Continuing Education

Here in Ohio it is a frigid -7 degrees Fahrenheit  this morning.  What better backdrop to continue learning about the game?  The truth is I have over 200 DVD's and 100 books on the game of soccer.  I often accumulate more of these "in-season" stock piling them for the winter months when active coaching opportunities are limited.

I have just concluded reading an outstandingly good book titled Soccer for Thinkers by Malcolm Allison.  As has been previously mentioned on this site, I participate in a couple of email groups comprised of coaches from around the world. While these groups are small (12 - 20) people a wide range of age and competitive levels are represented. Everything from U16 through college and the professional ranks.  The participating individuals are themselves a ridiculously good source of information on the game.  The recommendation of Soccer for Thinkers is a prime example of this.

Obtaining a copy of the book proved to be a bit of an adventure.  It has been out of publication for 35+ years and as far as I can tell was never published here in the United States.  I searched the Internet daily for over a month before I found a copy to purchase.  Oh, there are copies available, if you wish to pay the price.  They are quite expensive.  A recent search found the cheapest price being $312 dollars plus shipping from England.  It's a great book, but not worth that price.  I found mine here in the states for $50 plus $20 for shipping, but it took diligent effort over the course of a month to locate a copy at this price.

If not for the coaches email list, I would not have ever known about Soccer for Thinkers.  In discussing this book with good friend Graham Ramsay he seemed a bit amazed I had not only heard of the book but had obtained a copy of it.  Graham is a great resource person for me.  The conversation immediately turned to other out of publication soccer books and it turns out Graham has a few stockpiled in various storage locations.  AND, he contacted someone in the England who also has a stockpile of similar books.  I am in the process of procuring these now.

The thing about Soccer for Thinkers is that it validates many of the approaches I have adhered to in recent years.  I understood I was not inventing a new system but I struggled to find a template for how I envisioned the game should be played.  I found it, albeit belatedly so in the process, in Soccer for Thinkers. 

My coaching philosophy and style has evolved over the years. With all the DVDs and books in my soccer library I have obviously become a student of the game. A primary reason I began accumulating DVDs and books was being left unsatisfied by the NSCAA and especially the USSF coaching courses.  For me, the NSCAA courses present good information on a limited basis.  They point you in the right direction, but its up to you to follow through.  The USSF tests what you already know and reverse engineering of their courses is the best way to learn new things from them, in my opinion.  In addition to DVDs and books, people like Graham, Ken White, Steve Burns and the members of the coaching lists I participate in have been extremely valuable resources of information and sounding boards for me.

One theme or focus for this winters learning is the Commitment Continuum made popular by Jeff Janssen.   This concept has been around for a very long time. Janssen has simply brought it to the fore in recent years through his work with various college programs and an ever growing list of books on leadership in general. His works are very good and if you have not already, have a look at it. 

Two well known disciples of the commitment continuum are Anson Dorrance of UNC women's soccer and Jim Harbaugh of the University of Michigan football.   They have made a science of including competition as part of, perhaps the driving part of, the commitment continuum.  They chart everything.  They make everything in every aspect of training a competition between teammates. They "publish" the results on the locker room walls.  It is an approach that has served both men extremely well.  Motivation is plainly a driving force behind this approach but if we are completely honest about it, they are identifying the winners on their rosters. These are the people they want to go into battle with.

My question is, will it work in high school soccer? 

It will.

In fact, it has been working in high school soccer for years.

I used to relate to people how the training sessions at the high school program I began my coaching career with were "wars".   Intense, competitive daily sessions.  Those practice sessions were often more competitive than the matches those teams played against opponents.  This is a theme often espoused in athletics.  "Practices were so hard that games were easy" is a well known sentiment made famous by coaches like Lombardi, Wooden, Schembechler, Bryant, et al.  I don't think I ever fully understood or was able to succinctly communicate just what this meant until recent years.  This past spring I had nearly 50 players interested in play U18.  This is an unprecedented number for our rural area.  Some self-selected in the face of competition for positions on the "A" team. As decisions had to be made for the final roster spots on that "A" team I found myself cutting some very good players.   The determining factors were found in their performance on the commitment continuum.  

I did not have the luxury of filming every practice or even every game so I could not chart as many things as I might have liked to.  I suppose one could say I was left to take a more subjective approach since my decisions were not supported by charted and documented statistics.  Still, my decisions were driven by a commitment continuum - I observed the approach, attitude, effort, deportment and comportment of players.  Those who were immature, inconsistent and incapable of focusing for the length of an hour and a half training session were relegated to the "B" team or self-selected themselves off the team and out of the program.  The result was a stunningly successful club season. 

So, much of my time this winter is being spent of refining my approach to the commitment continuum with hidden gems like Soccer for Thinkers thrown in for variety and spice.  If you have suggestions on books or other materials for me to review, I am always open to suggestions.  And if you yourself would like further suggestions, please do not hesitate to ask.  Coaching is a brotherhood. I often hear of football coaching staffs going to another teams staff to learn how they do things. It happens in basketball all the time.  No so much in soccer, I think.  This is something that probably needs to change if we really want the sport of soccer to reach its full potential in this country.