices, the parents converse with each other socially, in a clubhouse at a distance, where they can see their children play outside the window, but far enough away not to be a distraction.

The American education system is too closely tied to sports.  From middle school on, being on the team often means representing your school.  The coaches and students are taught to win, with an emphasis placed upon regional standings and state cups.  Alternatively and often jointly, American soccer players join the traveling club team, where parents pay dues upwards of $1000 each season for better coaching and spend their Saturdays in the car driving to matches.

In other countries, sports teams are separated from the school.  The professional clubs often have their own youth programs which draw talent from the local pool.  The academy is funded through television rights from the professional clubs and this supports the training.  Youth matches rarely take note of the score.  Team and league standings are only introduced at the U-16 level.  Playing the game well becomes the focus, not netting goals and winning the trophy.

America’s education demands also lead children to get a college scholarship.  College athletic departments receive millions of dollars each year for players.  The players are granted full athletic scholarships to attend the university.  It all paints a rosy picture, but the NCAA heavily restricts practice time for players, and the college workload can be extremely difficult when combined with travel time for games.  The age when English soccer players become professionals is 16.  For the model American, it is 22.  They are already six years behind.

The final and probably most important reason that US Soccer still lags over the rest of the world is interest.  England alone has hundreds of soccer clubs.  In Europe, in South America, in Africa, in just about everywhere soccer is the favored sport.  This is not the case in America, where children often choose basketball, football, or baseball as the sport to play growing up.  Thus, many athletes who would become the Lionel Messi’s or Christiano Ronaldo’s of the world choose another sport, and the talent pool dwindles.

This will change over time however.  As more people grow up playing and loving the beautiful game, training will improve.  As the MLS grows in popularity, more people will choose soccer, and more adults will be experienced enough with the game to train it, and perhaps one day America might eventually lift the World Cup.

Genius Seth Godin

I love Seth Godin and his bald head. Well, more accurately, I should say that I love reading Seth Godin; the cue ball is just a bonus.

He’s distinctive. He’s innovative. He’s someone who makes you stop…and think.

If you haven’t read his transformational books like Purple Cow, Tribes or Linchpin, you’ve probably been living under a mossy rock. Just as Dale Carnegie and Stephen Covey have inspired us, Seth is an unreasonable voice in an uber-connected and unreasonable world. It fits perfectly.

Thanks to Chris Brogan, I stumbled across Seth’s passionate educational manifesto, Stop Stealing Dreams - and immediately thought about the parallels in coaching. The 30,000 words thoughtfully strike – without caution or reverence – upon the decaying heart of the current educational system. Our current system was produced to create obedient, efficient factory workers to fuel the industrial revolution. It’s no longer the world we live in today.

With free trade and our race to zero cost labor, the economy has changed. Our system of schooling has not. And, with such a focus on testing, I see no revolutionary changes forthcoming that will unlock the potential within our students and prepare them for the new realities of our world.

Coaches Employ the Same Tactics as Schools

With a lack of coaching education by clubs, state associations and national governing bodies, coaches are left to fend for themselves and do the best they can. As disciples of our own schooling, it stands to reason that we would employ the same tactics as our teachers. Makes sense to me.  But are they working?

For many, this means focusing on order – not creativity – so lines, punishment, fear and obedience in “following the plan” is cherished above all else. As if there is only one way or one plan…

In order to efficiently jam as much testable data into a generation of kids, we push to make those children compliant, competitive zombies.

The shortcut to compliance, then, isn’t to reason with someone, to outline the options, and to sell a solution. No, the shortcut is to induce fear, to activate the amygdala. Do this or we’ll laugh at you, expel you, tell your parents, make you sit in the corner. Do this or you will get a bad grade, be suspended, never amount to anything. Do this or you are in trouble.

Our goal at Soccer Classroom is to help develop creative, thinking soccer players. The only way you, as a coach of young players can do this, is to foster fun environments that create a love for the game and ignite that passion from within players. We need to connect with our players in meaningful ways, so we can foster the dream – whatever the dream may be for them.

