Developing your Coaching Philosophy

Coach, it is evident by your having registered for this course that you are interested in providing children the most positive soccer learning experience. Most likely you have arranged your busy schedule and have planned some things you are going to do to prepare for the upcoming season. You are most likely excited and eager about meeting the youngsters that have been entrusted to you and getting to coach the games. All you need to do is complete this course and your ready to go--but are you truly ready?  Have you thought about what will guide your actions and decisions as a coach; the what, why's and how's of everything you will do as a coach? It is important as you get started in coaching to develop a philosophy.

Whether this is your first experience with coaching youth soccer or you have some coaching experience, every coach should develop their own Coaching Philosophy and re-evaluate it on a continual basis.

In your effort to form or analyze your own philosophy of coaching, you should first reflect upon your experiences with former teachers and maybe you were involved in youth sports as a child -- regardless of whether these experiences were positive or negative research shows that much of what we do and how we will behave as coaches is learned from our past experiences...

In reflecting on your philosophy be sure to begin with-- What is a coach? Then how will you/do you define success?

"Once they cross that line, it's their game. It's not about us as coaches; it's about them being able to make decisions."
    Jay Hoffman, Region 1 Boys ODP Head Coach

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This page last modified on November 17, 2009
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