What does commitment look like?

What does commitment look like? 

 I've been asking this question of myself quite a bit lately.  Commitment is kind of one of things that you recognize when you see, but to define it is a bit more elusive a proposition. So, of course defining what commitment looks like is what I am about to attempt.

On this fall's team I had two great examples of commitment among the players. As I have thought about these players the last couple of days I was able to come up with some commonalities I believe distinguish them from their teammates in terms of commitment.

1) They were not only present but also punctual.  These two players simply did not miss team activities and both were always on time and usually quite early.  Being present and punctual seem like such simple common sense things to many of us, but we all also recognize being present and or on time is a very real struggle for others.

2) Attentiveness.  We might call this an ability to focus or concentrate.  Attentiveness, to me, is the ability to listen and carry out instructions.  I loathe having to repeat myself seemingly ad naseum to some players and value greatly those players who are attentive and responsive first time.

3) The questions committed players ask tend to be far different from the questions of others. Attentiveness will lead to this.  They seek out nuances in details and ask for clarifications of the process.  Their questions are both about improving themselves and improving their team / teammates.

4) Their effort is never questioned. They are the pacesetters for the team. This is true in terms of work ethic, attitude, spirit and enthusiasm. They bring the best effort they have day in and day out.

5) And I have found their commitment is not contained between the lines of the pitch but permeates everything they do.  Their lifestyle and habits outside the lines mirror what they do inside the lines. School work, nutrition, rest -  the same level of effort they give inside the lines ... it's a product of what they do outside the lines.

Still learning after all these years.

I have a stated goal to learn something new every day.  In pursuit of this I often try to look at things from different perspectives. That's never been more true than this off-season.  Immediately after the conclusion of the season I wrote a self-evaluation / status of the program review.  I have often debated if taking on this endeavor so close to the conclusion of the season is wise or whether waiting on the passage of time to reflect more objectively might be a better course of action. Of course, I wind up doing both.

I firmly believe in preparation being the key to succeeding on and off the pitch. I spent from November 2016 through early June 2017 preparing for the Lima Senior soccer season. Due to real world job considerations I ended up changing coaching jobs and found myself being introduced as Fairlawn's new soccer coach in mid June 2017. I balanced my need to work with my desire to coach. In retrospect, I am unsure how wise a decision this was.

We laid a great foundation for a successful 2017 season at Lima Senior,  I followed the Spartans from afar this fall and was surprised they struggled.  And at Fairlawn our struggles were just as mighty.  Both programs struggled with having adequate time under new direction to prepare for their respective 2017 seasons. 

I suffered an on-the-job knee injury in May of 2017 that greatly limited my mobility throughout the summer. I bring this to light because it impacted my ability to properly prepare for the season. Hindsight tells me I should not have coached this fall. I just wasn't physically prepared to do so. 

There were an inordinate amount of obstacles to overcome in pursuit of a successful soccer season.  

The knee injury suffered in May.

Being hired in mid-June.

The person I contracted with for summer camps backing out at the last minute.

The person the previous coach had contracted with for summer camp backing out.

Low attendance at the summer activities we held.

My wife's hospitalization which drew my attention and energies away from soccer.

It was a recipe for the disaster the 2017 Fairlawn soccer season came to be.  My self-confidence convinced me I could overcome these obstacles. I was wrong.  I was wrong in part because many of these obstacles were beyond my control. 

Even as I have reviewed the recently concluded season I have begun preparations for the 2018 soccer season. Very much on my mind have been distinguishing between the things I can and cannot control.  The most concerning to me has been attendance at necessary off-season workouts, weight training, conditioning and small group work. And attendance during the 10 days of contact I will have with the team during June and July of 2018. Player attendance at these activities is in the purview of the players. I can exert some modicum of outside influence on their decision making process, but ultimately it is their decision whether to attend, to prepare, or not. 

This is where my personal decision making process is as it concerns returning to Fairlawn as head soccer coach.  Player attendance. Player willingness to prepare for the 2018 season.  Their decisions on attendance will directly impact my decision on coaching.

To be perfectly honest, we got out of the 2017 season exactly what we put into it. Due to time constraints and my knee injury I was able to put into the 2017 off-season but a small portion of the time and energy I typically devote to preparing for an up-coming season.  A majority of players put in less effort and time than I was able to. We got what we earned.  Meritocracy in action. 

I am determined to prepare for the 2018 season with the best effort I have. I am already champing at the bit to get started. I have an unquenchable thirst to be better at what I do. I need to be better for the players who will be the 2018 soccer team at Fairlawn. I must be better before I can expect them to become better. This is what motivates me. Drives me. I am determined to build a proper foundation through preparation and execution of the season-long plan I am working on. 

The perspective of time, both backwards and forwards in contemplation, has sharpened my focus. I have used reflection of the past to glean useful insight to the present and future. I will control those things I can in preparation for the 2018 season. I will exert what influence I can over the players to prolifically prepare for their 2018 season. A meritocracy simple means we will get out of the 2018 season exactly what we are willing to invest into the 2018 season. I am hopeful our investment will be significant.  

Is there anything more beautiful than teamwork?

I recently stumbled across a link I had saved a couple of years ago.  Truth be told, I save links all the time with the intent of reviewing the content at a later point in time. Sometimes I actually follow through and do so. Other times, not so much. And then there invariably comes the moment when I decide I need to clear old links out. While doing just this I rediscovered this link I had titled TEAMWORK.  I found a shorter version of the original. Go ahead and take a look.

I think what makes this work is the range of ages participating. It looks to me the youngest are perhaps 10 years of age while the oldest are perhaps in their 60's?  I've watched other clips of this group as well and they are all outstanding.

When I consider the near complete lack of ego that must be present to make this work so beautiful I can only admire and be a bit jealous of the commitment and selflessness in evidence. 162 people of all ages working collectively towards a common goal!  The product is beyond beautiful, whatever beyond beautiful might be.

