The Sport Column

So many soccer players never reach their full potential because they are not allowed to be free. In this article, I’ll tell you exactly what I mean and why you must allow your players to be released.

Confidence. People talk about it all the time and many people pretend to be an expert on it but rarely use it. I’m going to tell you just how important it is to the game of football.

Let’s take a prime example of great players, past and present, like George Best, Ronaldinho and Maradona. They have so much confidence on the pitch. You might say that this is no surprise because they have amazing skills but remember that they had to hone those skills and develop them first.

You see, many coaches tell their players “safety first”. If you are under attack, then get rid of the ball, play it safe. What does this do to the player? It makes him think it is the right course of action and it even makes him think that he is not capable of playing the ball out of trouble. It’s self reinforcing and he will use this more and more and become less confident in playing his own style of football. He’ll probably also make more mistakes. Is this what you want in your players?

Now think about a coach who says - “it doesn’t matter if you make a mistake”. He tells his players that they should always try to play the ball out of trouble. What will happen? Well, the player will know he has the backing of his coach and he will try to play it out of trouble more often. His teammates will help him too. And when he does make a mistake or two, his coach said it doesn’t matter so it won’t affect his confidence. He’ll become more expert with the ball and more confident over time - soon he’ll think that he can take on anyone!

Do you see why I say to you that confidence and having no fear of failure is so important in the game of football?

These players I mentioned might have the amazing skills but there are many other players who do and never reach the great heights. The reason that these players are so successful is because they have had the confidence to pull it off.

You, as a coach, are responsible for giving individual players in your team and the whole team itself, the confidence they need to win the match. In many ways, especially at lower levels, confidence is even more important than technical skill so don’t underestimate it.

Chris Turner is author of Elite Soccer Coach, a coaching bible that covers the psychological as well as the stategic and technical side of the game of soccer. Learn more about how to coach soccer at http://www.EliteSoccerCoach.com

Getting parents “On Board” is key when you are coaching youth football and want to keep your sanity.

Some Parents Don’t “Get” Youth Football

Many parents just don’t understand what is acceptable and unacceptable fan behavior. Remember your program will always be judged by the aggregated actions of your coaches, players AND parents. If you choose to ignore managing this very important group your season can end up being a disaster. It’s never fun having to police your parents during a game or get an angry call from the league commissioner because a parent was acting foolishly. Worse yet, your players often use the actions of others as cues for their own behavior. If you have poorly acting parents, the players follow.

Limits

Most people respond fairly well if they are given limits at the outset and told they can accept the limits and participate or ignore the limits and play elsewhere. What doesn’t work and isn’t very fair is if the limits are not defined or are given out piecemeal and arbitrarily. That’s why we came up with our Parent or Spectator Contract that is required in order that anyone play in our program. It clearly states what is and is not acceptable behavior and what the penalties for choosing not to follow it is. I’ve found it is much more effective to be proactive about this issue and address it head on day 1. On page 58 of my book “Winning Youth Football a Step by Step Plan” is my Parent speech I give out word for word before every season. I’ve never had a player on one of my teams ejected or had a single significant parent issue by using this approach.

Below is the Contract:

Screaming Eagles Spectator Contract

The Screaming Eagle Program has a history of being the best, in providing a positive Sportsmanship Environment for our players. Our program is bigger than any one player, coach or spectator.

1) Encourage members of both teams.
2) Keep all comments positive.
3) Only players and coaches allowed on field, no exceptions.
4) Leave the coaching to the coaches
5) Criticizing the officials, coaches and opponents will not be tolerated at all. The same goes for abusive language or cursing. This is youth sports, everyone makes mistakes, referees do too.
6) You are responsible for all family members and friends attending the games to watch your child.
7) No open alcoholic beverages on fields or parking areas.
Help make this a positive and fun experience for all.
9) Report any violations to head coach or board member, get involved.
10) Playing Time is not to be discussed with any coach unless the player plays less than the minimum and then only by phone at least 2 hours after the game has concluded.

Enforcement:

1) Individuals will be given one warning for inappropriate activity.
2) Individuals that continue; will be asked to leave the fields and the player will be removed from the game until the spectator has left.
3) Other sanctions as deemed necessary by the president or board may be enforced, including permanent ban.
4) All decisions are final, there will be no hearing or appeals.

THIS MUST BE SIGNED AS A CONDITION OF YOUR CHILD’S PARTICIPATION
Agreed Guardian
Signature……………………………………………………….Date…………………..
Guardians Printed Name
…………………………………………………………………………………..

For 200 free youth football coaching tips or to sign up for Dave’s free Youth Football Tips newsletter please go to: Youth Football Coaching Copyright 2007 Cisar Management. Republishing this article is allowed if this paragraph and links are included.

Dave Cisar-

Dave has a passion for developing youth coaches so they can in turn develop teams that are competitive and well organized. He is a Nike “Coach of the Year” Designate and speaks nationwide at Coaches Clinics. His book “Winning Youth Football a Step by Step Plan” was endorsed by Tom Osborne and Dave Rimington.

With over 15 years of hands-on experience as a youth coach, Dave has developed a detailed systematic approach to developing youth players and teams. His personal teams to using this system to date have won 97% of their games in 5 Different Leagues. His web site is: Football Plays

I have coached some extremely talented girls basketball players. I coached a group of 14 year old players that had already won the AAU national championship twice. They were some studs. Out of that group of young ladies 5 went to Division 1 schools on basketball scholarships. And 2 of those were SEC schools. Not to downgrade the talent of the young ladies. But I learned some hard lessons while coaching them of what being good so early and people constantly telling you that you are good can do to a player.

They believe what they hear.

After being told over and over again how good they are. They will begin to believe it. Then when someone with more experience comes in and tells them that they have things to work on. They don’t believe you.

They’re parents believe what they hear.

The parents begin to believe the hype too. Then they too don’t want to hear that their daughter can enhance their skills more.

They stop training.

After believing that they have arrived as a player, the player will not work on their skills anymore.

They stop growing.

So if, the player stops working on the development of their skills, they will eventually stop growing. The skill of the player will level off.

The competition will outgrow them.

When the player stops growing, it gives competition an opportunity to catch up and surpass them, especially at the next level.

If you are playing basketball and notice people commenting on how good you are, don’t fall in the trap of believing it and discontinuing your grow as a player.

My name is Patosha Jeffery. I’ve been involved in basketball as a player, coach and trainer since 1987. My skills were good enough to get me a full basketball scholarship to the University of Memphis. I’ve coached several young ladies that’s earned basketball scholarships themselves to schools like the University of Colorado, University of Florida, Southern Mississippi, Ole Miss, Arkansas State and Florida A&M to name a few. I am a Certified Fitness Trainer and Specialist in Sports Conditioning.

My philosophies are” To Add Value to Others through Inspiration and Participation” and “To Mentor Young Ladies through the Process of Excelling in Basketball”.

Visit http://www.girlsbasketballtrainer.com for articles, videos, motivational tips and training methods that deliver dangerous results, Guaranteed!!!