Selecting Coaches and Changing the Approach

I think we can all agree that staged, stale environments that focus on pressurized outcomes no longer turn the trick for our “always on” players. Certainly, we can’t have disrespectful chaos and still expect to progress. But, what if coaches exude enthusiasm, love and interest in their players while focusing on fun, engaged environments? The players would, in turn, naturally become respectful and follow along – entranced for the next opportunity to succeed and grow.

There really are only two tools available to the educator. The easy one is fear. Fear is easy to awake, easy to maintain, but ultimately toxic.

The other tool is passion. A kid in love with dinosaurs or baseball or earth science is going to learn it on her own. She’s going to push hard for ever more information, and better still, master the thinking behind it.

Passion can overcome fear—the fear of losing, of failing, of being ridiculed.

After all, soccer is a microcosm of life. And, while playing soccer is an important life experience, it pales in comparison to the potential lessons learned and loves and passions fostered. We should be using the game to develop better people. Players who are kind, generous, confident, thoughtful and motivated…and passionate.

It would seem to reason then that to create the most successful players and teams we must select the right coaches and equip those coaches with the right approach in creating learning environments. Right?

Passage #19 – Dreams are Difficult to Build and Easy to Destroy inspired me to write this rant. I’ve always believed, “When better is possible that good simply is not good enough.” From Godin:

By their nature, dreams are evanescent. They flicker long before they shine brightly. And when they’re flickering, it’s not particularly difficult for a parent or a teacher or a gang of peers to snuff them out.

Creating dreams is more difficult. They’re often related to where we grow up, who our parents are, and whether or not the right person enters our life. Settling for the not-particularly uplifting dream of a boring, steady job isn’t helpful. Dreaming of being picked—picked to be on TV or picked to play on a team or picked to be lucky—isn’t helpful either. We waste our time and the time of our students when we set them up with pipe dreams that don’t empower them to adapt (or better yet, lead) when the world doesn’t work out as they hope.

The dreams we need are self-reliant dreams. We need dreams based not on what is but on what might be. We need students who can learn how to learn, who can discover how to push themselves and are generous enough and honest enough to engage with the outside world to make those dreams happen.

I think we’re doing a great job of destroying dreams at the very same time the dreams we do hold onto aren’t nearly bold enough.

How bold are the dreams you’re fostering in your players?

How focused, motivated and confident are your players?

Jerry Mac here, Founder at Soccer Classroom. I hope you’ll help our friend, Jared Montz, at the OnlineSoccerAcademy who is holding a World Juggle-a-Thon to benefit Nothing But Nets – a charity to stop malaria. This fits exactly within everything we do at Soccer Classroom – to help elevate the game of soccer while making the world a better place too. We’ll be participating and hope you will be as well!

Here’s the information Jared has asked for me to pass along:

What is the OSA World Juggle-a-thon?
Every 45 seconds a child in Africa dies from malaria—a preventable disease carried by mosquitoes. We can help. This is why we created the OSA World Juggle-a-thon, a worldwide fundraiser put on by OnlineSoccerAcademy.com to support the Nothing But Nets campaign. Nothing But Nets is a global, grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. Through this campaign, anyone can donate just $10 to purchase a bed net, deliver it to a family, and educate them on its proper use.

On World Malaria Day—April 25—at 6pm their standard time, soccer players, coaches, and fans everywhere are invited to participate by juggling to raise money for life-saving nets. Anyone can juggle anywhere; by themselves, with friends, teams, or soccer clubs. Participants will collect donations and pledges leading up to the OSA World Juggle-a-thon, and then juggle as much as they can on April 25. After the event, jugglers will mail in the money they raised, and receive an official OSA World Juggle-a-thon Skillzys® tag and other goodies.The goal is simple – for each juggler to raise at least $30, to send at least three bed nets to protect families from malaria. Working together through soccer, we can help protect entire communities from this deadly disease. Juggle to get better. Juggle to save lives.

