Advice for a brand new coach

’HAVE FUN ENERGY’

"Have a plan. Be okay with making mistakes yourself. Let the players in the session tell you what to do.

"Don’t force a coaching point. Observe, reflect on your observation, and just make coaching points based on your observation. 

"Don’t try and be the person that is moving this player here, and talking about this point here. Just relax.

"The game itself is usually the best. Just put your own little spin on it and have fun. The biggest thing is have fun energy."

Kyle Martyn

Senior girls director, Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals Soccer Club

’Smile. Connect with the players.’

"Whether they’re pros, college or youth, they’re somebody’s child. Connect with every player."

James Wagenschutz

Coach, W Sports Performance

’Be you. Don’t try to hide your personality.’

"Don’t try to be something else. Just be who you are when you’re in those sessions."

Sarah Gonzalez
Head coach, Shawnee Mission High School

’Be the coach that you wish you had.’

Tom Shields
Technical director, STA Soccer

’don’t over coach the players’

"The best way to grab kids’ attention is to have fun.

"This is going to sound a little bit over the top, but the game is the best teacher. 

"My biggest fear as an NCAA Division I head coach - and we did well, I developed players who played in Major League Soccer, I was a finalist for National Coach of the Year - was not to over-coach.

"I think coaches sometimes can take themselves too seriously and get too involved in the process of the learning.

"That doesn’t mean we don’t have a role for Xs and Os - formations, periodization and analytics. There’s a lot that goes into coaching, with formations, strategy, game models.

"I get all that, I love all that. But at the end of the day, it’s a game. It’s a sport.

"And it’s a player’s game. We let them make decisions on the ball. We don’t stand on the sidelines and try to joystick every single decision. We encourage them. We let them know that they did well. 

"I would say have fun in your first session, make it competitive, don’t over teach, make sure it runs quickly and it includes situations where they’re going towards goal."

Matt Spear
Founder, Love United FC

’OWN ERRORS - AND PRACTICE FAILURE’

"Be kind to yourself. Understand that errors are a part of it and own them.

"One of the best ways to get people on your side is to admit the errors and move on.

"That’s hard for us to do because, in most situations in coaching, teaching and parenting, you’re the ultimate authority. There’s nobody over you saying, ‘No, that was wrong’.

"When you notice it, call it out, move on. The moving on part sometimes is hard, because sometimes the mistake is monumental enough that it interrupts what you’re trying to do.

"Practice that. What if I’m doing this and it goes horribly? What’s next? What’s the next best thing? When I say this to people, they’re like ‘You are nuts’.

"I’m like, ‘No, you have to practice failure’. You don’t know what’s going to happen, so you have to practice failure.

"Why do schools practice fire drills? They don’t know when things are going to go wrong. So as a coach you have to do the same thing. Practice failure, own it, move on. That would be the biggest piece of advice I would give. 

"I can’t tell you how many coaches I’ve had that have said losses and failures teach you more than wins and success. So practice for the failure. What happens when things don’t go well?."

Dr Haroot Hakopian 

Head coach, Potomac Soccer Club and Winston Churchill High School
United Soccer Coaches board of directors