Another topic of conversation with a number of coaches - all bystanders at a state league training session tonight, was the role of coaches in games for their teams.

I've seen a number of coaches go right over the top and dominate games against young players, female players, scoring goals at will, restricting players near them from touching the ball. Most of the better coaches, with good attitudes, that I know, play only if there is a desperate need for an extra player. If they play they try to have minimal involvement.

Some others make spectacles of themselves, getting quite carried away.

A TD suggested one of his club coach's problems was that he plays too much in his team's games. The same guy comes to FFE (great to have around) and tells all and sundry I bellow at him or the other coaches (the only time I do at FFE) if he even thinks about tackling, takes more than one or two touches, and, I disallow any goals which they score in SSGs.

I'm surprised that coaches in their thirties have trouble breaking old habits. These three guys are still active lower division players.

What have other people seen in clubs or with their kids' teams?

I still play football but i never play in the SSG at training.
I never see any of the coaches do it either. Just make the teams more even with ability if not numbers.

It's important that coaches can demonstrate technique - if you can't you're fucked and become non-believable to your students.

And sometimes that needs to be done in a game situation.

I have no probs jumping in occasionally, if and when the occasion suits e.g. demonstrating or when the mood is light-hearted.

However, to go into a game situation on a regular basis when coaching elite 13+ year olds is a recipe for personal disaster. That is, they'll make you look like a dick. I dislike being nutmegged.

Good post, Judy.:)

That is apart from references to copulation!!!!

You might have to revise your jockeying technique.#-o


We demonstrate no end of explicit techniques at FFE , demonstrating them in incremental form. The two head coaches of FFE are in their mid-fifties and are very likely to do an injury, if we played at all in SSGs.

I feel aches and pains just from a lot of demonstration of techniques in a 120 minute coaching session at my age.:oops:

Apart from declining pace/mobility and lack of anaerobic fitness, some coaches consider we improve technique as we get older. Many of us are coaching in a much, much more technical manner than how we were coached.

Edited by Decentric: 11/8/2011 06:07:37 PM