Coaching young kids sports teams

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Originally Posted by Hugh Conway

It makes no sense to you that you need a broad talent base and base of support to generate highly talented players and teams? And that - since mathematically - except for ties - someone loses every game - that there needs to be some other reason than winning to play for most of them? Particularly when you get lower on the pyramid, they know they'll never be "winners" in any real sense?

Ugh, that's a dumb as skiballs and your idiotic "coaching" failure philosophy of B-grade losers finding games they can win so they can claim success. Which is good at selling shoes to snotty rich brats who can convinve their parents they need $300 nikes to be better, but not good at teaching anything other than being a winner in some shitty segment. Which is, I guess, the key to success in america. Dipshits finding their niche and convincing themselves that they are winners. It's TGR to a T.

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Your ability to explain it didn't make any sense. Every professional league except the NFL and NBA build through minor league systems. Heck, even the NBA has the D-league, although most players go from college directly into the NBA. Do you want to know why high potential prospects get put into lower level competition, to gain exposure, learn how to play the game and win at the game.

You're really just arguing a circuitous point aren't you hugh. I get that the average record is .500 in any league. And finding your niche and then having pride in it is a pretty respectable thing and goes to the basic economic tenant of comparative advantage. Surprisingly after all of you're bitching on TGR all i've found your philosophy to be is I'm better than you bc I'm not some entitled U.S. douche. I've traveled the world and I'm cool.

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Originally Posted by chatton18

Your ability to explain it didn't make any sense. Every professional league except the NFL and NBA build through minor league systems. Heck, even the NBA has the D-league, although most players go from college directly into the NBA. Do you want to know why high potential prospects get put into lower level competition, to gain exposure, learn how to play the game and win at the game.

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If you don't know what the fuck I'm talking about, that's your problem, not mine. This isn't college or your shitty team where the coach tells you what to do.

There's 25,000 clubs in the DFB, 170,000+ teams, and 6.8 million people. Here's a little primer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_...ll_Association on the league system http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_..._league_system
The top of that pyramid is the national football team and the top of the club structure is the Bundesliga 1. Other soccer powers have a similar structure. Lots of people, lots of players, one big pyramid funneling to the top. There's nothing in US adult sports that's at all similar. It's nothing at all like the D-league or minor league baseball, with a bunch of losers chasing a dream that'll probably never come true. Or college sports with a bunch of losers chasing a dream and getting a free (bad) education along the way while tv execs get rich.

But it does work, and does seem to produce community benefit and other things, and while I'm sure they love winning, clearly they can't all be winners. Anyways, now back to parents talking about how wonderful their kids are and ponying up $75 an hour for private tutoring for their (sucky) kid to play soccer, and $300 for shoes, and all to teach them some vague lifelesson of how yelling at the referee sets you up for success.

4th grade lax, dad comes up after the game and reports to the second how many minutes his kid was on the field. His point I think was that other kids played more (we typically at that age ran 2 attack and D lines and 3 midfield).

I took out my notebook and opened it to the roster and wrote the time next to his kid. Then I asked for the remaining 22 kids times and he just looked at me. I said I have 23-24 kids to mind and you only timed one of them? Never heard another word.

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Originally Posted by Grape_Ape

I coach my boys' under 10 soccer team. There is a kid on the team from Ethiopia (adopted). He doesn't understand english very well and hates drills, but man the kid can play. It's hard to get him to listen to me, but once I started juggling and doing some tricks with the ball and kicking it around with him, he started listening to me. I love this kid. The other kids think he's weird (because he acts weird due to the fact that he has been in the country for 8 months and is having adjustment issues) so I have him under my wing. The parents are great. This little guy (Kya) makes it all worthwhile for me as a coach.

I know...sweet blog, but I figured I'd offer a positive side to coaching the little urchins.

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That's why I love football. I've had foreign kids play on teams and it is great for the suburban white kids to have exposure to players from other countries. It helps that the foreign kids are generally very good players. It teaches other kids that they need to respect others on and off the field. I try to incorporate female players in practice whenever I can as well, just to show adolescent boys that they need to respect everyone 'cause there's always someone out there that can dribble around you, male, female, brown, black, white, whatever...

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Originally Posted by MMP

4th grade lax, dad comes up after the game and reports to the second how many minutes his kid was on the field. His point I think was that other kids played more (we typically at that age ran 2 attack and D lines and 3 midfield).

