Always something new to learn.

I'm well into my 50's at this stage of my life. My goal each and every day remains to learn something new each and every day. Athletics and soccer in particular these last 25 years have been the impetus of this process. I have learned much. Lately I have been reminded there is still much to learn.

Over the years I have developed something of a reputation for turning programs around in short order.  Be it a high school program like LCC or a club team with Grand Lake United I have enjoyed great success in short order. As I find myself in the second year at Lima Senior I am being humbled by the slow progress of turning this program into the powerhouse I believe it should be. The talent is present, but the culture is not present.  My previously successful "formula" for quick turnarounds is not working as well as it did in the past.

As I have been analyzing the current state of the program after our first year I have been giving considerable thought to what has worked in the past. I have also given serious consideration to what is different this time as I formulate the plan leading into next season. I feel things are beginning to fall into place and progress is being made.  Writing of the process always seem to help me draw things into focus. You are privileged (or cursed, as the case may be)  today to get a glimpse into this process.

Trusted Agents.

When taking over a program and changing the status quo it is always good to have Trusted Agents or players who support your efforts. These are usually found in those who are juniors during the first year of your directing the program. Or at least I have been blessed to have found them in the junior class at past stops.

At LCC, we had a senior Megan who was on-board from the start. She took the brunt of resistance to change that first year becoming a lightning rod for any type of conflict that arose. She was strong and focused.  Our junior was Shayna who bought in and shared the vision from the start. She not only understood what the process was but also helped define how the process would be achieved. Plus, she was strong enough to stand up to the negativity always associated with change and the negative leadership that sometimes emerges in the face of change.  God Bless Shayna. Shayna was, at times, as good a player leader as any I have had the pleasure of working with.

With Grand Lake United it was my son Lance and his teammates Tanner and Adam who set the tone. Their expectations were high and became the standards the team held itself to.  Adding Alex to that mix solidified our vision, our process and how we went about achieving in the process. We weeded out a lot of the resistance to change and negativity over a 2 year period. Alex handled any residual negativity with unbelievable diplomacy and firmness.

I take little credit as a coach for what these young people achieved.  My biggest contribution was identifying the right people to lead the turnaround.  Megan, Shayna, Lance, Tanner, Adam and Alex were easy choices as determined through both their words and their actions.

I have admittedly struggled to find the same type of player leadership in my current position. This past season's seniors never did buy into the vision. They were never able to define the process and so we meandered through the season. Now, it is true TEAM 29 at Lima Senior put together the best season in recent program history. I received lots of congratulatory remarks about having won 10 games in my first season at Lima Senior. It is also true, TEAM 29 never overcame the past culture of the program. I firmly believe TEAM 29 should have had 14 or even 15 wins by the time our season ended in the tournament. Culture eats talent and strategy for breakfast. I was reminded of this on more than one occasion this past season.

Whereas in past coaching stops I had always been able to identify junior leadership to drive the team forward, that was not the case at Lima Senior.  For the first time in my coaching career I will endure two straight classes with below average leadership. And it might well be more than two years.  Our current sophomore class some has possibilities for positive, process driven leaders,  None are a sure thing.  Cole, I force fed into a leadership role too early. He has many of the qualities I am looking for, but the circumstances were not right. Can he rebound? Can I help put him back on track? Micah is not (yet?) strong enough to stand up to negativity as Shayna did for her team. Sam is home schooled and therefore not with his teammates every day. He does possess nearly everything else I am looking for in a player leader.  I have yet to identify the quality of leadership I seek in the freshman class either.  Now, the current 8th graders?  They have several quality leaders among them.  They are probably 3 years away from having the type of significant impact on our culture that is required to move the program forward to where it realistically should be.

Trusted Agents II

Be it in club soccer or in high school soccer, parents play a significant role in your program. As a coach I interact with the student / athletes approximately 2-3 hours a day in season. Parents, naturally interact with their children a whole lot more. Hopefully.  At every coaching stop some of the strongest resistance to change I encounter is from parents.  It certainly was at LCC where the parents of the "star" were adverse to her having to share the glory (scoring goals) in the balanced system of play I brought to the program. I was also not allowed to cut two players (and their parents) from the program who made it their announced aim to subvert everything I did.