Who is putting on the OSA World Juggle-a-thon?
OnlineSoccerAcademy.com is putting on the OSA World Juggle-a-thon. Founded by former pro soccer player Jared Montz they make better soccer players through free online training videos. Players all over the world use it and you can sign up today, for free at Online Soccer Academy.

Do I need to RSVP my attendance?
No, you do not. But we hope you participate, it’s easy to take part.

How do I tell my friends?
Tell your friends by sending them a link to OnlineSoccerAcademy.com, giving them an OSA World Juggle-a-thon pledge sheet, or by inviting them using Facebook and Twitter. If you use Facebook and/or Twitter you can copy the messages below and post them in your status updates.

Facebook
I’m juggling to save lives in the OSA World Juggle-a-thon to benefit Nothing But Nets on 4/25! Are you? http://bit.ly/ghYX3N

Twitter
I’m juggling to save lives in the OSA World Juggle-a-thon to benefit @nothingbutnets on 4/25! Are you? http://bit.ly/ghYX3N

To download a pledge sheet and start fundraising visit OnlineSoccerAcademy.com. Thank you for helping us support the OSA World Juggle-a-thon to benefit Nothing But Nets!

Yes, a basketball video – because the content is completely in parallel to soccer. Besides, sometimes we have to change our view to improve our vision. Stan VanGundy from the Miami Heat discussed the importance of skill development in our youngest players. No matter the sport, the principle remains the same: at our youth stage, we must focus on player development and fundamental skills. This is the only way to ensure players will be able to compete successfully at the higher levels of the game. Sometimes, hearing the same message from a different voice or another context really brings it home.

Take note of how animated Stan gets at 1:58 of the video. His point is well taken. And think about the takeaway challenge at 2:40.

What’s your decision?

Soccer Classroom is working on developing some knock-out content that we’re going to deliver in Webinar format. As we know our coaches are super busy wearing so many different hats, we thought we might check in to see the best time to deliver the Webinar. After all, no one benefits if we deliver when no one can attend.

Keep your Players Fit! (ZalgiriSoccer)

Henry David Thoreau once said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” As a coach, this quote readily dissects the work you do with your team after the season is over.  For your team to truly be competitive, you must work with your athletes year round. Soccer fitness, playing, and even team-building are important aspects of the game which should be approached with enthusiasm and effort. Of course, the details of what type of conditioning you run will vary somewhat depending on the level and the age of your athletes. For example, you will need to push the members of a professional or collegiate soccer team harder than the members of a U-12 rec soccer team. Nonetheless, any team can benefit from the right type of off-season conditioning.

Unfortunately, your players may not all necessarily be thrilled by the prospect of extra workouts. To help keep your players enthusiastic and motivated, try structuring some of your workouts as a game or competition. In fact, one easy way to help your team improve their conditioning during the off season is to enroll them in an indoor league. Since the field used in indoor soccer is surrounded by walls that keep the ball from going out of bounds, the pace of the game is faster, forcing your players to work harder without even realizing it. Of course, playing indoor soccer also helps your players develop their teamwork, strategy and ball handling skills. Keep in mind that since only six players are on the field at a time in indoor leagues, you may wish to enroll two separate teams in the league depending on the size of your regular team.

Having your team play futsal once or twice a week can also be a very effective way to build your team’s conditioning, as well as improve their skill level. Futsal is very similar to soccer except that it is played on a hard court instead of a field with only five players at a time. A futsal ball is also smaller, harder and heavier than a regular soccer ball. This helps develop your players’ power and control during shooting, passing and ball handling.

Of course, not all off-season workouts will be quite as exciting to your players as indoor games. They also need to do the old-fashioned work that few players actually enjoy – work like jogging, sprinting and lifting weights, depending on the age and level of your players. Try keeping a white board in your locker room to mark down the top performers at each drill. For example, point out the person who correctly dead lifted the most weight at the last workout, or the person who completed a predetermined number of suicide drills the fastest. Another great exercise to track can be elliptical and treadmill races. Tracking how far players run on the treadmill or elliptical in a given amount of time can spark their competitive nature to get faster and push themselves more. Also, running on  high resistance can be great ways to get players’ legs ready for outdoor training.

