What Makes You Think You Can Coach?

As I reflect on my own experiences and those of others, I have to say I am disappointed. There is even a hint of anger, but I have a better hold of my emotions than that. I just can't help wondering though, what is it that makes some people think they can coach?

I remember trying out for the university soccer team. I even bought new cleats. We were allotted two hours to practice. With a good practice plan, clear objectives, tests and/assessments of some sort, by the end of the first session, the coach would know who's who and start to develop his roster. Mentally, I was prepared. On course to earn my bachelor's in Human Movement, I knew the science. Having completed a national level coaching course, I knew how to win the game from the side line, the dug-out and the locker room. More than just the weekend warrior when it came to actually playing, I was ready to go. After a brief intro, the man in charge blew his whistle start us off on a warm-up jog around the field.

                               

Perhaps I approached it with too much head knowledge, or maybe, that knowledge spared me from a season that would have been very frustrating. Seventy-five minutes after that first whistle, we were still running around the field. We had had more touches of the ball when we were messing around before practice had officially started. I couldn't find the coach anywhere. Until he came back, we were to keep running. The rest is an ugly blur in my mind, except for the questions that ravaged my mind then (and now).




Why were we running? Why is perhaps the most powerful question and the answer has the capacity to make or break the spirit. When personal training, I don't enter into any agreements with clients who do not have a definite why. Why do you want to lose weight? Why 15 pounds? Why? Why? Why? Why will energize you when you lose the drive to carry on? "When you are about to give up, remember why you started in the first place."
                     

Question. It's a good question. It also rarely gets asked. soshable.com (This caption was so good, I felt I should leave it as is.)

For my part, there was no justification for running around the field, seventy-five minutes later no less. My why would receive no satisfactory answer. You will never see anyone running around the field at a soccer match. What we were doing would have been more appropriate back in primary school when I ran cross country. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that soccer is an intermittent sport- stop and start. Sprint, jog, walk, sprint. Running at the same pace for over an hour does nothing for the aspiring soccer player. You can't even justify it with the old soccer players need a good heart or aerobic conditioning. Research shows that interval training has benefits for both aerobic and anaerobic capacities. I have already discussed these in this article here and this one as well. The evidence suggests different positions have different requirements for maximal performance. Surely you train them differently, holding them to different standards?

                     

Bottom line, this guy did not know what he was doing. I walked away sensing conflict between he and I. Of course, as the man in charge, in any confrontation I would always be on the losing end. His coaching style was nothing more than what his coach had made him do. That philosophy probably came from his coach's coach, and his before him. Coaching is an art- a mix of science, practice and some simple common sense. Common sense was not on the field that day- if you could somehow convince me why it was necessary for the outfield players to run like that, what would be the rationale for the goalkeeper running around the field for over an hour?