Another Season Ends

Well, I started this (very) occasional blog as a direct consequence of starting to coach a new team, back in July 2009.

Well the ‘season’ came to an official end today with the boys playing very well against a team who also tried to play positive, expansive football. The team I coach ran out winners in both games of mini-soccer, but football itself was definitely the winner today.

Both teams’ supporters congratulated good play from both teams and genuine smiles of delight, applause and appreciation from all sides of the pitch, accompanied our goalkeeper’s shot and goal, fully the length of the field, in unusual circumstances.

Our opponents had a corner and even sent their goalie forward to see if he could score. A good corner, it must be said was swung in, but our goalie called for the ball, caught it well and, recognising their goalie was in our team’s penalty area, ran to the edge of the area and struck a cleanly hit volley over their last defender in a flat trajectory that saw it carry over the line for his very own ‘goal of the season’ !

He was duly mobbed by his team mates with broad grins all round - a true ‘magic moment’ of football.

Prior to this season, I had coached, exclusively, women and girls for the last 9 years. I had never coached recreational boys before - I had coached at Centres of Excellence for both boys and girls in the past - and I did have some concerns as to what the atmosphere would be like.

I tend to use a couple of coaching message boards (Footy 4 Kids at www.soccercoachingforums.com and World Class Coaching at http://www.worldclasscoaching.com/wccforums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=1 ) and so had been fully aware of the potential for ‘nightmare’ scenarios with WAAC (Win At All Costs)coaches / managers, overly “exuberant” parents, vocal abuse of referees and so on that seems to exist in mini-soccer and junior football circles.

Now, having said all that - it has been an absolute delight to coach and manage players in our league (Sussex Sunday Youth League U10s).

The parents of the players in the team I have coached have been outstandingly supportive and also very helpful in erecting mini-soccer goals for games, running our tea bar and so on.

But the opposition coaches and parents have been a credit to the game as well. Encouragement and support has been the order of the season and I have genuinely not heard any verbal abuse of players, opponents and so on. It’s exactly the way the FA is after.

Coaches have been friendly, approachable, and all round good eggs - they all seem to value development, enjoyment and participation over winning at all costs and a sort of shared experience seems to have brought us together.

So, for all the negative stories that abound about kids’ football, this is one to redress the balance - a positive and wholly enjoyable experience throughout the season.

I feel privileged to have been invited to coach the team and to have observed their individual and collective progress during the course of the last 9 months or so.

Although we are at the end of the official season, we still have a couple of friendlies and one or two of the usual summer tournaments to enjoy, so there will still be some fun to be had yet!