Rules

People set rules to keep from making decisions.

 

There are several directions we could take a conversation on this idea.  Over-coaching or too narrowly defining roles to alleviate or limit player decision-making.  Stringent team rules that paint a coach into a corner when infractions occur. The exceptions to rules that always seem to arise.

 

The bottom line with rules is they are only necessary when an absence of truth and trust are present.

 

This of course goes directly to the culture of one's program, the essence of one's team and the character of its members.  If the coach / player relationship is not built on TRUTH there can be no true trust. In the absence of TRUST there must be rules to hold one another accountable. 

 

It then stands to reason, the more rules needed to govern the teams conduct the less trust there is within the program. 

 

Think about that for a minute as we consider there are only 17 Laws of the Game and only 4 of those deal with misconduct and penalty.  There is a truthful spirit of the game present in soccer. Participants trust the spirit of the game will be adhered to.  This is why soccer purists become so upset when an athlete "flops" on the pitch.

 

I put to you when the culture of a team is built on truth and trust it becomes much the same as the spirit of the game.  No one wants to break the sacred bond of truth and trust because to do so one dishonors their teammates and coaches.  

 

It's only when team standards are built on less than full truth and trust that rules for conduct become necessary.  The reason for this can be found in a single word - Respect.  Truth and Trust mandate respect for one another.  Honor, in all its definitions is prized. 

 

I recall as a young coach setting rules to address the comportment and deportment of a teams behavior.  It quickly got out of hand as each new transgression required addressing.  Caught up in the moment I failed to recognize the truth of what was happening - an assistant was openly sabotaging the culture of the team with designs on overthrowing me as head coach.  The truth eventual came out. The core of the team survived and eventually went on to great success. 

 

If a third word should be added to Truth and Trust it would have to be Forgiveness. When participating in a match we often hear a player claim his mistake by saying "my bad."  We do not do this on my teams.  We give a call of "next play!"  Embedded in Next Play! is forgiveness of the mistake just made. It communicates to the transgressor to put the mistake in the past and continue playing in the present. Addressing the reason for the mistake can take place in the future. It's a very honorable means of communicating truth, trust and forgiveness.

 

Team rules and role identifications must be built on the same foundations.  Actions and deed must be truth based for trust to be established.  Ownership of individual decision making must be granted and accepted.  Recognition that mistakes will be made is imperative.  The consequences for mistakes must be understood - in a match a mistake might result in lost possession or even a poor result.  This is okay within the culture of Truth, Trust and Forgiveness.  The same should hold true in the larger environment of the team and program.  Mistakes will be made. This is not open to debate.  What is open to debate is how mistakes will be dealt with.  This is where a culture based on Trust, Truth and Forgiveness is far superior to one based on rules and narrowly defined roles. 

 

 

 

 

Team Rules

When I first began coaching I used a set of team rules my own coaches had used for teams I played on.  It was a rather lengthy list, at least by my present standards.  Lessons learned over the years taught me fewer hard and fast rules are better for there are always exceptions. Trying to legislate everything only produces drama and more work for the coaching staff.  Our US government could benefit from learning a similar lesson, but I digress.

Our players will quickly tell you I have 3 rules. They don't always get the first two right, but they know the third one by heart.

Team Rules.

Those who have played for me appreciate that I do not have a lot of team rules. In fact, I have had only three stated rules for years now and am seriously considering cutting that number to one.

My three team rules are as follows,

1) Give the best effort you have on any given day. (Work hard)
2) Have FUN.
3) Don't piss off the coach.

In all honesty the third rule is more of a fun way to say "stay focused on soccer when at soccer."  Anyone can say "Rule #3" and the message is sent without the necessity to lecture or belabor the point.

When I have coached high school I have had to include a school's established set of rules or the"Athlete's Code of Conduct"  in my team rules package.  These will include policies on alcohol, drug and tobacco usage, academic requirements, proper care of uniforms, school attendance and the like.

Long ago I realized all these rules can be summed up with one simple word.  And it doesn't pertain just to rules for a soccer team, it works for life as well.

Respect

All rules revolve around respect.

Respect the game - the pitch, opponents, referees, spectators
Respect your teammates - players, coaches, athletic trainers, physical trainers, medical personnel, maintenance workers and grounds keepers, administrators, gate workers, announcers, scoreboard operators, concessions workers, bus drivers.
Respect your parents, family, friends

Just RESPECT the people who work hard for you and your team - you should do your part to help them do what they do for you.  Be on time.  Be prepared. Give intelligent effort. Take care of your uniform & equipment. Eat properly. Stay hydrated. Clean up after yourself.

In the grand scheme of things is there anything the one word rule of RESPECT doesn't cover?