I took out my notebook and opened it to the roster and wrote the time next to his kid. Then I asked for the remaining 22 kids times and he just looked at me. I said I have 23-24 kids to mind and you only timed one of them? Never heard another word.

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I also coach 4th grade lax, so I understand the challenges you face. We had 20 players last season, so my policy was that if a kid shows up to a game, he plays a minimum 0f 1/3 of the game if he's a middie (we run three lines) or a minimum of 1/2 of the game if he plays defense or attack. We were fortunate enough to have several really good players, so playing everyone generally equal amounts didn't prevent us from having a successful season.

I did have one kid on the team with some severe developmental disabilities. He could not catch and even running was a challenge. He often tripped over his own feet during line drills and twice hurt himself running around the field during warm-ups. I put this kid on attack (where he could do a minimum of damage) and, regardless of what we practiced, he would stand at the crease like a statue yelling "pass, pass, pass" for the entire time he was in the game. On the odd occasion that he was open and someone passed to him, he would miss the ball and often drop his stick in the process. This continued in spite of me spending a ton of practice time working individually with him while my assistant worked with the rest of the team.

Toward the end of the season, this kid's parents sent me a pissy text message stating that they were pulling their son from the team because I was not "making the other players pass to [our son] enough during the games" and that my failure in this regard had "ruined the sport for [our son]."

Pretty funny, but also a little sad - I can certainly understand how hard it must be for parents to admit to themselves that their kid is just not built for something that they think is important. It also helped me learn that no matter what a youth coach does, there will always be parents who are unhappy.

I still love coaching though and can't wait for our indoor season to start this weekend.

^. The obvious answer is to say "he has a regular shift and he's on our man up and man down teams. " Just don't explain that he plays man up defense and man down attack.

edit : phone post was screwed up

The hahaha part of that post was pasted somehow and not part of the. Story. Can't edit from phone. Oops

Put the phone down and drive, sir.

had an interview for the head coaching job yesterday...been an assistant up till now. I really enjoyed it cause one of the 4 people interviewing me had MONSTER natty titties (like volleyball size bags) that were half hanging out. She also was not ugly. I might request a second interview

I coached 10 y o girls softball - Piece of cake.

So I get a call from the league commisioner last night.
Some concerned parent has reported my extensive use of the F-word.
I'm going what are you talking about and assured him that this did not happen.
So I think about it, one of the better players on my team is named Huck.
Huck wants to be team captain and I have coached him in the past.
So when I yell " huck get up field" or " cut him off Huck" it might sound like something else from 60yds away.
First game today, those little fucks better win or there's gona be some ass kicking:biggrin:

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Originally Posted by skiballs

Some concerned parent has reported my extensive use of the F-word.
So I think about it, one of the better players on my team is named Huck.
So when I yell " huck get up field" or " cut him off Huck" it might sound like something else from 60yds away.

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Epic sideline parent fail!

I'm a sideline stepdad for U11 and I keep my mouth shut because I know next to nothing about soccer. At the start of the year they put us in a room and make us sign a contract that says we can encourage but not coach from the sidelines or we will be banned from all games. This last weekend my stepsons dad who also knows nothing about soccer but thinks he knows so much about it that he calls it 'football' makes a rare appearance at a game and we were told he was coaching up a storm from the sideline until coach yelled at the poseur to shut up. Love it. Need to thank that coach personally the next time I see him.

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Originally Posted by 1080Rider

Would you play a premiere leveled team at a select or rec level just to win games? I hope not!

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A bunch of us did that our last couple years of playing soccer in high school. None of us had interest in going any further with it, so we played on the bronze team (1 step above a rec team) rather than silver or gold knowing we could take it easy, have fun, and kick ass without putting in the effort required for the upper level teams. Many of us were 2 or 3 sport athletes and soccer wasn't #1.

I ran into my old hs basketball coach at the pub one weekend and had a few beers with him. I had seen a few of their games that year and want too impressed by their lack of toughness. He was telling me about a kid on his team that year. He was a freshman when I was a Sr, so I sort of remembered him. Coach informs the kid that he is a 'complete fucking pussy' at practice one day, which from my memory is the gentle way of putting it with this kid. Lots of skill but to toughness whatsoever.
A couple of days later the dad, who is a local sports radio host, calls coach up to tell him that he can't go saying those things to the boys. Coaches response was, "you know
Barry, I was pissed at your son for playing like a complete fucking pussy. But now I'm even more pissed that he went home and proved that he is a complete fucking pussy by crying to you about it."