Like being welcomed into Heaven.

A fuller version with a bit more background.

A choir with roles and responsibilities being seamlessly fulfilled!  I wish for my teams to aspire to such greatness in their teamwork. A sense of community.  A sense of oneness.  One heartbeat in pursuit of a common goal.  Wow!

What separates the good from the best?

Conducting  team camps throughout the summer months gives me exposure to a great many athletes. Each week a different location with a different team. I love the variety but at the same time each week can be much the same as the last.  Each team has a hierarchy within the player ranks. Over the years I have come to appreciate what separates the good players from the best players on any team can be summed up in one word - preparation.

There is, of course, a minimum level of ability within any team that sets a standard. For many teams this standard is remarkably similar. The difference in both individuals and teams is found in the intangibles  It is the intangibles that separate good from great and are the difference between a win and a loss.

Every team works on the same sets of fundamentals. Every player knows the basics. Not every team brings the same dedication to preparation.  Not every player will exhibit the same level of dedication to preparation.  Not every team or individual will define preparation in the same manner. We are talking about STANDARDS.

An individual player may spend countless hours on his own  preparing himself as a player but devote very little time towards being a teammate. He might shine on the ball but provide very little to his team off the ball. A talented group of individuals might never achieve to its collective potential because they lack team oriented intangibles. It is the intangibles that make the difference and this is especially true when teams are closely matched or when a coach must decide between which players make varsity or start games.

So it is that coaches should work to develop and accentuate the intangibles of both individual players and the collective team. When talent level is comparable it is the intangibles that make the difference.  And it's often not about the quantity of preparation or the quantity of effort given, but rather about the quality of the work being put in.

Every week I see players arrive early to camp sessions. It is  always the same individual or small group of players that arrive early for each session. In fact, as a rule of thumb, individuals of a team tend to arrive in a regular and specific order.  Early arrival itself does not make a difference. What one does upon arriving early can make a difference. 

Some arrive early to put in extra preparatory time before practice. This might be working on their individual game. It might be to work with a teammate or group of teammates on improving a specific facet of the team's game. It might be to help set up for practice so actual practice time is devoted to practicing.  

In the end, the players that stand out each week are those who  best combine talent and intangibles. These are the players who tend to win starting assignments and play the most. They are the ones who separate themselves from the pack largely through an intelligent dedicated approach to preparation. 

Attitude. Commitment. Culture. What of it?

I suppose I should have included "Patience" in the title as well.

As I enter my third year (second as head coach) in the Lima Senior soccer program I find myself fixated on Attitude, Commitment and Culture as the areas key to the Spartans rising to another level. I am fond of saying "culture can win or lose you games" and am of the belief this was proven true this past season .  Our culture did, in fact, both win and lose us games during the 2016 season. On the surface, that might seem like an odd statement, but just as technical skill and tactical understanding impact the game so too does a teams culture.  Sometimes skill and tactics are enough to win games. Sometimes it is one teams culture that separates it from the opponent.

I want to be clear that the culture was not excessively poor when I took over the program. If we used Jannsen's Commitment Continuum to rate the culture of the program I took over last season we would find it in the compliant range.




That is, the team and individual players largely tried to do what was asked of them. They did enough to get by. Where they were lacking is in the areas of accountability and responsibility to one another, the team and the program as a whole. One year later we have made progress, but are still probably in the compliant range as a team.

As I ask myself why our progress has not been swifter or more dramatic I keep coming back to the three words in the title of this article - Attitude, Commitment and Culture. I think sometimes we use these words interchangeably and that does each a disservice. They are related and interconnected yet different and unique each in its own way.

Attitude alone is not a guarantee of a win or a loss. I have seen teams with great attitudes lose games to teams with lesser attitudes. And there are certainly teams with poor attitudes that manage to overcome them and win games. Still, there can be no doubting the importance good attitudes. This set me to thinking about what attitude can provide ... or deprive a team of.

Attitude is not static - that is, it must be nurtured to grow in a positive direction and if this is not diligently attended to one's attitude will surely regress.

Attitude is not a substitute for technical, tactical or physical competence.

Neither can attitude alone be substituted for experience.

In short, attitude cannot change facts, but attitude can change how we deal with facts.

For example, attitude can make the difference in how we deal with one another - our relationships with each other.

Attitude can also make a difference in how we deal with adversity and challenges.

One positive attitude can be a beacon shining bright that draws others to it. A team with a collective good attitude can become something greater than the sum of its parts.  And that is what I am seeking to create at Lima Senior.

So, what are the obstacles slowing our progress?

Change.

More is being asked of individual players and the team alike. Everyone is being asked to step out of established comfort zones and embrace growth. This can be an intimidating task, especially if one's attitude is not positively energized.

Fear of change leads to indecisiveness, inaction, drains positive energy and generally inhibits potential from being reached. Fear also magnifies adversity, challenges and problems when affecting change. In the absence of a positive attitude discouragement can gain a foothold.

Energy is contagious whether it be of a positive or negative nature.  So, how change is approached is of vital importance. Positive energy will allow for smoother transition than negative energy will. Those who are reluctant to change may have to be eliminated from the program in order to foster an overall positive energy. I faced and dealt with this problem last fall. There were a few stragglers with poor attitudes who refused to buy-in to the changes being made. They were energy drains to our positive attitudes. They have been removed from the program. More may yet decide to leave as they find their energy, their attitude to be in conflict with the growing majority.

The 85% rule.

The 85% rule refers to having 85% of your team members being either Compliant, Committed of Compelled on Jannsen's Commitment Continuum.  This would represent 85% of your team having "good" attitudes. What I have done is to make a list of every player on our roster.  Not as easy of a task as one might think in our situation. I had 57 student / athletes express interest in playing. Of those, we had 46 who actually participated at least one day.  We lost several to academic ineligibility. Others were dismissed from the team due to disciplinary problems. Still others self-selected and just stopped showing up. We finished the season with 33 players. These 33 are the players I have on my list. Beside each of their names I have written their commitment level in my eyes. I have also asked each player how they would rate themselves. There are differences of opinions - some subtle and others quite dramatic.