If you wish, you can keep track of each player’s standings for each drill over the entire off season. This encourages players to push themselves to boost their rankings. Some coaches find that dividing their players into pairs that work together in these competitions helps them stay accountable and motivated to work harder. Whatever you decide, pushing your players to compete out-of-season will only help them improve during season.

Keep in mind, however, that every player still needs some recovery time during the off season. Remember to give them some rest periods to allow their bodies to heal. Otherwise, your players could begin to exhibit the symptoms of over training, such as unusual fatigue, decreased performance during workouts and even weight loss, according to Rice University. If you notice the onset of over training symptoms, a few days of rest should be plenty to restore your players’ energy levels and heal their bodies. That will help them stay fresh, motivated and enthusiastic about the start of the next season.

Out of season training is an important part of any sport. Keeping your players up to speed in their skills and sprinting ability will only make their transition to outdoor play easier. Remember that indoor leagues and futsal are great ways to mimic the motions of the game, helping them to better their ball skills and pace. Running, cross training and lifting are also intricate parts of an athlete’s speed and strength training. Incorporating all of these methods in cycles will help your players stay in shape and be enthusiastic to return to in-season play, making your job easier and more fun!

Soccer Classroom has partnered with Totally Soccer, Bigfoot Factory and Senda Athletics for “The Great Soccer Giveaway Contest.” Enter below to win a team set of custom soccer jerseys, a week’s worth of practice tees or a soccer ball. Any which way you slice it, you’re going to be hooked up. Spreading the word increases your chances of winning, so go tell everyone you know!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TotallySoccer – 1st Prize

Free Soccer Jerseys

The 1st Prize winner will take home a complete set of custom team soccer jerseys from TotallySoccer. The winner gets to select the jersey, the color, the sizes and includes free standard personalization of a team logo and back numbers.

Over twenty styles to choose from – or you can create your own custom color jerseys!

This is one awesome prize with an approximate retail value of $450! Head over to TotallySoccer and start picking out your new soccer jerseys – now!

Bigfoot Factory – 2nd Prize

Bigfoot Factory Tees

ATTENTION ALL SOCCER-PLAYING SASQUATCHES!
FACT: If you love “The Beautiful Game”, then you’ll love the butt-ugly tees made by Bigfoot Factory.

1 lucky Yeti will score . . . not 1, not 2, not 3, but . . . 5 TEES 4 FREE!!!

Sounds like a great big fat hairy deal — don’t you agree?!

Now is the time to quit hibernating in your cave, lace up your cleats & come out ‘n play. Enter this kick butt contest today before it goes extinct. Now would be a great time to select the five – that’s right 5 – awesome soccer shirts you’ll be wearing to practice this season.

Senda Athletics – 3rd Prize

Valor Soccer Ball

Every soccer player should have a ball. Senda Athletics agrees! They’re kicking in their Valor soccer ball to make sure you’ll get plenty of practice in this Spring – and Fall. All Senda balls are Fair Trade certified, which is both socially responsible and really cool. Go check out the Valor soccer ball you’ll be dribbling in your backyard if you win!

Want to promote your soccer product in our Giveaways? Contact us for more details.

From the 19th Century, when Defense was virtually unheard of, to the superpowers of the modern game, formations and the shape of your team can and does determine the outcome of a Game, any Game, including yours. This article builds on the soccer formations overview article.

Of course, when choosing the formation and shape of your Team, you have to bear in mind the most important factor of all, your Players and their ability to both physically ( age specific ) and mentally ( age specific ) take on board your instructions.

But is it achievable ? Well, yes and no.

Of course every team needs a structure, for you Guys Coaching Kids from Under 12’s and upwards ( that have been playing the game for at least 5 years or more ) and feel that your Guys and Girls are ready for the next stage of their development, you might want to think about how you really want your team to play.

Introducing soccer tactics at this age is appropriate.

Soccer itself is really just a Game of space and movement, like a Game of Chess, but with real people and a ball.