Just returning from our first game of the season - a definitive 6-nil win for the Charles Village Fire. Suck on that St. Kasimir's! Go back to southeast Baltimore and lick your wounds, bitches.

My man Kiya had one goal.

how about the attitude of the kids ?

The ski coach was telling me in europe a kid fucks around and he is out but here it doesn't really matter

The 7-8 grade JV youth football game that preceded our 5th graders game had a parent calling the referee a motherfucker from the sideline. The guy completely went off. He was upset about the officiating, but when you lose 28-0 it probably wasn't the officiating.

Wow, reading this I sure feel lucky. I coach HS Alpine Ski team and I get 2 or 3 emails each year from parent with suggestions, but those are more about where we race, conference stuff, etc. Fortunately I get very few comments on the actual skiing stuff, though I did have a kid show up at practice not knowing how to ride a lift or make a wedge turn. That was an uncomfortable conversation, I suggested a few lessons and maybe next season, other than that I have it pretty easy.

1-1 on the season. One of the boys moms comes out onto the field 20 minutes before this weeks game. She can't find her son's socks. I tell her there are an extra pair over there in that bag. She comes back over with the socks and says, " he can't wear these they don't have the stripes like everyone else's socks". I tell her " the boys are 8 yrs old. I don't think the strips are gona make much difference". She gets all flustered and asks me " what am I supposed to do, buy new ones?". "If you think that will make Johnny run faster, by all means get 'um". I turned away and get back to coaching. She mumbled something and left.

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Originally Posted by skiballs

1-1 on the season. One of the boys moms comes out onto the field 20 minutes before this weeks game. She can't find her son's socks. I tell her there are an extra pair over there in that bag. She comes back over with the socks and says, " he can't wear these they don't have the stripes like everyone else's socks". I tell her " the boys are 8 yrs old. I don't think the strips are gona make much difference". She gets all flustered and asks me " what am I supposed to do, buy new ones?". "If you think that will make Johnny run faster, by all means get 'um". I turned away and get back to coaching. She mumbled something and left.

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Soooo, is she hot?



Sent from one of those fancy cellular telephones

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Originally Posted by booner

Soooo, is she hot?

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No, the hot milf's kid lost his socks. She put an old pair on the boy and sent him out.

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Originally Posted by skiballs

No, the hot milf's kid lost his socks. She put an old pair on the boy and sent him out.

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Hot AND smart? You lost me

says the guy who's either:
A) not getting laid
B) fucking an ugly pig
or
C) fucking an idiot

good going kid

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Originally Posted by telemike

says the guy who's either:
A) not getting laid
B) fucking an ugly pig
or
C) fucking an idiot

good going kid

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JC..seriously?...it's a joke

This is timely. I have been complaining that the new HS girls lax team which is only a booster team this year. The hope is they become official. Anyway I have been complaining that the girls should be at least passing the ball around to get used to each other for a while now. They come from different club teams where they are comfortable with the teams. So they gave me field time, nets, a bag of balls and told me to have at it.
Question is do I run plays with them (I may not end up being the coach next spring) or just have them run some kind of passing drills? What about conditioning, spring is a long way off will they lose it. What about defense drills will the "real coach" have a different view on D?

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Originally Posted by Tuckerman

This is timely. I have been complaining that the new HS girls lax team which is only a booster team this year. The hope is they become official. Anyway I have been complaining that the girls should be at least passing the ball around to get used to each other for a while now. They come from different club teams where they are comfortable with the teams. So they gave me field time, nets, a bag of balls and told me to have at it.
Question is do I run plays with them (I may not end up being the coach next spring) or just have them run some kind of passing drills? What about conditioning, spring is a long way off will they lose it. What about defense drills will the "real coach" have a different view on D?

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i know fuck all about womens lax, but fundamentals are something that everyone agrees on. Catching and throwing on the run, moving to the ball. ground balls, fast breaks, shooting. As for defense, again, fundamentals of clearing, and footwork. As for plays, kids can remember lots of stuff, if you have stuff drawn up, teach them.

