Confidence

Confidence allows Talent to Shine!

Water Seeks It's Own Level

It's March and here in west central Ohio that means the start of the club soccer season. For me personally, it means fielding many a question about the process of playing club soccer.  Answers to many of these questions can be found on our FAQ about Tryouts page.

One phenomenon addressed on that page is selecting the correct club. It's not always about playing for the most prestigious club.  In some cases there are simply too few geographically reasonable choices and the player / family play wherever they can or for whomever will have them.

When choices are available I have found more often than not that water seeks its own level.  Just as water is want to find the lowest point it can go it is also true people enjoy being comfortable and can be reluctant to change or step outside an established comfort zone.

The truly great players in any sport are those who embrace failure and seek out change to overcome . said failure. They are never satisfied and are continually looking to expand and grow both their knowledge of the game and the skills required to play the game at an ever evolving peak level. Whereas most players revert to a previous comfort zone when adversity is encountered, the above average players recognize opportunity in challenges to their established comfort zone.

The middling players are content to be the big frog in their own little pond. The great players seek to thrive in the largest of oceans.  I see this more often than one might wish to believe. Young players afraid of challenge and change because they have been successful thus far.  Afraid to relinquish good for the possibility of great.  And so, they "dominate" lower level play, but falter when challenged to up their game against better competition.

In short, they play well against weaker competition, win some and lose some against equal competition and have their heads handed to them by better competition.   In their eyes, this is acceptable.  Their water has found a level of mediocrity that the are content with.  The idea that a single drop of water might, just might, evaporate and come down again as rain in a new place is foreign to them.  The heat of higher standards and the winds of change are resisted so that a current, or heaven's forbid, a past comfort zone can be maintained or revisited.

Water seeks its own level can also be interpreted to mean individuals seek those of similar comfort zones to be associated with.  As a coach, this is one of the most important lessons I have learned  - to surround myself with the very best people I can find. I want assistant coaches who see things differently than I do and who bring different strengths to the program than I do.  I am not fearful of being challenged by someone with different ideas, by someone who knows more about something than I do. These are the exact people I want to surround myself with.

Too often in my coaching career I have seen players "settle" or revert back to a past comfort zone.  I would like to believe I can help them learn to play the game at the end of their comfort zones, but that is not always the case. Family, peers, recreational or high school coaches can all have agendas that hold players down to the low settling point that water seeks out. It takes a strong player to allow himself to "evaporate" from the comfort of being a big fish in a little pond for the opportunity of playing with the bigger and better boys found in the lake, the seas or the oceans.

Anyone can play soccer.  There are recreational leagues for all ages. There are club teams of all sorts ranging from barely recreational to levels sponsored by state USSF organizations to MRL and US Club or Academy leagues. On the high school side a player can often choose to attend a school that plays in a low lever small school conference to a mid-range medium sized school all the way to playing at a big school against the very best competition around.  The path after club and high school soccer is just as varied. Almost anyone can play soccer in college as long as you don't mind paying for the privilege of doing so. College soccer can be a gateway to a developmental league contract and eventually the MLS or other professional league. The top tier for many aspiring players is to represent their national team in a World Cup and there are those who have followed both the club path and the collegiate path in successful pursuit of this level.

Once again, water seeks its own level and so too do players. Those players not content with their current status and unafraid to test themselves against better competition seek out their own personal canal system by which they can raise the water level to move on from where they are towards larger failures and larger successes in bigger pools of water.

Another thought about comfort zones

 

There is real value to pushing players to expand their comfort zones

 

or even to step completely out of their established comfort zone into a new one.

 

 

You can be comfortable or courageous,

 

but you cannot be both.

 

 

Courageous soccer players are good soccer players.

 

Dare to fail in order to succeed.

Learning to Win

Many people would rather be certain they're miserable,

than risk being happy.

 

This is what I mean when writing about learning to win and how some seem more comfortable existing in an established comfort zone than breaking out to explore the entirety of the game... or life. I am reminded of Patrick Swazye's line from the movie Road House, "it's amazing what you can get used to, huh?"

Fighting Yourself.

Anyone that sticks with the game of soccer throughout their youth and as they enter adulthood certainly has a passion for the game. As coaches, especially those working with the young, we are charged with helping to develop a love for the game. Love for the game can often be sparked by success. Therefore how we achieve and handle success becomes very important.

I am currently coaching a couple of young men whose early success was apparently defined by an ability to score goals.  The ability to score goals is a very fine thing, indeed!  While it is certainly true that Defense wins Championships it is also true that a team must score to win games. The means to the end is what concerns me with these two players and is what today's writing is about.