Resistant: Complainers. They complain about coaching, teammates, program rules. They are generally selfish and against team goals and in favor of their own goals.

Reluctant: Skeptics. They are hesitant, wait and seers. Go through the motions but without much, if any conviction. Have not totally bought-in.

Existent: They are present but not completely engaged. They give little of themselves and expect little from others or the team as a whole.

Compliant: These student / athletes do what is asked of them, but give no extra effort. Generally not self-motivated. Not disruptive, but not fully engaged.  They neither provide energy nor drain energy.

Committed: Self-motivated.  They will do what is expected of them and then some. Take initiative to improve self and team.

Compelled: The Standard Bearers. No matter the adversity or challenge they are 100% engaged. They prepare, train and compete at the highest level. They are driven to achieve team goals and achieve team success.

In general, the 85% rule states a successful team needs 85% of its members in the Compliant, Committed and Compelled ranges in order to be successful. Obviously all of those falling in the Compliant range would not be satisfactory. There must be some in the Committed range and at least a few in the Compelled range. A balance among these three ranges is necessary with the more towards the top of the range the better. But I would submit there is value to each of the ranges being represented. Can you imagine the disconnect between 11 players in the Compelled range and a couple in the Compliant or lower ranges with no one representing the in between?

Culture.

Some combination of Attitude and Commitment define the culture of the program, team and its individual players. Where program rules meet team goals success if found.  So it is moving forward we will continue to work on our attitudes and foster commitment in search of a winning team culture. That is a key consideration to take from this writing - attitude and commitment, culture, must be worked on. All coaches work on technique and tactics, physical conditioning. We must also give conscious effort to the psychological aspects of the game We must train attitude, commitment and culture until these things become second nature in the same manner as technical ability, tactical understanding and physical conditioning.  This is our platform for success,

Overcoming Adversity on the Path to Success

This article will continue my evaluation of the most recent high school soccer season.  We had a good year, one of the best in the program's recent history going 10-4-3 overall. On the face of it, that's not too shabby.  Closer inspection reveals the three ties and one of the losses all resulted from allowing goals with under 3:00 minutes left on the game clock.  In fact, one occurred when a goal was allowed with just :03 remaining in the match.  Allowing late goals in these matches produced a strikingly negative impact on our record.  Even more disturbing is the fact we completely and totally failed to compete in two of our losses, How can a team with 10 wins lose games by scores of 0 - 8 and 0 - 9?

MENTAL TOUGHNESS

More accurately a lack of mental toughness was behind those two lopsided losses and allowing late goals that robbed us of favorable results. This is what has been constantly on my mind these past few weeks. How do I help the student athletes develop better mental toughness?  I will explore this in today's writing.

I know where we stand and I have a clear vision for where we need to go.  The journey between the two points is the off-season's undertaking. I'm going to identify specific areas where our team is lacking and attempt to set a course that will develop or enhance each of these areas.

For me, mental toughness begins with COMMITMENT.  The more committed one is, the more difficult it is to relinquish one's goals.  In other words, the more invested one is in a process the more difficult it becomes to give up on the process until achieving what you set out to do. This process calls for a clear vision of what the desired result of a process is and a well defined plan to achieve the desired result.

I recognized the lack of commitment early on with this group.  It manifested itself in a variety of ways some of which I will identify today beginning with off-season opportunities that were missed by most of the team.

Sunday afternoon open gym futsal.  We had a small core group who attended all or nearly all of these sessions.  Sunday afternoon was chosen so as not to interfere with other extracurricular school activities. These were completely voluntary workouts and therefore an excellent indicator of an individuals commitment to the 2016 season.  The day and time of the weekly event were consistent and well established in advance so as to allow student athletes to plan ahead to attend.  Those who made an investment in a 2 hour weekly opportunity to improve would prove to be committed to the team. That group was much smaller than I anticipated with a few would-be key members of the team not showing to any of the opportunities afforded to them. I was alarmed by this and my concern would prove to be well founded.

As winter weather began to break and spring advanced upon us we began small group training. Again, Sunday afternoons were the day and time of choice so as not to conflict with other extracurricular activities. I also offered alternate times as participation lagged making myself available at their discretion instead of mine. Attendance at these voluntary workouts was so poor we eventually abandoned the process entirely.  This near total failure raised a huge red flag about the commitment level of the individuals who would comprise our team that next fall.

Recognizing a lack of commitment to the team was of concern, I set about establishing a visual commitment metric to encourage and promote greater participation and deeper commitment.  This came in the form of a "money jar."  I went to a local discount store and purchased a one gallon plastic jug with a lid.  Each time we gathered as a team each individual player was to deposit one penny into the jug.  As the jug filled with pennies it would provide a visible measure of our commitment to the TEAM and one another.  The proceeds would go to a needy family or be donated to a local charity. This project began well and initial momentum carried us through 10 days to two weeks before participation dropped off significantly and eventually stopped altogether.

I want to be clear, we never did have 100% participation in this endeavor. From the start some made the conscious decision to not participate.  Others wanted to participate on a limited basis preferring to donate a lump sum to cover a week, month or the entire season.  Obviously, these individuals completely and totally missed the point of publicly renewing their commitment to the TEAM on a daily basis. By the end of the second week even the captain in charge of the money jug had fallen off course as he quit bringing it out of his car and into the presence of the TEAM so people could add a penny each day.

