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Post by Soccerhouse on Mar 22, 2016 10:32:17 GMT -5
I don't recall if this was posted before or not --- Youth Soccer Needs A CULTURAL SHIFT! "I can’t tell you how many times, over the course of my recent few days at the NSCAA Convention, I uttered the phrase: “Parents are not the problem, they are the solution.”
The belief that youth coaches have regarding parents being the problem in youth sports is one that runs so deeply and is so widely believed, that when a coach says “I can’t stand dealing with parents,” other coaches simply nod their heads with little comment or thought."soccerparenting.com/2016/01/25/youth-soccer-needs-a-cultural-shift/#more-2937
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Post by spectator on Mar 22, 2016 11:27:09 GMT -5
I think it's deeper than just that. The best soccer coach at a given club may not be the best communicator to parents so a parent's perception of what their child is or is not getting will influence their behavior at games and toward coaches.
I don't envy the job of any coach - he or she must know the game, how to teach it to the age group they've been given, the psychology of dealing with youth in sports, how to effectively communicate with kids, their parents and his or her own director at the club plus live up to the expectation of developing players for the next level and winning games.
So yeah, I put a lot of this shift back onto the parents and their actions and reactions at games and practices. Unless you are a licensed coach or referee yourself, someone else on that field knows more than you do - or more than you seem to think you do.
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Post by rifle on Mar 23, 2016 5:38:39 GMT -5
This quote...
What if clubs appointed “Parent Engagers” to explain to parents why we don’t introduce tactics to young players, the proper way to pass and receive a ball and explain expectations for the game they are about to watch?
...Is poignant. Without goals and metrics there is little accountability and it becomes a crap shoot. The result? "Just win baby"
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Post by jash on Mar 23, 2016 8:59:43 GMT -5
My perspective on the 'parent problem' has changed several times over the years. As I move into the sunset years of my kid's select soccer experience (1 year early thanks to the mandate!) I find myself with a very different perspective.
If clubs treat the whole experience as development and training, then parents have a very different role than if clubs treat the whole experience as a moneymaking project. And my increasingly cynical opinion is that for MOST players at MOST clubs, our kids are numbers to keep revenues up. I'm not talking about the coaches here, I'm talking about the clubs.
This attitude permeates almost everything I see clubs do, from tournament "back-scratching" (forcing your teams to go to your own tournaments and/or another club's tournaments who then force their teams to come to yours), to roster sizes, to pushing larger-sided games early (roster sizes), to play-ups (sometimes), and to recruiting.
I'm very aware of the details of budgets for running a club and the costs that go into it. But I think at MOST clubs the leadership loses sight of the goals of the sport in favor of the business aspects (bonuses, kickbacks, free swag).
I think lots of parents sense that youth soccer is, at its core, a huge business. And a lot of the attitudes you see reflect the parents' desire to be treated decently as customers. The actions and philosophies of the club leadership define the relationship with the parents, and right now I think many parents feel like customers. Why be surprised when they act like customers?
If clubs acted more out of a desire to develop ALL players at all levels, and engaged the parents differently, I think you'd see more parents act like partners and helpers and less like customers. There would be more cooperation, more volunteerism, more INVESTMENT in the club, and less complaining.
It seems to me that when (most) clubs complain that parents are a pain, that they want it both ways. They want to run their clubs like a business and get every penny they can while simultaneously ignoring the fact that businesses ARE answerable to their clients.
I think 20 years ago things were different, and that youth soccer is evolving over time to become more about money and less about players (and this is not news -- it's something you hear all the time). Of course there are still clubs that cling to the development philosophies and I think the majority of coaches are still in it for the right reasons.
But it's time for clubs to rethink their roles and get back to doing things for the right reasons.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Mar 23, 2016 9:14:57 GMT -5
Foudy was on glen crooks radio show a few weeks ago, I'll have to dig up her interview she made some excellent points similar to what jash says.
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Post by youthsoccerdad on Mar 23, 2016 12:08:28 GMT -5
I don't envy the job of any coach - he or she must know the game, how to teach it to the age group they've been given, the psychology of dealing with youth in sports, how to effectively communicate with kids, their parents and his or her own director at the club plus live up to the expectation of developing players for the next level and winning games. So yeah, I put a lot of this shift back onto the parents and their actions and reactions at games and practices. Unless you are a licensed coach or referee yourself, someone else on that field knows more than you do - or more than you seem to think you do. The system of youth soccer is working perfectly and exactly how US Soccer / Ga Soccer / and the clubs designed it.
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Post by infoguy on Mar 23, 2016 12:37:51 GMT -5
It's almost as if each coach and team manager has to customize the level and type of communication for each parent. Of course, this is impossible. The best coach I've seen is one that will involve parents if they're approached, but at the same time keeping their distance to avoid much discussion.
Coaches are supposed to teach skills, and to not write a kid off for not being athletic enough. Or, to say that the kids should be learning skills on their own at home. Parents are paying money to learn soccer skills and tactics. That said, it's the parents job to encourage touches at home and buy a rebound net or something for the yard. Organize kick arounds on off days for your kid.
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Post by letissier on Mar 23, 2016 12:56:44 GMT -5
The clubs and GA soccer have created the environment that Jash describes very well. But now it's created it is unlikely to change from one of a focus on money to a real focus on development. If a club does this, they will lose out to other clubs. So no club will change. So clubs focus on the money and because they do, parents focus more actively on their children.
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