Once we understand this, we can start attempting to move around our Kings and Queens, our Bishops and Knights into areas that help both them as individuals and their development, as well as our team.

In our last article, we looked at the 4-4-2 formation, its uses, its strengths and how to set your team up when playing that way.

This week we look at the 4-3-3 system, the system that was first seen in the 1962 World Cup with Brazil. The 4-3-3 is believed to have originated and was a variant of the 4-2-4 system that was, again, used by the Brazilian National Team in previous years with the extra Midfielder deemed to provide more defensive cover.

The team that brought this team to the worlds attention was of course Johan Cryuff’s Ajax of Amsterdam teams in the 1970’s.

Strengths of the 4-3-3 :

• Solid defense. A solid, organized four man defense will rarely be overrun by the opposition. A four man defense allows you to play in a man marking situation or zonal.
• The opportunity for your full backs to join in the attack and overlap in controlled situations and gain numerical advantages in important areas of the pitch.
• A midfield that can be played in a staggered set out which makes for clear field observation and an advantage in transitional periods of play.
• The width and depth given by a three pronged attack.
• The potential to pressure teams high up the field with at least 5 players in an area that can yield excellent results if the ball is won.
More recently we’ve seen Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea and Real Madrid teams utilize this formation to its maximum.

Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid 4-3-3

Jose Mourinho's Chelsea 4-3-3

This system is arguably the most flexible there is, with changes being able to be made without disrupting the overall flow of the team.

The roles within the 4-3-3 at an advanced and intermediate level.

Within the 4-3-3 we see and use the same “ back four “ as we would with other systems such as the 4-4-2, but it’s the midfield area which is most open to a change of shape as and when circumstances dictate.

The recent popularity of a holding midfield player, or even two in some cases, can encourage more attacking options in front of him or them.

Dependent on the Coach and individual games in question, these players would play a very disciplined role in which first and foremost their job would be attempting to break down opposition attacks and disrupt opposition –play as much as possible as well as winning then giving the ball to the more attack minded players on the team, invariably in positions of the pitch that is in front of them.

This role was mastered by Claude Makelele who executed it perfect for Real Madrid, then Chelsea and finally his home town Club in the twilight of his career, Paris St Germain.

The “ Makelele role “ as it is now known, saw prominence in the MLS and other League across the world including the Premier League and the Spanish La Liga and where in previous years the role was dismissed as proof of a Coach’s negative view of a game, views changed with the acknowledgement that having a player play this kind of role can and would allow other more forward thinking and attack minded players the freedom to express themselves more which in turn could allow a team to be much more attacking than was previously believed.

Ahead of the midfield, many Coaches favor a three pronged attack in where a central striker is supported by 2 wide attacking players, on either side of him.

This allows width as well as depth to a team that maybe isn’t achievable in a less advanced area of the pitch, with a three man midfield.

The three pronged attack is also expected to be supported by midfield players, dependent on the choice of single holding midfielder or a pair.

With Makelele marshalling Chelsea we can see below that Frank Lampard was the midfielder who generally got furthest forward to support the three pronged attack.

Support wasn’t obviously just restricted to Lampard, Essien as well as the full backs, Cole and Ferreira, both got forward when the situation presented itself.

Lampard however was the key to success, his late and perfectly timed runs which were so difficult for defenders to pick up, saw him score an abundance of goals from that position which fired Chelsea to various domestic glories.

Chelsea Mourinho 4 Man Attack

Variations to the formation can see the three pronged attack become more narrow with a “ link up man “ supporting a pair of forwards or even a central striker or target man with two attackers playing off of him.

A tactic that is very easy to achieve during a game when playing is the collapse of the wide attacking players into wide midfield areas allowing the formation to revert to a more defensive minded 4-5-1 which is ideal for when your team is not in possession of the ball.

Chelsea Mourinho 4-5-1

Please note that although we try to keep the explanations of the various formations as basic and as uncomplicated as possible, we could go into much greater detail where many aspects are concerned but ultimately, it’s the Coach’s job to relay the information to his/her Players and give them a better understanding of this very important aspect of the game.