Towards the end of the season, after the two devastating losses mentioned earlier, I made a point of the missing money jar. I drove home the concept about lack of commitment to the team - more precisely to the underclassmen on the team for the seniors had already squandered their opportunity, and therefore their season  The money jar made a brief reappearance although few if any actually contributed. First another senior took the money jar with a proclamation that he would bring it to every team function. He failed to bring it to the very next team activity, I kid you not.  Next another senior took charge of the money jar and to his credit he did bring it to every team function the rest of the season and even to his exit interview.  One player, allow me to repeat that, one player brought a penny to their end of season interview to be placed in the money jar,

So, obviously our commitment to TEAM and one another must be strengthened before we can even begin tackling mental toughness. We must change how we think about TEAM before we can change our approach to preparedness and eventually change how we confront adversity and define who we are.

RATIONAL THINKING

I have questioned myself concerning the level of commitment I am asking for from the members of our team.  Am I asking for too much? I do not believe so as past experiences have proven to me what it takes to be a successful program. Obviously a significant number of players believe other wise and that difference of thinking is where the challenge lies.

The question I will put forth to each individual team member concerning their commitment level is this; how will continuing to approach soccer and the soccer team as you have in the past help you to feel good about yourself, your performance and to achieve our stated goals?  Were you satisfied with the season just completed? If not, what changes are you willing to make so as to achieve more success?  Of course, in asking this question I will run the risk of individuals acknowledging they were quite satisfied with the season just completed.  That is a risk that must be taken if only so the answer more precisely defines the challenge being faced.  For a program that had not won 10 games in one season in many years, it is quite possible the players rational thinking is that what they did in preparing for last season is good enough. It wasn't, but focusimg on 10 wins over six poor results could cloud their thinking.

This is where RESPONSIBILITY and ACCOUNTABILITY come into play. Part of being mentally tough stems from taking responsibility for our approach to the TEAM and the game of soccer. Are we accountable for our thoughts, words, deeds and the rewards or consequences that stem from them? We will encounter adversity. That is a fact. To survive adversity we need to focus on things within our control. Elimination of adversity is not a possibility. We will face adversity, so the key becomes how we handle adversity. Nothing and no one can bother, distract or upset us without our granting them the ability or permission to do so.  This is, in part, the reasoning behind my mantra of Next Play! Whatever the adversity we encounter we must focus on our RESPONSE to it.

We might blame officiating or bemoan poor performance by teammates or coaches, but the ultimate responsibility will always remain the domain of each individual player or coach and by extension the collective of the TEAM. The referee misses a call or makes a poor decision - do we respond by arguing with the referee or by staying involved in the game and moving on to the next play!? When a teammate makes a mistake that adversely impacts the game do we chastise him continuing a chain of negativity or do we "pick him up" and help him to refocus on the things still under his control?

Dealing with adversity often involves ADAPTABILITY which is in and of itself about our response to the adversity encountered.  Adversity, by nature, removes us from an established comfort zone. We have certain expectations for how things will play out and when they don't go exactly as planned we need to be adaptable. This is true in soccer and in life.  Change is uncomfortable as it removes us from an established comfort zone, but we must accept some level of discomfort and pain in order to learn, adapt and advance. If we fight change we will soon be left behind which is exactly what happened in each of our poor results last season.

RESILIENT people do not see themselves as victims of adversity or change. They do not complain "why me" and lament their "bad luck".  Resilient people recognize bad events as a normal, if unwanted, part of life then adjust or adapt to the new reality of the situation. Dynamic individuals and teams are relentless in their adaptability, creativity and ingenuity to not just survive adversity, but to adapt and overcome adversity in continued pursuit of their vision.

An individual or team vision is defined by goals set.  What does the individual and or TEAM seek to accomplish. Again, I had encountered adversity in coaching last seasons team when the seniors set their goals both during the summer and once again when goals were revisited just before the regular season began. Almost all conceded losses to the "big three" of our conference and established a goal of winning the remaining 13 regular season games and at least one post season tournament game. We were defeated in 3 matches weeks before we actually played those matches. We had no chance to be resilient in losing to these teams for we never allowed ourselves the opportunity to engage and overcome the expected adversity.

Having goals and being resilient in overcoming adversity, difficulties and setbacks in pursuit of said goals means we will persevere while tolerating short-term frustration, discomfort and pain for long-term success.  Persistence and Resiliency are key; many people decide to simply give up and seek an easier route to a lesser goal or result. Due to a lack of commitment, most people lack the ability to be adaptable to setbacks that force an adjustment to the process  they have defined to achieve the goals established for themselves and their TEAM. In short, CONFIDENCE is missing.

The words confidence and belief are inseparable; you can't have one without the other. Our confidence will endure certain ebb and flow according to different circumstances or events (adversity) we encounter. Mental toughness or our resiliency depends on our ability to remain steadfastly focused on the goals we seek to achieve. These goals are not always tangible as in the number of wins we seek to accumulate in a season or the winning of a championship. In fact, the most important goal to focus on is a simple one - to improve every time we step on the field. This will allow our confidence to continue to grow and expand.

I have often spoke and written of comfort zones. I firmly believe the game (and life) begin at the end of your comfort zone. In speaking with a fellow coach recently I remarked that some our athletes seem afraid of success.  Individual athletes and or their collective teams come to the brink of real success only to fail to achieve said success. When faced with the prospect of persevering to actually overcome adversity and claim success / achieve their goals they crack under pressure and retreat to a previous comfort zone. Their established comfort zone becomes a comfort trap.

I have given this deep consideration and believe a failure to accurately assess the threat to our comfort zone inhibits the ability to establish new comfort zones. If we look upon the challenges adversity presents as unrealistically dangerous or threatening to the establishment of a new comfort zone we choose to remain where we are.  In a sense, it is amazing what we can become comfortable with when we choose a course of unchanged action.

IF WE AVOID FAILURE, THEN WE ALSO AVOID SUCCESS.