Parental resistance was also a major push back at Grand Lake United until I did cut players / parents from the "A" team and regulated them to the "B" team or cut them from the program entirely. Much easier to do so when the coach is in charge and the club administration doesn't want to deal with drama.

And once again, at Lima Senior there is strong resistance from a small group of parents seemingly intent on feeding the "me" in their child instead of the "we" in our program, our team.

I included this Trusted Agents II section only because as I look to identify leadership, define the process and formulate how we will navigate the process it has occurred to me I could move the process forward by cutting resistance from the program and advancing the soon-to-be freshman class into key roles earlier than I would normally like to. Sacrifice the team for the program.

The Past

To be perfectly honest, it is usually the past that motivates the change of culture and buy-in necessary to accomplish it.  At LCC, the program had never had a winning season. They were hungry for a change. The biggest obstacle proved to be changing a few from "Me" people to "We" people.  With Grand Lake United we had players passionate about soccer and tired of getting their butts kicked by the "big clubs" so they too were hungry, eager and receptive to change,  At Lima Senior the upperclassmen are invested in and tied to their past by a recreational league state championship they won when they were in middle school.  I sometimes feel as though they view that youth league championship as the apex of their soccer careers instead of a building block.  There is seemingly little desire to strive for, let alone replicate, that championship success at the high school level.

In my coaching career, I  have rarely been so filled with emotion as the day I overheard some of our varsity players say,

"What does it matter? 

We're going to get our asses kicked anyway."    

This off-season a parent sent me an email regarding scheduling schools of our own size / classification that stated, in part, and I quote,

"I don't feel you have the talent to compete with some of the teams you are going to be playing nor will lima (sic) senior ever have that talent and I am not concerned about seasons to come I am only concerned about this season."

Yes, the son will be a senior next fall.  Yes, he is apparently worried about his son's senior season.  Did he bother to look at our schedule for next season? Apparently not. Yes, we have shed a lot of the small schools / easy wins from our schedule. Yes, we have replaced then with big schools who are comparable with Lima Senior in terms of their soccer programs. Yes, we have scheduled a tougher team or two. Should we still compete for double digit wins? Definitely.  

Change.

Some people embrace change  

Some people resist change

Sooner or later everyone accepts change or gets left behind

There is a certain comfortableness in the current program. For some, it's as if they "know who they are" and that's good enough for them.  They beat up on small schools in the area, Are capable of competing with mid-sized schools and similarly talented large schools. And expect to get their asses kicked by traditional big school powers.  It is the classic "big frog in a little pond" syndrome.  At the very mention of moving to the big pond to prove their mettle they revert to living in the little pond where they feel safe. This is the challenge I face.  Overcoming their fear of stepping outside their comfort zones to discover that is where life and their game begins, not ends.  

Sometimes as a coach we have to admit and come to terms with the fact we cannot positively impact players as much as we would like to.  Cases in point; 1) This past season I dismissed a player from the program after having invested a lot of effort and time in him. He possesses some real potential as a player. He's his own worst enemy. He simply cannot overcome poor decision making on or off the pitch and seeks to lay the responsibility for his poor decisions at someone else's feet. It's a shame. He's slipping through the cracks and will in all likelihood become societies problem in his future. No emotion other than defiance about being dismissed.   2) I had to dismiss a second player from our team. He made a poor decision, admitted it, but due to the nature of the violation of team rules I still had no choice,  He was visibly broken up over the consequences of his decision. 

Notice: I dismissed the first player from the program and the second player from the team.  The player in the second example is back training with the team this off-season. Lesson learned. He and we are moving on.  This is how we want all situations to turn out.

Conclusions?