We hope with this breakdown of some of the more popular formations we see in the game, and with our continued help in answering any questions you have where possible, we can help you, your team and your individual Players make the transition into the World of Soccer formations and determining your teams shape, that little bit less daunting.

Brooklyn's Here! (Photo: Steph Henley Photography)

At long last, my first child, Brooklyn, made her appearance in this world. Like a parent turning up late for after practice pickup, she made us wait…and wait…and wait…and wait. My amazing wife labored just short of  forty-eight hours. Despite the disconcerting length and pain (and selfishly, my stress) of labor, Brooklyn came to us just perfect – I don’t mind saying so myself.

The nurses, staff and doctors – as well as the hospital – were truly first-rate. The quality of care was so impressive that I kept mistakenly referring to it as “the hotel.” I’ve spent a lot of time in hospitals and to refer to a hospital as a hotel is telling you something about our amazing experience.

But, there was this Triage nurse in Labor and Delivery who was just awful…

Despite the exhaustion of the moment, it made me really think about the importance of the initial experience we’re creating for our soccer players – both as soccer clubs and coaches. (Yes, I’m crazy. I know.)

A Triage Nurse is Like Your First Soccer Coach

A triage nurse is your first point of contact care at a hospital. In many ways, this person is like your first soccer coach. His demeanor will shape your entire experience and mindset for your journey. Think about this: we had a great outcome, a healthy baby and I’m still writing about our first point of contact creating such a poor experience.

In my business, I’ve been talking a lot about “engineering the customer experience.” If you want your customer to leave saying, “This was the most amazing experience I’ve ever had,” then you better be thinking about how to create that experience – at every touchpoint in the experience.

As soccer clubs, how can we be sure we never lose laser focus on our player’s experience? How many of us are thinking about the type of experience we’re trying to even create for our players? With so many distractions and responsibilities, I know how easy it is to simply do the best we can in the moment.

I learned that it all counts: your preparedness and your attitude makes all the difference. How you present your ideas to your first-timers frames how they will perceive the entire journey. I learned that first-hand. Even though the rest of the experience was remarkable, I still had a bitter taste in my mouth. We can’t just be good and expect great outcomes.

I wonder what would happen to soccer in this country if we took the best of the best and had them coach our youngest players.

The “Good Enough” Principle Stinks

When you’re in love with your partner, it is downright scary and stressful to watch her in pain – standing there, helpless. And, knowing that the next screams of pain are a mere five to nine minutes away. Despite doing nerdy amounts of research about the birthing experience, we still had no idea what to expect in that moment. Was this normal? Why wasn’t the body responding exactly as it should? We’re no novices: Rachel and I have a combined 18 nieces and nephews. We’ve been around our fair share of kids and the start of life. Heck, at times, I think I’m running a day care on the weekends.

I don’t know if our Triage Nurse provided bad health care; in fact, I don’t pretend to know the quality of care she provided. She actually hardly did much for us and it seemed a bother when we asked for trivial items like ice chips or barf bags. I do know the hallmark of her care was indifference. She provided terrible human care.

I kept thinking, “It’s our first time here, Nurse Ratched. Please help us.”

She was there. We were in labor. This was about as far as the care or interactions went.

Her answers provided no insight or guidance to us rookies and amounted to, “Well, that’s just the way it is…” This was particularly true when we were presented with the scary option of taking morphine for the pain. For my wife, who doesn’t even take Tylenol, it was a scary thought. Morphine? That’s for drug addicts!

Nurse Ratched had a complete lack of appreciation for the magnitude of the decision or stress of the situation – at least in our eyes. It is difficult making decisions on no sleep and high stress. Despite my best Supreme Court questioning, it might as well have been Charlie Brown’s teacher speaking. “Wha wa wah, wan wah wa wah.”