I have described this avoidance as a fear of success. Each degree of success brings with it new challenges. If we think of each degree of success as a newly established comfort zone we can begin to sense the amount of work involved in being committed to success.  Our Rational Thinking in pursuit of success (or living life to its fullest) must focus on taking calculated risks designed to purposefully move us up the comfort zone ladder. We will likely fail before we succeed. Through our adaptability, our ability to adapt to and over come circumstance and events, new confidence is found. Being resilient is about being accountable and responsible in facing failure, learning from our failures and moving forward from our failures.  We must shrug off the shackles of self-imposed limits and our restricted views of reality to open our minds to ever greater possibilities and ever greater success. This is what being mentally tough is all about.

Leadership

Vision          Communication         Character          Competence         

Courage          Commitment

First in.....             Last out.

This video was shared with me by friend and coaching colleague Paul Lee. 

Have you ever purposefully played a game with 7 players?

One of our readers messaged me last night with this question; Have you ever purposefully played 22 minutes of a game with 7 players on the field and 8 subs on the bench?

I have in fact done this a couple of times. In each instance it was because the opponents could not field enough players. After establishing a two goal lead we withdrew players to play even sided. There have also been a couple of times when I intentionally played down a man because we were lacking subs and an individual player believed I would not. When the player abandoned our team's system to do his own thing he found himself seated on the bench next to me while his teammates played a man (or two ) down.  This is where today's story begins.

When I intentionally removed a player from the pitch with no sub available you can be assured I was plenty upset.  It is a drastic move and a decision to be made with all due and proper consideration. In sending a message to the offending player in this manner the coach is also in effect punishing the innocent remainder of the team by making them unnecessarily play down a man. That is a slippery slope to walk. In the best case scenario the offending player receives the message with peer pressure being a part of the delivery method.  At worst, team morale and chemistry is weakened to the point of impacting not only the game at hand, but future play as well.

As it pertains to the question posed to me last night the issue is apparently attendance at practice sessions. 

Here in west central Ohio we do not have a large pool of athletes who specialize in soccer as their only sport.  Many of our club soccer players are multi-sport athletes at their high schools.  This is both by choice and in some cases by necessity. My philosophy has always been that school sports come first. Practice and even match attendance sometimes suffers because of this, but with careful planning it can be effectively managed.

The team in question is a U16 team so there are plenty of other factors that can impact attendance.  Driver's Education courses is a primary one at this age.  School choir and band rehearsals and performances are another.  Church holidays and festivals should always come before soccer. Family gatherings for weddings, funerals, baptism, confirmation, first communion, spring vacations all take precedent over attending a soccer practice. Players of this age may be working to help pay for a car or to save for college. What of the player who misses training because of illness or doctors appointment?

I understand from a coaching standpoint wanting everyone in attendance at every team function, but it simply is not realistic in our environment ... and quite frankly, it is not necessary for success.  I offer my own spring teams of the last several years as examples.  We have been ultra successful while abiding by the mantra that family / church / school come before soccer. 

Forcing seven players to play against eleven opponents while eight healthy teammates watch from the bench because they missed training is punishing the seven, is it not?  And if the coach is asking players to chose soccer training over family, church or school obligations it is really problematic.  Let's face it, there is not a single player on this team likely to play professionally and therefore soccer should not be the main priority for any of them. 

And place yourself in the boots of those who will be forced to sit out a portion of todays match while their teammates play down.  If I chose church, school, family over soccer and then was punished by the soccer coach for doing so?  Soccer would move down on my priority list.  If I knew I had to miss soccer practice in the future, I might not even bother showing for the next match just to sit the bench and spectate.  How many players can the team afford to lose before it becomes completely dysfunctional?

This subject matter ties in nicely with the recent articles on playing time and where elite kids shouldn't meet and rules  While our family is undoubtedly and without dispute soccer fanatics our mantra is "soccer is something we do, but it does not define who we are."  We live a balanced life placing God first.  Family, school, work, and other aspects of our lives are prioritized somewhere after God ... and before sports.  Not only are these kids not going to play professionally, but none are going to earn a full ride to play soccer in college either.

So, perhaps the coach is attempting to teach a lesson on honoring commitment?  If so, I wonder if the coach has considered the conundrum he is placing kids and families in who have committed to family, church and school activities and events ... often times prior to the spring soccer commitment and almost certainly before spring soccer schedules have been released?  

When it comes right down to it, this is all about the coach who is butt hurt that he is not at the top of the priority list for these kids and their families. He is attempting to exert control that he might not be embarrassed by the product he puts on the field.  Yes, playing down to seven men is a temporary matter and short term solution for getting his way for the (relative) long run. In a word, selfish.  He wants and is taking ownership of the team. This is foolish for the team belongs to the players. The players are the only ones who can truly take ownership of themselves. 

So, shouldn't it be the players who decide the standards for participation in today's match? 

After all, it is the players who must play for one another on the pitch in order to be successful and so it is the players who should decided the standards by which they do so.

In conclusion what we have been addressing is where on the commitment continuum various members of this team fall.  Obviously the coach is compelled whereas at least 8 players in his judgment are not. The coach might view these 8 as resistant and is attempting to force them to be reluctant, maybe in a best case scenario, compliant.  This is not the way to achieve buy-in to the team's culture. In fact, it is a dangerous way of defining team culture in a negative sense.  Here's  a secret all successful coaches must appreciate - while a coach can present a vision for a program's or team's culture it is the players who will actually define that culture. It is only through the coach's sales tactics that he can bring to bear any influence their culture. 

Discipline and Commitment = Bridges.

Discipline and Commitment
 

are the bridge between

goals and accomplishment.

 

How does one go about changing a culture of losing?

Over the years I have developed a loose set of guidelines I follow each time I take over a team. This is what I want to share with you today. I cannot claim it is foolproof, but I have had success with this method. Take it for what it is worth. Adapt it to fit your own personality and the needs of the program.

1) Identify the problem.

If you have experience in a successful program and have now taken on a struggling program you will be able to identify some areas that need to be addressed, but do not go it alone.  Ask people who have been around the program for their input and in doing so, remember not to shoot the messenger. You need their honesty to fully understand and appreciate the depth of the issues preventing the program from being successful. You may well need them to buy into the changes you will eventually decide to implement. Most especially, listen to the athletes who have been / are in the program.