I do not find it a coincidence that both players are sometimes referred to by teammates as "the great black hole". This goes directly to the fact neither is very keen on passing.  Once they obtain possession of the ball their first thought is to shoot and if not in range they will attempt to take on all comers to advance the ball into shooting range. Passing the ball is a secondary thought even if by doing so their ultimate goal of scoring a goal might be made easier. In essence, they have become their own worst enemy in pursuit of what they desire.

The one gentleman plays on the wing and at some point early in his career must have enjoyed success (scored a goal or two) by making an inside run from the weak side.  This undoubtedly occurred at an age when crosses from teammates were not strong enough to carry to the back post. There is evidently an indelible memory of making inside runs to goal scoring opportunities in his mind.

Now as a young adult he continues to make inside runs from the weak side flank without consideration that his teammates have little difficulty in driving the ball to and beyond the back post area.  We have instructed and reiterated ad nauseam the approach for a wing on the weak side should be from the corner of the 18 through the corner of the 6 to the back post.  This approach allows the wing to adjust their path to the crossed ball whereas a path inside these parameters all but eliminates an ability to do so.  The inside run is so ingrained, the bad habit so firmly established, this player seems unable to stop himself from making it.  He is addicted to the inside run because at one point in his early development it was successful for him.  There is no cognizant recognition that since the game has changed as he has grown older that his recipe for success (scoring goals) needed to change as well.

The second player is of a similar single mindedness.  He plays forward and regardless of field position or situation his first instinct with the ball is to take on any and all defenders while attempting to get to goal.  He is quite obviously a product of kick and run youth soccer that featured "big, strong and fast" as the primary tactical considerations. The only problem is at this point in his life he is undersized and below average in speed although physical strength does remain. His role in youth leagues was to stand with the opposing backs waiting to be fed the ball by teammates and then take the ball to goal. He really struggles with any deviation from this pattern.

With both players their primary focus remains on scoring the ball. With both players they have become their own worst enemy in pursuit of their scoring goals. Both players are stubbornly insistent on sticking with what once worked well for them while missing the fact the game is passing, or even has passed them, by. They stubbornly refuse help from coaches and teammates alike in pursuit of scoring goals.  They become frustrated because the help offered deviates from what has previously been successful for them.  In short, both of these athletes seem to have fallen in love with soccer at a young age based on an ability to score goals, but have failed to nurture and develop that love since then.

This may well be the fault of their youth coaches who might have viewed these young men as budding stars.  The coaching attitude may have been, "why fix what isn't broken" as they watched these individuals and probably by extension their teams have success. In actuality we as coaches must fix what isn't broken as a proactive or even preventative maintenance program.  We need to help flame the spark of passion in players by expanding their game beyond initial success. As coaches we need to continually ask players to move from their comfort zones and expand their games.  It is obvious that these two players have been in an arrested state of development for some time before they came to us.

Our mission with them has been to break down the established and ingrained habits allowed to take hold when they were young youth players and provide them with the means to branch out of their comfort zones, to explore and expand their games in order to become unpredictable and more dangerous in pursuit of scoring goals. 

It's tough love at this point.

The first player refuses to stay wide and make his weak side run corner, corner, post run. Last night his stubbornness cost him 3 splendid opportunities to score goals. Instead of learning, he offers excuses.  The second player refuses to utilize drop passes when playing as a target with defenders draped all over him. He continues attempting to turn and take on defenders in these situations with the result being lost possession and growing reluctance on the part of his teammates to feed him the ball. He blames his teammates for not passing to him or providing him opportunities.

In both cases, it is the player himself who must recognize that what they have always done no longer works. They must seek, ask for and willingly accept help to expand their game that their strengths might be accentuated instead of being minimized as is the current trend. In short, it is their decision to make.  The quality of their soccer will be directly impacted by the quality of their decision making. 

My fear is the frustration both are displaying will continue to grow instead of their passion being nurtured.  They will never again be goal scoring machines on the scale they were in youth leagues, but they both have the potential to be solid goal scorers at their present level of play provided they recognize the need to expand, to nurture and grow, their individual games within the game itself.  The game at their age is about freedom of play and both seem ready to embrace this yet remain reluctant to accept the responsibility that comes with freedom. I'm not sure we will ever get to that point with either of these young men. It certainly has been a struggle to date.  I do know this, it is their decision to make. They hold the key to success in the palm of their own hand. Whether they decide to keep the door locked or open it to new possibilities is entirely up to them. It is a battle they fight with themselves.

 

Successful people play outside of their comfort zone.

 

This is my off season.

Since I do not coach during the fall, August - October is basically my off season from soccer. I actually like to refer to it as my learning time. I take in high school soccer matches at every opportunity with a primary focus on my son's team, those of players on our club team and the teams I conducted camp for this past summer. Each is a learning experience in its own way.