We opted out of morphine in the morning due to the lack of information. It scared us and we received no credible information to think otherwise. Incidentally, when offered morphine later for the continued pain, our questions were answered by a different nurse who sat bedside and explained, step-by-step the process, risks and gently guided us to a decision based around her expert experience. You know, she answered all the questions I had tried to extract from Ratched.

In our Triage nurse’s mind, I guess the care and experience she was creating was good enough. We weren’t dying and the baby wasn’t popping out yet. Check. But, let me tell you: “Good Enough” stinks from this side of the hospital bed.

Soccer Lesson

In many ways, soccer parents entrust their children in much the same way that patients entrust care to hospitals: they go to the experts in the community and pay for services to have a great experience and outcome. This responsibility rests squarely on the shoulders of the front-line people, our coaches, to create an extraordinary experience for these fresh faces. Certainly, there has to be a shared responsibility between the clubs (finding the best coaches and training them) and the coaches (being engaged and interested) for this experience. How many of our clubs and coaches are providing a “good enough” experience for our players? And, I wonder what’s happening to those players who are getting “good enough.”

Why the Rest of the Team Inspired Us

For us, we didn’t have a choice: we had to continue the journey. Brooklyn was coming whether or not we had a cruddy medical team or not. We were a captive audience and had to stay if we wanted to have medical care when Brooklyn arrived.

Luckily, the rest of the team was A-MAZING. They made the experience remarkable (and so enjoyable) for us. It was such a stark contrast that it made me think about the differences in care. Was it competence? Or was it something else?

Certainly, “Nurse Ratched” seemed competent and had the credentials of being an RN. Due to the lack of care, I didn’t feel much towards competence of care, so I don’t think that was it. Competence, due to credentials, was a baseline of expectation – much like a coach taking an “F” course. To me, there were three compelling differences between our Triage nurse and the rest of the team:

• Compassion – Laboring for a long period of time is not fun. Our team felt that pain with us. Instead of dismissing it as simply “the way it is”, they re-assured, they held hands and they exhibited care that went beyond caring. It was personal to them. It didn’t change the pain, but it changed the way in which we felt about the pain. We’re in this together.
• Engagement – Our providers were “present” and “in the moment” with us. If they had something else going on, it certainly didn’t feel that way. We felt special, important and engaged with them in a unique way. They answered the barrage of questions we had gladly and easily. It wasn’t just their job; they wanted us to know the answers and make informed decisions. It’s a long time hanging around waiting for a baby. They got to know us personally and it made a difference in all aspects of care.
• Enthusiasm – I’d like to think that Rachel and I are pretty enthusiastic people. But, our team shared in our enthusiasm for the moment, reflected it back to us and amplified it by doing so. It was a positive spiral of enthusiasm for the process and the event. It further proved that enthusiasm is contagious.

Soccer Lessons

If I was a soccer player, I would have never made it onto the other coaches in the club. My soccer experience would have ended with Nurse Ratched. I would have never experienced the fun, excitement and joy that soccer can bring. As Board Members of clubs and as coaches ourselves, we owe it to our players to create experiences that are remarkable – because “Good Enough” stinks. Nothing remarkable in life comes out of “good enough.” 

I stand by the same thing I’ve been saying for twenty-plus years: the goal of any youth coach is to turn your players onto the game. Care about your players as people; invest in their success. Make sure they’re having fun, laughing and smiling a lot and feeling safe. If you do that, soccer will become their sport of choice because they’ll love the game. They’ll want to go to the backyard with a soccer ball at their foot. Their development will explode. You don’t necessarily have to have the awesome technical skills, but you have to educate yourself to age appropriate skills.

In fact, I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the most effective coaches – coaches who developed teams into eventual state champions. From a technical standpoint, they weren’t the most competent coaches – in fact, some of them never played the game. They certainly took the time and responsibility to educate themselves and surround themselves with trainers who were competent. But, distilled down, they were the most compassionate, enthusiastic and engaged leaders of young people.

It makes all the difference.

Coaching Question

In your opinion, how can clubs and coaches create remarkable environments to ensure quality experiences for players and turn them onto the game?

Photo Credit: Steph Henley Photography