How to be A Great Soccer Coach
The success of a coach always draws the attention
of the spectators far and wide, and everyone wants to know what a
successful coach is doing to be successful especially when coaching has
to do with handling about 23 different players who grew up in different
geographical locations and with different characters. Soccer coaching, without any doubt, is a tough job, and to achieve success, you must have a lot of love for the game.
Coaching
is much more than putting together a starting lineup or conducting
training sessions. If there is any job that takes all of you, it is the
soccer coaching job. A lot of coaches thriving don’t see coaching as a
job, and that’s one of their reasons for success. They often see it as
their life. Pep Guardiola, who is one of the greatest football
(soccer) coaches, once said this “Players think about themselves while
the coach thinks about them even when he is not with them.” And that’s
the nature of the job of a soccer coach. You study opponents a lot, and
you think about tactics; you think about the effective way of using each
player, you think on how to make every player happy to ensure unity
within the group, which is pertinent for success. The coach always has a
lot to think about, and any lag in the job of a coach means the
opponents are preparing better, which is what top coaches don’t want to
see happen.
So, whether it is a recreational soccer team for
young children or a World Cup champion national team, one person that
you cannot do without is the coach and to become a good soccer coach,
there are a lot of things that must be put in place. One of them is your
knowledge of the game. Being a soccer coach is very demanding, and it
takes a lot of preparation in studying and practicing.
Many may
assume that a great player could be a great coach, but many great
players have failed on the coaching platform. So being a great player
helps you understand some things when you become a coach, but it doesn’t
guarantee that you’ll be a great coach. There is more to being a great
coach; you must tick a lot of essential boxes.
And the most important question is this, what makes a great coach?
You
must have heard several coaches being praised for how they’ve helped
their players improve, how they’ve made their team play brand new
football. What qualities do these coaches have? What makes them so
“great”?
Claudio Ranieri on winning the Premier League:
“There are so many keys to this. Humility, the strength of the dressing
room, they help each other at important moments, they play with the
heart, the soul, they play 11. There was a good blend. And all these are
not things you achieve overnight.
Here are some points you should look at on how to be a good soccer coach;r coach;
1. Be Professional
Professionalism is the embodiment of what a coach
should be. The competence of a coach must be seen by all and the coach
must be able to transmit professionalism that he embodies to the players
and the other staff he is working with. Part of professionalism is
punctuality, the coach must always arrive early at training and in
games, even before the players, this way you’ll get to set up the
training sessions without wasting time.
Part of being professional as a coach is an act of taking further steps to improve your education,
take time to evaluate yourself and your work ethics and be sure it’s
what your team needs. Always make your players see the need to improve
continuously, a coach cannot afford to leave a training ground
satisfied, no matter how hard the lads have worked. Keep encouraging the
lads, keep pushing them, they need that push to be the best version of
themselves. Adequate preparation and Continuous education is what makes a
great coach.
2. Be a Good Teacher
One important job of the coach is to teach the players how to be more effective.
The
coach must be able to access each player’s strengths and weaknesses,
and he must take it upon himself as a duty to explain basics like
passing, dribbling, shooting, and tackling to the players.
The
coach must ensure that his team keeps learning and improving their
skills daily. As a coach, always remember to give clear and correct
instructions during the training sessions. You can’t coach the soccer
players who don’t have any knowledge about the do’s and don’ts in
soccer. In teaching soccer skills, remember “a picture is worth a
thousand words,” so demonstrating the drills can be so much better than
oral instructions.
3. Be Friendly but also know when to be stern and demanding
The first thing that every coach must learn to
establish is a great relationship with his players. Being friendly with
the players helps you a lot in understanding their personality and how
to get the best out of every one of them. This way, you could analyze
their varied emotional and mental characteristics and develop strategies
that could motivate them more accordingly. But remember you can get
personal but stay professional. Friendliness is a means to an end, not
an end in itself. When you are friends with someone, you won’t like to
disappoint them, and that’s how you should make the players see it so
they can always give their best always even though you’re their friend.
Don’t go to the level where you become so friendly that you forget to be
a demanding coach. Your friendliness should be a means to get top
quality performances from your players. Don’t fake the friendliness so
that you can get what you want, be sincere, and enjoy being with your
players.
4. Always listen to your players
Most coaches ever forget that they are humans
also, and they often go to the level where they put every responsibility
upon themselves. That will not only be draining, but it will shut your
players out from you, and even if everyone knows you are making a
mistake, they won’t say a word to you. Being the coach doesn’t mean you
must always do the talking, listen more, and you’ll find more solutions.
For the team’s development, ask your player’s view after every game. As
the soccer coach, you must be a good listener because every person has
his own brilliant ideas to share. Always encourage your players to speak
out and take what they say into consideration. Make notes if necessary,
and include some recommendations in your soccer session plan.
5. Good Communicator
As a soccer coach, communication is very
important. You must recognize the players’ performances and
achievements; you must always be there to encourage them to do better
and tell them to put more efforts when they aren’t doing so well.
Commend them after every game. You must also be careful of words to use
because a coach, your words are powerful, and it can have a massive
impact on the players and the team in general. Communication also
includes your body language. Don’t be negative with your body language
during training and matches. Even when things aren’t going so well, the
players often look to the body language of the coach, always be
positive.
6. Development
A coach must always pay close attention to the
player’s development. Each soccer player’s development is essential. As
their coach and role model, you must teach them not only soccer basic
skills, but also social skills like discipline, patience, determination,
and teamwork. Always put as one of your goals the development of the
team players.
7. Team Motivator
The
coach must always be the motivator, and he must transmit positive
energy always. As a coach, you must develop activities in the training
session that will help motivate each player to do better every game.
Don’t forget to remind them their goals and missions on why they wanted
to play soccer and create a winning team. Words of encouragement and
ways for development are very useful. Understand every player and
motivate them to do better even when they are doing well.
8. Ensure to be Adequately Prepared
The soccer coaching job is very demanding, to
enjoy the process and to avoid getting exhausted quickly, you must
ensure adequate preparation. Don’t forget the perfect 5 P’s of
preparation. Perfect Planning Prevents Poor Performance
9. Be the perfect example for your players
Being
an ideal example to your players works like magic. Every team needs a
soccer coach that is a good role model. Players need to look up to
someone they think is worth emulating. Examine yourself and ensure you
are that person. Live by the standards you require from your players.
10. lastly, provide a perfect environment for everyone in the team
The
coach must always ensure to understand the atmosphere around the
players at all times. Sometimes all that is needed for a great
performance is a good atmosphere. Bonding is key to success, organize
picnics to ensure proper bonding between everyone in the team. Don’t
show favoritism to some while you sidetrack others. Let everyone in the
team feel like a member even if they don’t make the first eleven
selection.
To Lean more about becoming a great soccer coach check out top coaches' online training by clicking the link below.
Soccer Coaching Courses
Nevertheless,
you will need to showcase your strategic ability through tactical
awareness. To learn more about this side of soccer coaching, Coach
Kartashov's course: Become a Professional Soccer Coach is a wonderful course on the tactical side.