Beginning with the teams I have conducted camp for; I watch closely to see if the topics we addressed are showing up in their play on the field. If we worked on defending is a bounce step in evidence? Does the team work hard in the transition phase to regain defensive shape behind the ball? Is there intelligent support for the pressure defender? In short, I watch their matches and use what I see as an evaluation of my work for them in camp.  These are the beginning steps of planning for their team camp next summer.

In watching the matches of players from our club team I am looking to see how their high school coaches use them on the pitch. What formation they are playing in, where do they play within the formation, and what their role is from that position. As a club coach here in rural west central Ohio I believe it is important to prepare the athlete for his high school playing experience. With high school seniors it is important to prepare them for playing in college. I also use these matches to scout for players that might be a good fit for our club team. My observations will provide the beginning of individual and team seasonal plans for the club season.

With my son's high school team I have a lot running through my mind as I watch the matches. First and foremost is the joy of seeing my son play a sport he has a real passion for.  Then there are the 10 current and future club players on the team. It is though my sons eyes and those of his teammates that the most intense portion of my off season continuing education comes. I'll share a secret with you, these kids are smart. Their soccer IQ is pretty amazing. Listening to them talk about their team is an educational experience in and of itself. They see strengths and weaknesses in themselves, teammates, their team, the coaches... and they have opinions on how to accentuate strengths and address weaknesses. It's kind of like a players round table or perhaps a soccer think tank atmosphere. I just keep my mouth shut and listen as unobtrusively as possible fearing I might inhibit them were I to join in.

I also spend a lot of time during the fall watching professional soccer. Not the MLS so much but the foreign pro leagues, World Cup qualifying and such. I particularly like the USWNT and women's professional soccer for observing basic tactics.  The pace is slower and much less frantic.  One example is our USWNT utilizing the early retreat as part of their zonal defensive scheme. Sometime this can be difficult to pick out in the men's game even though the great preponderance of international and professional men's sides play zonal and utilize early retreats.

Comparing different levels of play is interesting to me as well.

I watch small schools with 15 total players in their program play and am amazed at how well roles and rotations are defined out of necessity. They have no choice.  Then I see a big high school with varsity, JVA, JVB and freshmen teams each with 18 players on them struggle with defining roles and setting rotations with players swinging between teams.  A coach might try to play 18+ kids in a varsity match.  It seems sometimes players get lost in the shuffle as coaches go with the "hot" player of the day.

My son's team has struggled with roles and rotations this season. They change game to game and sometimes within a match. They played their best game of the season Tuesday night and it seems in part to have been to a smaller rotation and better defined roles? It can be difficult for players to establish comfort zones and play confidently when players don't know what to expect from match to match or even minute to minute.

At the same time, versatility is something I value very highly in players. Our club system is not overly concerned about who mans what position (aside from GK, of course) as long as the position is manned. We have a defensive shape / formation but complete freedom of movement on the attack. The expectation is more for the position than for a specified player manning the position.

So I wonder why it is a player might struggle when coaches move him around but thrive when he is allowed to move around of his own accord?  It's an interesting question and one that I am searching for an answer to.

I find myself wondering about conducting team camp for a school my sons team competes against during the high school season.  That camp team recently defeated my son's team.  Did I play a part in that?  We worked on pace of play/soccer intelligence during camp and the things we worked on were certainly in evidence on the plays resulting in their goals. I know we changed the way they play and it is working for them. They are poised to have their best season in years.

It is rare to find a team so completely lacking in skill that they hold no realistic hope of competing on the field. They do exist and when called in to help those teams it is just a steady diet of technique work and basic tactics.  Frequently it is simply a matter of a different voice teaching a team the same thing their coaches have been trying to get them to understand. Sometimes it is that I teach it in a different way and something clicks - not because of it being a different method, per se, but perhaps because of a combination of their coaches teaching methods and my own?

More often than not, the difference between a good program and a struggling program, a good team and a struggling team, is a matter of belief .  "If all you ever do, is all you've ever done all you will ever have is what you've always had." A fancy way of saying programs and teams can get in a rut.  Perhaps the greatest coaching challenge is figuring a way out of a rut.  This was a focus of the past few off seasons for me.

One of the tactics I have brought to camps to change how a team thinks is introducing a team cheer. I have borrowed liberally from University of Michigan Football Head Coach Brady Hoke for this cheer.

An example: Lead and response.

Team? ............ 12!
Train like........ Champions!
Play like.......... Champions!
Become .......... Champions!
Stanton.............Tigers!

It is a process. I have discovered a continuum of sorts that I place teams on.  Some need to learn how to work, intelligently.  Some need to learn how to or believe that they can compete. Others need to learn how to win.  Still others need reminded of their tradition, that they play for everyone who has worn that jersey before them and will leave a legacy for those players yet to come into the program.  For each team, I try to address where they are at and provide them ideas of how to move forward.

All this and much, much more I am observing and contemplating during my "off season" so that I might come back improved myself  when the next season comes around.