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Originally Posted by Tuckerman

This is timely. I have been complaining that the new HS girls lax team which is only a booster team this year. The hope is they become official. Anyway I have been complaining that the girls should be at least passing the ball around to get used to each other for a while now. They come from different club teams where they are comfortable with the teams. So they gave me field time, nets, a bag of balls and told me to have at it.
Question is do I run plays with them (I may not end up being the coach next spring) or just have them run some kind of passing drills? What about conditioning, spring is a long way off will they lose it. What about defense drills will the "real coach" have a different view on D?

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First, make sure you are covered for liability. Do you have CPR training and safety clearance? Definitely start with serious conditioning to send the message this is real practice.

I've coached where a new coach comes in and replaces the offense. It can be difficult for you and the kids so I would stick with drills and scrimmages until the coaching is decided.

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Originally Posted by MMP

i know fuck all about womens lax, but fundamentals are something that everyone agrees on. Catching and throwing on the run, moving to the ball. ground balls, fast breaks, shooting. As for defense, again, fundamentals of clearing, and footwork. As for plays, kids can remember lots of stuff, if you have stuff drawn up, teach them.

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^This. Passing and catching (especially on the move) is an excellent way to build trust among new teammates and is critical in generating goals in unsettled situations (which is where good women's programs really make their money). The star drill (with one or two balls) is great for kids who have good, but not great, stick skills and is more fun than traditional line drills.

If you think they're ready to scrimmage, consider playing half-field and have the defense play without sticks - reduces opportunity for injury and gets them in the habit of playing defense with their feet.

I've coached HS and Community College women's athletics and there was one thing that was very different than the men. Women take their personal issues into the game all the time. The ugly woman doesn't like the pretty woman so she won't pass to her. Drives me crazy. Men are good at setting aside personal issues on game day.

Women like the concept of team better than men but are much worse executing as a team because they let little things bother them.

No stick D that sounds like a good one. Thanks

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Originally Posted by Smoova

^This. Passing and catching (especially on the move) is an excellent way to build trust among new teammates and is critical in generating goals in unsettled situations (which is where good women's programs really make their money). The star drill (with one or two balls) is great for kids who have good, but not great, stick skills and is more fun than traditional line drills.

If you think they're ready to scrimmage, consider playing half-field and have the defense play without sticks - reduces opportunity for injury and gets them in the habit of playing defense with their feet.

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one thing about the women's game that I'm not clear on is the inability to get the defensive body between the shooters stick and the goal. No-stick D drills are great. How the hell do you teach someone how to maintain a position between the stick and goal if you cant be between the stick and the goal??

another fun game at the beginning of the year, especially if they don't catch & throw well is to play ultimate lacrosse (disc rules ultimate) with a playground ball. The concepts of the game can be easily taught when your weak players aren't so focused on not dropping the ball. Positioning, creating space, etc..

Move the goals to the mens restraining box and scrimmaging on a short field works well. that way you have a center line for staying onsides

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Originally Posted by MMP

one thing about the women's game that I'm not clear on is the inability to get the defensive body between the shooters stick and the goal. No-stick D drills are great. How the hell do you teach someone how to maintain a position between the stick and goal if you cant be between the stick and the goal??

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Full Disclosure - I probably know far less than you do about women's lacrosse. That said, I think the idea is that a defender can't impede the theoretical flight of a shot with her body while inside the scoring area, but can use her body to force an offensive player in one direction or another (without being between the head of the ball carrier's stick and the goal). My neighbor coaches his girl's club lacrosse team (middle school level) and all I've really gleaned from his answers to my many questions is that the best bet for the defense is to intercept or knock down passes.

My 4th year coaching hockey...best kid quote ever tonight. 6 yr old gets ratted out for cutting the line.
Me: "You have to get to the end of the line where you were"
6 yr old: (calm and serious) "This is really a small issue" (refusing to move)

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Originally Posted by Tuckerman

This is timely. I have been complaining that the new HS girls lax team which is only a booster team this year. The hope is they become official. Anyway I have been complaining that the girls should be at least passing the ball around to get used to each other for a while now. They come from different club teams where they are comfortable with the teams. So they gave me field time, nets, a bag of balls and told me to have at it.
Question is do I run plays with them (I may not end up being the coach next spring) or just have them run some kind of passing drills? What about conditioning, spring is a long way off will they lose it. What about defense drills will the "real coach" have a different view on D?

