It's Gonna Hurt Me As Much As It Hurts You and Maybe Even More
I've very much been enjoying being an assistant coach for Gavin's soccer team. It has been entirely too long since I coached (the last time was when Bailey, 13, was in 1st grade!) and it is considerably more fun than being a referee, which I took on for about 3 seasons in our former city.
I actually signed up to be a head coach but I couldn't get the age group I requested. Ideally I wanted to coach a team without my child being on the team and I wanted a younger group (1st graders) but there were enough coaches at that level and I am now with Gavin's team of 5th graders. And trust me when I tell you that 1st graders would have been a more attentive bunch than 5th graders. First graders may not have the vocabulary or skill level of their older counterparts but they also aren't as prone to totally tuning you out.
We have an excellent group of kids and they're all nice kids. As would happen with any team there are obviously some with greater soccer talents than others and I totally understand that. Everyone has different talents and all I could ever want from any kid, my own included, is for her or she to try their best and give 100 percent of whatever it is they have. Some will always have more than others but everyone can try their best. So it was a little disappointing in our 1st game Saturday to see a fair number of the kids not trying very hard. It is one thing to get beat because the other team out skilled you; it's another when you lose because you got out worked and that is what happened with the game 2 days ago.
I can actually understand giving up or slacking off if you're getting slaughtered. In fact, I saw it happen in my older son's game later in the afternoon. My son's team is pretty good and they scored 3 times in the first half. Anyone who knows soccer will tell you that overcoming or even tying up a game when being down 3-0 at the half is near impossible, especially at higher levels/ages of play. The other team was clearly unmotivated in the second half and while you'd always like to see everyone try their best it was at least understandable as to why some weren't going full throttle. With Gavin's team it was totally different. They were getting out chanced in terms of shots but they weren't even down 1-0 until early in the second half. They have more than enough time to keep at it and tie it up. But that didn't happen.
Talking with the other two coaches after the game we all agreed that today's practice will be a tough one, with a message of "It's fine to lose because winning and losing don't matter. And we want you to half fun. But sports and athletics do require you to work and if you won't work in the game then you will work in practice." In other words, today's practice will be about conditioning and not giving up. It isn't punishment for losing. In fact, it isn't punishment at all, except maybe on us as coaches. One of the things we all agreed on as coaches is that any and all running drills (i.e., drills where the ball is not in play) will be done by players and coaches alike. Laps, wind sprints, etc. are all done by the coaches and the players. We all agreed that if you run them for the sake of running them they won't respect you.
So... this evening I'll be running. A lot. And so will the kids. Hard work never comes free. Or something. ;)
Wish me luck!
J
I actually signed up to be a head coach but I couldn't get the age group I requested. Ideally I wanted to coach a team without my child being on the team and I wanted a younger group (1st graders) but there were enough coaches at that level and I am now with Gavin's team of 5th graders. And trust me when I tell you that 1st graders would have been a more attentive bunch than 5th graders. First graders may not have the vocabulary or skill level of their older counterparts but they also aren't as prone to totally tuning you out.
We have an excellent group of kids and they're all nice kids. As would happen with any team there are obviously some with greater soccer talents than others and I totally understand that. Everyone has different talents and all I could ever want from any kid, my own included, is for her or she to try their best and give 100 percent of whatever it is they have. Some will always have more than others but everyone can try their best. So it was a little disappointing in our 1st game Saturday to see a fair number of the kids not trying very hard. It is one thing to get beat because the other team out skilled you; it's another when you lose because you got out worked and that is what happened with the game 2 days ago.
I can actually understand giving up or slacking off if you're getting slaughtered. In fact, I saw it happen in my older son's game later in the afternoon. My son's team is pretty good and they scored 3 times in the first half. Anyone who knows soccer will tell you that overcoming or even tying up a game when being down 3-0 at the half is near impossible, especially at higher levels/ages of play. The other team was clearly unmotivated in the second half and while you'd always like to see everyone try their best it was at least understandable as to why some weren't going full throttle. With Gavin's team it was totally different. They were getting out chanced in terms of shots but they weren't even down 1-0 until early in the second half. They have more than enough time to keep at it and tie it up. But that didn't happen.
Talking with the other two coaches after the game we all agreed that today's practice will be a tough one, with a message of "It's fine to lose because winning and losing don't matter. And we want you to half fun. But sports and athletics do require you to work and if you won't work in the game then you will work in practice." In other words, today's practice will be about conditioning and not giving up. It isn't punishment for losing. In fact, it isn't punishment at all, except maybe on us as coaches. One of the things we all agreed on as coaches is that any and all running drills (i.e., drills where the ball is not in play) will be done by players and coaches alike. Laps, wind sprints, etc. are all done by the coaches and the players. We all agreed that if you run them for the sake of running them they won't respect you.
So... this evening I'll be running. A lot. And so will the kids. Hard work never comes free. Or something. ;)
Wish me luck!
J