2) Accept the situation you find yourself in.

The issues you face may not be of your making but they are yours now. Own them. In doing so you are accepting the responsibility to change it and will hold yourself accountable for doing so.

3) Seek solutions.

If all we've ever done is all we ever do then all we'll ever be is what we have always been.  In order to change the culture we will need to learn to approach things differently, expand our realm of thought.  It can help to have players and coaches self-evaluate the program by asking members to individually write their answers to 3 simple questions.

Note: there will be no wrong answers.

1) Describe the current status of the program.
2) Where do you want to help take the program?
3) What needs to change to get the program moving in the right direction?

What we are looking for is commonality. What can be agreed upon? Themes.

4) Begin to implement the necessary changes.

To be completely honest, this is where the stress begins.  You need to have buy-in and not everyone will. There will be resistance from some quarters. Typically resistance comes from those who have been dominant personalities in the old culture. They have enjoyed success. They now feel threatened by the changes you are about to institute.

Changes in approach.

I often bring a new "break" or team cheer to a program. Something geared to improve attitude by changing the way members see themselves and their teammates.

Prepare like ...........  Champions!
Play like ................  Champions!
Become .................  Champions!

Sometimes it is necessary to institute a standard for appearances to help facilitate an atmosphere of "team".  Everyone is required to wear the same color of t-shirt for practice. Maybe even have a team t-shirt for practice.  All shirts must be properly tucked it.  The idea here is, in order to act like a team we must look the part. If we want to be champions, we need to look like champions.

Attire is often one of the first places rebelling against change can be seen.  Purposely wearing inappropriate attire either to draw attention to themselves or to simply thumb their nose at proposed changes ... and the people instituting them.

Changes in the way a team practices / trains / prepares can also be instituted. Many times these are more readily accepted. Compromises sometimes must be made as we bridge the gap from old to new. I do not like static stretching at the beginning of practice. My teams use dynamic stretching. However, I am willing to compromise on stretching routines.

Change is about taking individuals and a team out of its established comfort zones and challenging them to learn new things, expand their way of thinking and playing. Sometimes we need to allow them to maintain part of their old comfort zone while we establish the foundations of a new one. Stretching is a rather easy area to compromise on.

5) Establish high (er) expectations and mutual responsibility and accountability.  All teams condition and train. It is the standards that they set and are held to in conditioning and training that separates the great teams from all others. People and teams tend to underachieve when no one asks them to do more than "just enough to get by".  Standards for dress, code of behavior, core values of the program we want to be - all of these can be used to raise expectations. Hold one another accountable - positive peer pressure enforcing individual responsibility to self and team. Establish the belief that we can be and will become more than we have been.

6) Troubled programs with a culture of losing are often overwhelmed by feelings of hopelessness and negativity.  Immediately begin a transition towards establishing a nurturing and positive atmosphere.  One of the first things I implement with new teams is the abolishment of saying "my bad" after a mistake is made.  Instead we say, "Next play!".

Mistakes are negatives. "My bad" reinforces the idea that a negative has occurred. Now we have two negatives in a row and a trend beginning.  Break the chain of negativity at the earliest opportunity to do so. You make a mistake on the pitch and chances are everyone knows it anyway. No need to own up to it. It is not the first nor the last you will make. What is important is to stay focused on the task at hand, the game. "Next play!" tells us to move on. To play in the present instead of dwelling on the past.

Encourage one another.
Help one another.
Coach one another.

Any criticism must be constructive in nature.  A lesson must be received and accepted when criticism is given. The tone of voice and wording of the message must not be harsh, critical, negative.

7) Changing personnel may be necessary.

In (1) above I discussed the necessity of learning from those that have been in the program in order to discover what issues are present that have prevented the program from achieving to potential. In (3) above I discussed how some individuals may be resistant and reluctant to change. It may become necessary to dismiss staff or even cut players in order to move forward.

When people who do not buy in cannot be removed from the program or at the very least be pushed to the background, progress will stall until they are lost to attrition or retirement. In today's instant gratification environment the "problem people" can and unfortunately do at times outlast the coach / change of culture.

*** Changing a culture is a process with buy-in as a critical ingredient. Those involved must recognize change is needed and be willing to embrace change. Sometimes, as bad as a culture might be, those in and around the program just are not ready to change it.  You must attempt to make this determination as part of (1) above. 

Pyramid of Success

I have seen several versions of this including one a coaching colleague, Paul Lee, shared with me on Hudl from the high school program he coaches in. I like the concept of using a pyramid as it emphasizes the necessity of a strong foundation required to build upon. This is the version I have adapted from Paul's for use with camps, clinics and teams I work with. To be honest, it is still evolving.  What might yours look like?

 

 

Success

Passion         Humility

Teamwork     Commitment     Trust

Courage         Intensity       Discipline       Perseverance

Enthusiasm     Respect      Belief     Confidence     Intelligent Effort

 

 

 

Committed people view training as an important investment.

 

Resistant people see training as a dreaded sacrifice.

 

Jeff Janssen

 

The Commitment Continuum.

I have read several of Jeff Janssen's books and one of the concepts that has really stuck with me is the Commitment Continuum seen above. I have thought back and applied this to teams I played on and to teams I have coached. Janssen has gotten it basically right.  A successful team needs players in the Compelled and Committed ranges.

One train of thought I have followed is the value of the Commitment Continuum in high school sports. In the coaching groups I communicate with via emails this is a fairly constant topic of discussion. In general these discussions center on the value of athletes who come to the first day of practice well conditioned or where soccer falls on an athletes priority list.

Through the course of these discussions my mind has traveled back to the countless hours I spent working on fundamental skills on my own.  At a rather early age I recognized the value of having similarly motivated players on my teams.  I carried these ideas with me when I began my coaching career. One of my first priorities with any team is to identify the self-motivated player.  If a selection process is involved I want as many of these players as possible on my team.