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I coached my kid's U11 team for a couple years. Good luck with teenagers.

This book was pretty helpful. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=321216643664

My 8th grade stepson plays hoops for a couple teams. One is a CYO league. Yesterday an opposing coach yelled "Thats fucking bullshit!" about a foul call. T'd up, ejected, crazy lady parent gets up and starts swearing at the top of her lungs. T'd up, ejected.

When this happened, our team was down by 6. after one of our players hit 7 of the 9 free throws as a result of all the technicals and the original foul, we were up, and went on to win. Way to go coach.

That was reported to me by my wife; I was busy refereeing a pre season high school lax tournament where after calling a slash on a kid for throwing a wild one-handed wrap-check, he called me a "piece of shit". Pre season, 40 minute scrimmage, zero consequence. Hated to have to report him to the assigner over a game of no consequence. You really shouldn't swear at the officials. ANother ref got told to fuck off, and after he ejected the player I noticed that the kid that said it had "Team First" written on a piece of athletic tape and stuck to his helmet. Indeed.


Kids these day. Adorable :)

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Originally Posted by MMP

Hated to have to report him to the assigner over a game of no consequence.

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Reporting some smart ass brat would bring me great joy. Shouldn't be required if the coaches had any self respect and discipline. If I had a kid do that he'd be lucky to play again.

there is no anonymity anymore. I took the number off his helmet, googled his team, went to Max Preps, got his name, went to FB and confirmed that the face matched the number...

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Originally Posted by MMP

My 8th grade stepson plays hoops for a couple teams. One is a CYO league. Yesterday an opposing coach yelled "Thats fucking bullshit!" about a foul call. T'd up, ejected, crazy lady parent gets up and starts swearing at the top of her lungs. T'd up, ejected.

When this happened, our team was down by 6. after one of our players hit 7 of the 9 free throws as a result of all the technicals and the original foul, we were up, and went on to win. Way to go coach.

That was reported to me by my wife; I was busy refereeing a pre season high school lax tournament where after calling a slash on a kid for throwing a wild one-handed wrap-check, he called me a "piece of shit". Pre season, 40 minute scrimmage, zero consequence. Hated to have to report him to the assigner over a game of no consequence. You really shouldn't swear at the officials. ANother ref got told to fuck off, and after he ejected the player I noticed that the kid that said it had "Team First" written on a piece of athletic tape and stuck to his helmet. Indeed.


Kids these day. Adorable :)

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It's sad to see that progression - kids learn it from the coaches/parents. Coaches/parents in youth games act like fools and disrespect the refs. When the kids get to high school they use that behavior as a model and do the same thing.

I coached in a U9/U11 preseason lax "tournament" this past weekend and saw some similar behavior from coaches/parents. No scoreboards, no timeouts, officials getting training for the upcoming season, yet some coaches/parents couldn't keep themselves from shrieking at the refs and other coaches. There were two parents on another field who had to be physically separated.

I cannot understand what causes an adult to get so emotionally involved in a youth sporting event that he/she resorts to profane personal attacks on a stranger in public.

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Originally Posted by Smoova

I cannot understand what causes an adult to get so emotionally involved in a youth sporting event that he/she resorts to profane personal attacks on a stranger in public.

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Their dream being crushed. The dream of their spawn, which they held back a year in Kindergarten, getting a full college scholarship to Princeton to play some fucking unwatchable sport that the white man adapted from the Iroquois.

It makes the sane go insane.

I got talked to league commissioner into instituting an apprentice coaching plan.
Now i get to have the new guy return all the emails and get the forms filled out, winning.

The lax people do seem a little nuts. I don't let my kid play lax, he's way to violent for that sport.

I was volunteer asst. coaching my son's soccer team last year. One kid seemed to have some real talent but only ever grabbed the ball and tried to dribble all the way himself. I chided him to "come on give me a pass" repeatedly during a game. He flipped me off while yelling "fuck you" loud enough the ref yellow carded him.

The club, under fear of what the parents might do if they did so, wouldn't even let the head coach suspend him for a game in punishment.

I quit coaching that team.

I blame the parents - they all want golden opportunities but never any negative consequences for their spoiled little shit bags. If my son ever exhibited that sort of behavior I would suspend him myself, take away other of his favorite activities/privileges, and have him make a written apology.