How to Determine if a Youth Soccer Coach Is Good

A good coach is absolutely necessary for your child to have a fun and meaningful soccer education. You'll know if you've found one by your child's response, but there are also other ways to tell.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Check out qualifications. A coaching license alone does not mean you have a strong all-around coach, but a basic license is important, not only to teach the game, but because a licensing course stresses safety rules and teaching principles.

2. Ask about experience. A good coach usually has previous experience, either as a coach or an assistant coach, or has been trained by qualified teachers.

3. Remember safety. A good coach has knowledge of, or certification in, first aid.

4. Look for preparation. A good coach always plans the practices and works from written lesson plans.

5. Pay attention to fairness. A good coach is fair, but that doesn't necessarily mean all children play an equal amount of time, which is not always realistic. It means that the coach is consistent in behavior and philosophy.

6. Pay attention to equal treatment. Girls should be coached with equal enthusiasm and intensity as boys.

Tips & Warnings

• Ask about playing experience. It helps if a coach has played organized soccer or, at the very least, other organized sports.
• Notice the teaching. A good coach teaches skills one at a time, and in proper order. That person also has a system for accommodating players of varying abilities.
• Understand cutting-edge coaching. A good coach stays abreast of modern coaching and teaching techniques.
• Look for understanding. A good coach accommodates the lives that children lead outside of soccer, and recognizes how that affects their participation.
• Check the record. A good coach has a record of success, not just with winning, but in all aspects of management - such as dealing with parents and retaining players.

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[GeoBrewster]

on 11/20/2007 I had to reveiw all of the youth sports parenting books for my city when we were writing our new sports manual this fall. The one that we chose out about 12 books was Chapter 10 in Home Team Advantage by Brooke de Lench. The chpater is titled: Put Me In Coach: The Signs of a good Sports Coach. De Lench is the only sports parenting expert out here that gets the whole big picture. She is also the editor of MomsTeam which is an aonline huge resource for parents.

[mcgie]

on 11/19/2007 Step 4 is not correct - I have written lesson plans but I rarely bring them to the field; they tend to get stolen, wet, or lost. I write them out and I have them memorized. They key is to see a progression in the session from simple to comlpex, working on a theme, bringing it into a game. That is a mark of a good coach.