So why does this happen?

Who gives these coaches the power of delusion?

Most of the coaching supervision, I like to call it interference comes from fear. Fear of losing their coaching position.

A bad, incompetent coach finds weaknesses in his players, tells them he can help and then promises to rectify these weaknesses as long as they listen and remain obedient.

Remember this, fear is a great inventor. As my girlfriend pointed out, the Y2K bug was a big flop. What really happened in the year 2000 to all the computers that clicked over to 00 digits?

Hmmmm, absolutely nothing!

Sometimes fear is fertilised by stupidity and that’s what some youth coaches suffer from, stupidity.

Any youth coach that utilises fear should consider a new hobby. Perhaps marbles and enough time to realise how brainless they really are.

“May the winds of destiny blow you to the stars.”

Your potential players are so busy dealing with life that they haven’t got a spare second for you. They have just bought the latest computer game and all the talk at training is about level 5 and trying to save the princess.

What’s your answer to the above?

Like anything in life, soccer is a transaction. The young child donates his time and attention to you. In return, you must train them, teach them and give them an experience/session that’s worthwhile.

When you, the coach, understand this, you start to develop empathy. You know empathy don’t you? Passion, sympathy, love and all the other good stuff. You start to understand your player’s emotions.

You learn to ask yourself with every drill and exercise, is this fun? Interesting? Am I developing these players? Is this challenging?

Am I fighting the status quo?

Love Based Soccer warns you not to fall in love with your own coaching methods just because it’s your own shit method. Never assume your coaching methods are fun or challenging. Ask your players and get the required feedback.

Look at every drill, session or exercise through the eyes of a young, impatient (possibly spoilt) child.

So the question remains, “how do you coach Love Based Soccer?”

10 Steps to Coaching Love Based Soccer

• Gratitude- Thank everybody for his or her attendance. Thank the parents for transporting their children to the session. Thank your players for attending.

• Punctuality- You must always be the first one to training. Parents rely on you while they rush off to some peace and quiet.

• Being prepared is a gift of love. Plan your training sessions in advance and have the drills mapped out in your head ready for action.

• Learn all the players’ names. Identify each player by his or her name and never yell out oi. A child loves to hear their own name, so don’t delay.

• Know who you’re talking to. Research your players, parents and obtain their objectives and goals.

• Respect- Actively respect your team, associated parents and supporters. Should go without saying, but just in case!

• Dress to kill coach. Make sure you look sharp, smart and clean. Coaching kids soccer requires clean boots, tracksuit (brand not important) and a big smile.

• Faith is an important component of Love Based Soccer. Believe that the parents and players are supporting you. Every single parent that watches you and listens to you wants you to be awesome and amazing. They also want a great experience for their children. No one likes to see you fail or bomb out. They really want you to succeed; after all, you’re coaching their kids.

• Energy, never admit to fatigue or anger. The kids always come first, no matter what!

• Always smile and wear your heart on your sleeve. Be approachable and always remember to have fun.

Love Based Soccer ensures when you coach your players, it inspires 2 sentiments. Love and respect for what they may become.

“May the winds of destiny blow you to the stars.”

You could be the worst technical coach on this planet, but if you manage to smile and make your players smile, then all is forgiven.

Let’s back track a little.

Do you notice anything about the word “smile” apart from the fact that it’s a five letter word? Say the word smile with a little enthusiasm. Did you notice anything?

Did you notice the word smile brings and assumes the position of a smile on your face when you pronounce it? Try it again.

Soccer development can only take place in the right atmosphere. So how does a smile help your coaching or your soccer kids? In spite of its simplicity and spontaneity, a smile can make all the difference in the world. It helps develop a warm, friendly and loving atmosphere. Could your players benefit from this kind of atmosphere?

As a coach or even as a parent, if you have a miserable look about you or walk around with a frown, this also creates an atmosphere. An atmosphere created by frowning or being upset will inevitably create an atmosphere of conflict, hate and resentment.

So what kind of atmosphere do you want to create? Would you expose your children or players to a negative atmosphere? If you’re coaching kid’s soccer and cannot manage a smile, stop coaching. I don’t care if you think you’re the next Ferguson or Mourhino, you should not be involved in the game if you cannot manage a smile.

For those of you that smile and create a friendly atmosphere, I take my hat off and salute you. Good on you. Remember, a smile is contagious. When you smile at someone, the other person can’t help but smile back. Could this be beneficial to your training sessions?

So what does it cost to smile? It doesn’t cost a thing, maybe a few facial wrinkles at best. You cannot put a monetary value on a smile because it’s priceless. You can’t buy a smile can you? You give them away for free. So why aren’t you smiling?

So how would you describe a smile? To be honest, you can’t describe a smile with words. It’s more a gesture that is recognized all over the world as a greeting mechanism. Your smile should come naturally and from the heart.

When you’re coaching, parenting or supporting, do it with a smile. Try and wear a smile every minute of the day. If you can manage a smile during your training sessions

• The players will smile (reciprocity)
• The atmosphere will bring out the best in your players.
• Your players will enjoy the game and given every chance to excel.
• Will eliminate intimidation and fear.
• And will create unity and camaraderie.

Before I finish, I know you have a question for me.

“How can I smile when I’m overwhelmed with problems?”