We, the program, will continue advancing toward the vision I have for the program.  Team 30 may or may not take a step forward from Team 29. That will be up to them as a team and perhaps specifically to the leadership that emerges.  The players of Team 30 will have a mixed lot of individual success and satisfaction derived from their participation on Team 30.

And in the end, that is what we as coaches must always remember - One gets out of something what one puts into it.

I will put my all into this program.  The program will continue to steadily advance to where I believe it can and should be.

Team 30 will get out of it's season exactly what they put into it. Judging by off-season participation rates, that will be something similar to Team 29 before them.  Meh, by my standards.

Individual players will get out of this season exactly what they invest into it. Soccer is a team sport comprised of individual players. Some of our players are putting in the effort and time to better themselves. Others, not so much. 

The more one is invested in a process, 

the more difficult it is for them 
to give up or quit. 

When the 2017 season concludes we will look back on the progress of the program, the accomplishments of the team and the progress of the individuals.  Will we be satisfied?

It's part of coaching

We often speak of athletes learning life lessons through their participation in team sports.  Coaches learn life lessons through heir participation in team sports as well.  One of the most important lessons sports has taught me is the necessity to develop, establish and maintain healthy working relationships.
I put a lot of time and effort into developing working relationships with everyone remotely connected to the program.  My athletic director and his administrative assistant. The boosters organization. Surely our players and coaches. The parents as well.

Now, with parents I tend to keep them at arms length as it concerns team selection, positions, playing time and the like. On the other hand, I desire and need parental support for a healthy program. I rely on parents for everything from fundraising to furnishing team meals.

Players get suspended or cut from the team and coaches lose their jobs often due to poor relationships and ineffective communication.  Communication is a shared responsibility.  That is, it takes a minimum of two to hold a conversation unless one is talking to one's self. LOL. This is another lesson I have learned - if people choose not to respond to your efforts to include them in your program, repeating those efforts ad nauseum is simply a waste of time.

I have a three strike rule.  If I ask you three times for your input or help and you choose not to respond, I move on.  This happens mostly with parents of student athletes in my current position. A sad commentary on our society in general.  Please do not misunderstand, I do indeed enjoy tremendous support from many parents. The vast majority jump in and help in whatever way is needed and I am genuinely appreciative for their involvement. It is a small minority that decide not to respond, not to work on establishing, developing and maintaining a working relationship in teh best interests of their child.

Being a responsible decision maker is also something sports teach us. Not every decision we make is cut and dried. I often seek input from every source imaginable when faced with a tough decision. I also give difficult decisions a lot of  prayerful consideration.  In the end, as a head coach it's still my decision. I live with both the rewards and consequences of those decisions. I firmly believe it important everyone involved with the program knows I take making these decisions very seriously and own up to them regardless of how they turn out. It's a matter of trust and respect.

Trust is the glue of life, the single most essential ingredient in effective communication.  If I do not own my decisions, why should anyone trust me?  Trust is the foundational principle that holds all relationships together.  Disagreements are a part of life, its how we handle disagreements that matter more than the disagreement itself.  Adversity is a part of life and athletics. It is a given, individuals and the team will encounter adversity at times. The adversity is not as important as how the adversity is handled. Being able to trust those you face adversity with is critical to success in overcoming the obstacle. Successfully overcoming adversity or an obstacle with others is how respect is earned ... and given.  Without respectful working relationships not only is trust absent but the prospects of success are greatly diminished.

We ARE all in this together, correct?

College Soccer Scholarships: The Facts.

Every so often someone sets a spark off that ignites my frustration and I feel the need to report this article.  Tonight was such a time.  I met the parents of two little boys ages 7 and 9 who seem to think the boys are USMNT material.  They already been have been involved with a local club for 4 years. Have already spent thousdands of dollars. They are now somewhat disenchanted and are looking to move to a more prestigious club in a larger city. The nine year old already has attitude and was damn near uncoachable when we tried to work with him.  This is NOT what youth soccer should be about. These parents (and by extension their sons) are more than likely going to severely disappointed. They need desperately to read an article like this. Don't get me wrong, I honestly hope the kid succeeds and makes one of the USMNT teams. I see zero indication this will happen though. The parents are about to spend enough money on soccer to fully fund their children's college educations  and will have little to show for it when all is said and done.  Such a shame when youth sports are reduced to this. 


