I read an interesting article recently (by Dr. Jack Levine) that I would like to share in part.
I hope to reach all of you in some way that this sparks a topic of discussion and a learning experience for us all as coaches and even parents.

A study by the American Association of University women showed that although 60 percent of elementary school girls say “I am happy the way I am”, only 29 percent of high school girls feel the same way.
The alarming drop in percentage seems to start around 11 or 12 and centers around their self- esteem, self-confidence, negative body image and possibly conflicting media images of what young women should look like.
In line with this, sports can be a major contributing factor to helping young girls navigate through this strenuous time, and of course good or bad coaches can have an extremely large impact on these aspiring female athletes. 

So as a coach what are the Do’s and Don’ts we can look for to help ourselves help our girls.
Let’s start with some Do’s: 

Be committed to your philosophy, vision, and goals for the team. Provide leadership and guidance. Make being on your team a special experience. 

Stress the basics with emphasis on building solid fundamental skills. Players will feel confident in their soccer playing ability. 

Treat everyone with respect. Openly admit when you make mistakes and learn from your girls. 

Communicate openly and honestly with your team. Explain your decisions and give reasons; help them to understand how they benefit. Otherwise, players may misunderstand you and take things personally or incorrectly blame themselves. 

Reward girls who take risks and try new things regardless of the outcome. 

Compliment the girls frequently about their play and attitude. 

Serve as a good role model. A female coach can be an excellent example for young girls to aspire to. A male coach should exemplify the type of non-aggressive, non-threatening behavior that we would like girls to experience as they grow up.

 Some Don’ts: 

Embarrass players by singling them out. 

Yell continuous instructions from the sidelines.  Players need to be able to make their own decisions comfortably; be there for them when they question their decisions and seek support.  Yelling and negative body language can also be misinterpreted as anger toward them. 

Set up players for failure. Maximize a player’s success by carefully matching her position and role on the team with her skills and attitude. 

Tease or criticize the girls about their physical appearance. 

Talk about or encourage weight loss. The incidence of eating disorders in female athletes is extraordinarily high. Teenage girls are most at risk. 

Tolerate sexist remarks from parents, coaches, referees, spectators or friends. Speak up immediately for what you know is right. 

To end, as coaches of adolescent girls, we have a great responsibility beyond teaching soccer and winning games. We need to work hard to increase self-confidence and improve self-esteem. A girl’s participation in youth soccer should be a stepping stone to becoming self-assured, confident women. 

Coaches,

As the fall season has come to a close it probably feels that your team has just started to get into a rhythm of play and they’re starting to look the way you first expected them to back in early August.

Now the chances of getting back outside again seem to be far off in the future, shrouded by dark days and cold nights.

So! Your challenge over the next 5 months is how do you keep your players skill level on track and make a jump start for the spring season?

Many of you will choose to play indoor soccer but is that really a good alternative?

Truthfully, any time a player touches the ball is a bonus. The pros of indoor soccer are that it’s fun, it keeps the kids busy for an hour, it can be very exciting and, relatively speaking, the cost is reasonable.  The cons, unfortunately, are that it’s similarity to outdoor soccer can be limited.

During indoor games we tend to leave players in too long, play bad formations, and create bad habits by overusing the walls.
Try looking at indoor soccer as a hybrid version; fast subs, attacking formations, plenty of quick combinations, and tons of shooting.

As coaches, we need to be willing to take chances.  Does it really matter if your team does not win the indoor league Championship?   I realize everyone loves a winner but risking your player’s development by practicing a boring, or bad, brand of soccer is not helpful.

I challenge you to: Try playing out of the back with your goalkeeper, encourage players to play back to the goalkeeper and switch the point of attack, rotate players through positions (try game to game not during), avoid using the walls, get your defenders up the field and involved in the attack, avoid formations that look like a box or flat lines 2-2-2 or a 3-3; try a 2-1-3 or 2-3-1 formation instead.  Remember formations should have balance when in transition.  Try using players more like hockey players, in shifts, to ensure maximum output during the shift vs. standing around. A good rule of thumb is 2 minute work to 2 minute rest (younger players can play on average 1 minute longer, as their games are less intense)    

If you’re lucky enough to have some indoor training, try focusing on individual ball work and small sided games, 2v2 or 3v3 as training games can be very fun and, more importantly, a great way to address individual deficiencies.  Remember think small groups in your training.  In most cases you’ll have to be creative as a coach while training indoor; space is usually an issue and that can drastically affect the quality of your session.

So if you are training this winter, and I highly recommend it, just email me and I will come over and offer some tips to get you started and, hopefully, enough to carry you through the season.

Additionally keep your eyes open for all the great winter training programs we offer at TCSA.

Yours in Soccer,
Mark MacKinnon

Director of Education and Player Development