When coaching high school we are often called upon to work with whomever shows up to play. There will be compelled and committed players but also a lot, perhaps a majority, of players who fall lower on the Commitment Continuum. I have found for best results it is prudent to rely on the compelled or committed player over pure athletes who are compliant or existent on the commitment continuum. I will build my teams around the compelled and committed players and fill in the holes as necessary with the remaining players.

For high school teams I tend to give preference for starting positions to the players who also play club soccer.  I choose to build my teams around the soccer players instead of the athletes. It's great when the soccer players are also great athletes, but this is soccer and so we should want those whose priority sport is soccer playing the game. I look at this as valuing game intelligence over athleticism. An athlete may play harder, but the soccer player plays smarter. The soccer player understands the game and need not rely on frenetic play to accomplish what needs to be done. The soccer player is more likely to play in calm and poised manner.

I once had a player on club whose high school coaches openly called him lazy. They complained that he did not often enough run hard nor exert the same amounts of energy as his teammates did. The fact of the matter is, he didn't need to work as hard as his high school teammates because he was always 3 or 4 steps ahead of them in his thinking of the game, his game intelligence. While his soccer teammates were off playing basketball and baseball or running track, this young man was playing an additional 40-50 games of soccer each winter and spring.  Over the course of a high school career that equates to playing an additional 12 high school seasons.  Yeah, I want that experience front and center on my high school teams.

There is no substitution for experience in the game and it is the compelled or committed players who will have the most experience and who will have accumulated the most game intelligence. These are the players who should be the foundation of your team. 

Commitment.

It continues to amaze me how an issue will come to my attention from multiple sources in the same general time frame, but such is the case with commitment issues concerning coaches this fall.

In one case a head coach failed to show for a match without forewarning or explanation?

In another case an assistant with stated desire to be the head coach repeatedly fails to show up for practices or games.

In yet another case I have repeatedly heard an assistant identified in pre-game introductions but have never seen him present.

A fourth case involves an assistant who shows up periodically at his own convenience and is then upset when he is not included in pre-game introductions.

I understand that people often underestimate the commitment required to coach. The hours are long and the pay is miniscule. I once tracked the hours I put in as a high school coach and then figured out my hourly wage.  $.35 / hour. When I factored in gas & oil for my car I actually lost money that season.  So, yeah, I get it.

I also understand that people who are hired on as a "volunteer assistant" may not feel as obligated to be fully committed.  Well, no, I actually do not understand this at all, but that is me.  I was a volunteer assistant at Shawnee High School in Lima, Ohio for a number of years and never missed a an open field, a summer camp session, practice or game in all the years I was on staff.  Never. I can remember being sick with a cold, standing in a torrential downpour for both the JV and Varsity games at Van Wert and still showing up for stretching practice the next day.  I suppose that's just the "old school" in me coming out.

I fired an assistant for missing practices, missing games and going to the concession stand during games among other reasons.

Seriously folks, how can you expect student athletes to be committed to the team if coaches are setting examples like this?

If you are going to accept a coaching position, you owe it to the players to be fully committed to them. They deserve that from you.  And you have absolutely no right at all to expect let alone demand anything more of players than what you give to them. 

Commitment

I found this while cleaning up / organizing some files.  I'm not 100% sure who to credit this to but believe it is from Jeff Janssen, so I'm going with that.

Every day you get to CHOOSE your commitment level.

 

Choose to be at least COMMITTED if not COMPELLED today!

 

Yeah, so, Jeff Janssen it is.

 



At what level do you practice?

At what level do you play?

At what level would your coach place you at?

Or if you are a caoch, where do you believe your players would place your level of commitment at?

At what level do you believe your teammates would place you at?


RESISTANT - athlete resists the direction of the program and actively works against it, disagrees with team rules and standards and openly opposes them, stubborn and uncoachable

RELUCTANT - athlete questions the direction of the program, skeptical, hesitant and holds back full effort

EXISTENT - athlete floats, seems like they have checked out, there in body but not in mind and spirit, apathetic, contributes little more than their physical presence

COMPLIANT - athlete obediently does what is asked but not much more, does just enough to get by, motivated when directed by others but not very self-motivated

COMMITTED - athlete is highly bought into the program and willingly does extra, understands the vision of the program and supports it, self-motivated, heart is into it

COMPELLED - athlete is fully bought into the program, on a mission to do something special, undeterred by obstacles, consistently holds self AND teammates accountable to a high standard

OBSESSED - athlete goes overboard and is consumed with success, overtrains, fails to connect with teammates, tends to be more concerned with individual success than team success

Talent Evaluation.

Summer camp season is coming to a close and high school season began yesterday here in Ohio. Talent evaluation is very much on my mind this week. At every camp I conducted I found that I valued certain players differently than the coach I was conducting camp for did. Beauty is indeed in the eyes of the beholder.

As I prepared for a camp that was to focus on striker play and finishing a coach sent me an email detailing the virtues of two players that would be attending. I believe one was a sophomore and the other a freshmen. The abilities of these players were lauded as the coach proclaimed they would be his starting forwards this fall. There was a third player from his team, a senior. After the first session I was wondering about the coaches reasoning as the senior put on a show. The senior demonstrated a strong work ethic, great attitude and the ability to strike powerfuly and accurately with either foot.  The senior also possessed a strikers mentality - worked hard off the ball and was always thinking about scoring the ball.  The younger players were certainly solid players but not on the level of the senior, in my opinion.

Soccer Camps

I have been working, some weeks 24/7, at soccer camps and so have not had much time to write.  In the next few days I will share some of the experiences from these camps, Many great memories and relatively few "problems" this summer.  With the official start of high school practice less than a week away my camp acivity will curtail quite a bit as focus shifts to GK specific training and tow orking with U10 - U14 teams until school begins.