Yes, it is difficult, but does frowning help? Does frowning take away all the problems?

Next time you step out to coach, play or watch soccer, promise me one thing. Forget about all your problems and smile. The time you spend at soccer with your kids should be just that. Enjoy it. Learn to smile every minute of the day and your team will reap the rewards.

Let’s admire Christiano Ronaldo for a while.

The Manchester striker has supersonic speed and the safest ball control going around. He scores goals with the greatest of ease. But it’s his ability to run with the ball that is his priceless asset.

Let us emphasize again that in the modern game we should aim at minimizing long runs with the ball which slow the game down unless they open up passages for the quick counter attack. When you run with the ball, usually you prod it in front of you with one of three parts of the foot; inside of the foot, full instep and outside of the instep. A player looking for a career in soccer must be able to use all three variations even if the full instep technique is rarely needed.

Inside of the Foot

We push the ball with the same inside part of the foot that we use for passing. The ankle is loose and relaxed and the foot is turned slightly outwards. The ideal sequence is to use the same foot for every prod or touch of the ball with every second step. When a great player runs with the ball, he gives the illusion of the ball being tied to his foot, with the ball being under his body which gives his opponent no chance of intercepting the ball. The likes of Zidane and Figo were the best at this technique and it seemed like they never lost the ball.

Full Instep

This is the most difficult of the three techniques. We keep pushing and prodding the ball with the full instep about where the bootlaces are. The foot is turned down towards the ground and it hits the ball near the top. The real advantage of this method is that the running style is more continuous.

Outside of the Instep

The foot is turned inwards and we keep pushing the ball with the outside of the foot which all but embraces the ball. When the opponent is running alongside or parallel with us, we keep the ball on the foot away from him on his blind side, preferably with the inside of the foot or outside of the instep.

When the opponent is approaching directly ahead, we lead the ball with the inside, giving us a better chance to dribble past him. With beginners or kids begin coaching with the inside of the foot variety. First let them walk with the ball, taking care of their balance, the distance between the foot and the ball and the direction. Later, when the kids get the hang of it we can speed this up, first through jogging and then running with the ball.

Let’s teach youngsters to be able to use both feet. The ultimate is the player who can run with the ball, pushing it ahead of him with both feet, changing direction whenever necessary, slowing down and speeding up to get rid of an opponent. South Americans are the master of this technique, shielding the ball perfectly and changing directions with the slightest movement of the hips. The English on the other hand prefer the direct, energetic sprints which may appear more spectacular but where the ball may be lost from the foot.

When training youngsters always remember to encourage, be patient and train them with the biggest smile you can produce.

Do you have a coaching philosophy? Have you put pen to paper and actually developed your coaching philosophy? If you have, fantastic, great start. Are you upholding your coaching philosophy throughout the season?

For those of you that asked, “what’s a coaching philosophy?’ I’m glad you asked. A coaching philosophy reflects the standards you set for yourself and your team and it gives birth to your coaching values and belief. Before you decide to call yourself a soccer coach, make sure you’ve established your coaching philosophy.

Calling yourself a coach without a coaching philosophy is like driving a car without a license or embarking on a road trip without your trusty melways. The importance of a coaching philosophy is that it keeps you on track when things go wrong and helps keep the angry parents at a safe distance during the season.

But just a word of warning, even with a coaching philosophy penciled in and firmly placed, this does not guarantee you anything as a coach. The difficulty begins when you need to enforce it or adhere to it. Let’s use some examples to illustrate these difficulties shall we….

A few disgruntled parents approach you and question why the team is not winning more games. You quickly refer to your philosophy that states that winning is not as important as player development while you simultaneously wipe the sweat off your forehead.

John’s dad questions why the lesser skilled kids are receiving as much playing time as the team’s best players. You refer back to your philosophy that states that all players will receive the same amount of playing time irrespective of their abilities.

The presence of your coaching philosophy eliminates any surprises throughout the season. Explaining your soccer philosophy to the parents before the season commences eliminates any unnecessary headaches and provides answers to most questions that might arise during the season.

Your coaching philosophy is extremely important. Don’t just put pen to paper, really concentrate and put the necessary time in. In the long run, your coaching philosophy will reflect not only who you are as a coach, but also as a person. Lead your players in the right direction and instill values and beliefs that you want your own children to have. If you can accomplish this, your team will be champions irrespective of their win-loss ratio. Put things in perspective, coaching soccer at junior level is not the bigger picture is it?

If I was coaching, my philosophy would read,

The coaching staff of Soccer Mastermind FC understand that your children play soccer because it’s fun.

Here at Soccer Mastermind FC, we never forget that the game of soccer is just that, a game. It’s not about the win-loss ratio and its definitely not about the trophies. It’s all about enjoying the game while simultaneously learning and developing soccer and life skills.

It’s about sharing and playing in different positions so that all the players learn the necessary skills. It’s about receiving equal playing time irrespective of playing ability.

It’s about learning the game through a variety of fun games, where players have as much contact with the ball as possible and develop and learn at their own pace without pressure.

Parents are involved and encouraged to applaud, praise and show their appreciation while fetching the balls.

If parents are given this at the start of the season and agree to it, everyone involved will have a great season irrespective of the league ladder.