I want to leave you with one thought today; It is a personal goal to learn something new each and every day. While it is I that does much of the instructing at camps the exposure to so many new people provides ample, even abundant, learning opportunities. I believe I have taken advanatge of many such opportunities. Probably missed out on a few that I did not recofnize in a timely fashion. It has been a blessed camp season for me and I thank all who have hosted me and touched my life this summer. I can only hope I impacted you as positively as each of you have impacted me.

Coach self-evaluation

I am blessed to have coaching peers and mentors to dialogue with and thankful that each willingly shares their thoughts, opinions and suggestions with me. In the end, I take their  input and use it as part of my self-evaluation process.  This process is a source of growth for me as a coach and as a person.  I'm still learning about the game and the people who participate in it, be they players, referees, parents, opposing coaches, administrators.

I have a vision of what the game should look like when played properly. In a nutshell, tight secure team defending and a varied attack that seeks the path of least resistance to goal. A significant part of my post self-evaluation is devoted to analyzing how well I adapted my vision to the personnel on hand. Success is often subjectively judged based on how well we maximized our potential to play to that vision as opposed to the final won/loss record.

It's always nice to have a dependable goal scorer but I have found my "best" teams have had multiple scoring threats and can score in a variety of ways - patient build ups, quick counter-attacks, off set pieces and more. I find it fairly easy to put in a good defense. Solid and steady back line with a midfield that understands the necessity of pressuring service and demonstrates the ability to do so combined with forward play that cuts the field in half are the basic ingredients.

Generating a varied attack that consciously seeks and recognizes the path of least resistant to goal is a more complicated and difficult undertaking.

I believe in versatility. I'm not so concerned with Forwards or Midfielders or even Backs as I am with having versatile soccer players capable of playing multiple positions and interchanging on-the-fly as the flow of the game dictates. This can present quite a challenge from a coaching perspective. Quite honestly, many players struggle when asked to change how they have always played, to step out of established comfort zones.

My pet peeve is to see a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 formation morph into a 4-1-5 or even a 4-6 with front runners all looking to be played through. I cringe when I see a ball carrier advancing the ball with 4 or 5 of his teammates ahead of him moving in the same direction as he is and at the same pace as the ball is being advanced. Those front runners are forcing the opponents defenders back and by doing so are closing the very space we wish to have open to play in. The odds for success can decrease with each successive step toward goal the front runners take.

It can be exceedingly difficult to convince forwards to play as target players with their backs to goal in front of the opposing backs when they have been trained to do nothing but run onto through balls. That's not to say a player should never look to run onto through balls. No, the point is running onto through balls should be a small part of a players overall repertoire or arsenal.

I realize the problem with one-dimensional forwards is symptomatic of a youth soccer culture that caters to the early physically blessed in search of wins. This is at the crux of the development vs win now issue, imo. It is the damage done by this philosophy that I battle in establishing a broader and more realistic vision of the game. I often refer this as the process of unlocking the possibilities within the game.

It is a battle between "If all you you ever do, is all you have ever done all you will ever be is what you have always been" and the false confidence born of "what I have always done has worked to this point, so why should I change?"

This spring I was blessed with a talented roster of 18 players. Fifteen of the players were quite capable of starting . The remaining 3 were for the most part realistic and embraced their roles on the team. Even blessed with this much individual talent transitioning from a team that won on talent alone into a team capable of dictating the rhythm and tempo of a match was a season long process.

By the last game of the season this springs U17 team encapsulated my vision for how the game should be played as well as any team I have ever coached. We (player and coach) were able to break down some old habits and establish new foundations for play.  We were solid on defense and very versatile on offense. We won games in a variety of ways - some days our defense carried us by shutting out the opponents and other days our attack overwhelmed opponents. It was a very satisfying and rewarding season from a team perspective.

On an individual player basis there were success stories and some disappointments as well  I feel 14 of the 18 players made significant strides in their games this season.  To back track a bit, during the preseason I outlined seasonal plans for each of the 18 players detailing 2 or 3 areas that I hoped to help each  improve in.  I feel we were successful with 14 of 18 players. A 78% success rate.  Not bad, but it is the 4 that I let down that remain on my mind the most.

Two of the players displayed an immaturity that hindered their development. The inability to concentrate for the duration of a practice ... or game... was marked and at times unsettling insofar as it was so distinctly out of character with the rest of the team.  They played as they practiced and they were not good practice players. Both individuals spent a lot of time "horsing around" and being disruptive in their actions and words.

The remaining two players could have been termed stubborn, but I believe it more a reflection of my inability to figure out how they best learn.  Both are very much products of having enjoyed early success coming up through the youth ranks due to being physically gifted. Now they face the prospect of seeing the game pass them by, but instead of searching for and embracing new solutions they fall back upon what was successful for them in the past not being able or willing to recognize the problems they posed to opponents as young players are no longer as troublesome as they once were. Opponents, their peers, have learned new technical and tactical skills to render the problems they once posed far less effective. These two players remain steadfast in attempting to solve new problems the game is presenting to them with old solutions whose effectiveness has been diminished.

The success stories?  Most of these center on instilling confidence in players. Sometimes this involves teaching new technique and tactics to elevate confidence. Other times it is simply being consistently encouraging and providing ever expanding opportunities for players.  Letting someone else know that you believe in them, that you trust them, can lift them to new heights.  There were a lot of success stories from this spring and I am anxious to see how this translates to their play in high school this fall.

So overall I think this was one of my best coaching performances ever but it still comes up short of my own expectations. Even in coaching the team to a perfect league record I was far from perfect myself. Just as I am spending time evaluating individual players to formulate seasonal plans for next spring I am putting together a list of things for me to work on as a coach. The underlying theme is improvement and not only as a coach (or player) but as a person. We can never lose sight of the fact soccer's most important lessons are those they teach us about life, that we are not only coaches of soccer. but also life coaches as well.