This is a reposting of an article originally publish in March 2013 concerning available scholarships for playing soccer in college.  I have not re-researched NCAA regulations since the original writing.  I have received numerous requests to re-post this article. So, here it is... again!

With club tryout season upon us once again I deemed it appropriate to move the article to the front page.  Do not be fooled by clubs who advertise they have helped "x" number of athletes obtain college scholarships for playing soccer. Investigate the claims.  If talking about the prestigious D I programs, you are more than likely to find no one, not a single solitary individual, listed as a scholarship recipient received a full ride. Most will probably have received a fraction of a fully funded scholarship. A quarter to a third and in rare cases 1/2 of a full ride are the norm.  Those who did receive full rides likely did so at NAIA or NJCAA schools.

Bottom line?  If you are looking for money to pay for college, study hard and get good grades.  All the money being spent on playing club soccer?  Invest it in the stock market or even a savings account. The return on investment will be much higher for the overwhelmingly vast majority of you.


NCAA Divison I

At the NCAA Division I level men's soccer is considered to be an equivalency sport. This simply means the number of scholarships that can be offered is determined in part by Title IX. Fewer men's scholarships may be funded due to women's sports not having an equivalency to football.  A school is not mandated to fund it's full allotment of scholarships.

Schools offering Men's Soccer:  199  (this number is in decline in part due to equivalency standards)
Schools offering Women's Soccer: 320  (this number continues to grow in response to equivalency standards)

Mens Soccer Scholarships:  9.9
Women's Soccer Scholarships:  14

Scholarships can be full or partial rides at the Division I level.  With rosters often approaching 30 players the money is distributed very carefully. 


NCAA Divison II

Schools offering Men's Soccer:  179
Schools offering Women's Soccer: 227

Men's scholarships:  9
Women's scholarships:  9.9

Many NCAA Division II schools do not offer football and so there is less discrepancy in scholarship numbers between the sports. Partial scholarships are the norm as coaches can distribute the money to as many players as they wish.


NCAA Division III

Schools offering Men's Soccer:  401
Schools offering Women's Soccer: 424

Scholarships are not offered at NCAA Division III schools.  Student / athletes often rely on academic scholarships and financial aid to assist with costs for school.


NAIA

Schools offering Men's Soccer:  218
Schools offering Women's Soccer: 223

Men's scholarships:  12
Women's scholarships:  12

Partial scholarships are common.  Coaches often reserve monies for student / athletes that do not meet requirements for academic aid.


NJCAA I

Schools offering Men's Soccer:  136
Schools offering Women's Soccer: 118

Men's scholarships:  18
Women's scholarships:  18

Many scholarships awarded at the Junior College level are full rides although partial rides are common as well.

Great Players want to be driven.

“Great players want to be driven. They want coaches to be tough and demanding. Average players and mediocre teams want it easy.” - Pat Riley

It was meant as harsh criticism, but I took it as a compliment.

This incident took place awhile ago. As a fan University of Michigan athletics I am now reminded of it on a seemingly daily basis. I loved Jim Harbaugh as a player for the Wolverines. His legacy cemented in my heart when he guaranteed a win over Ohio State before the 1986 installment of The Game which was played on the road in Columbus, Ohio. The only thing greater than that bravado was coach Bo Schembechler's response "Our quarterback shot his mouth off, and now we've got to go down there and prove him right. Let's go back him up!"  And they did.

Jim Harbaugh is relentless and works at being omnipresent.  Just look at this past week's recruiting news. Michigan received 6 verbal commitments in 9 days and dominated the recruiting news cycles. The controversial satellite camp circuit he has embarked on the past two summers is another example.  Both Ohio State and Penn State conducted similar satellite camps, but did you hear about those?  Probably not.  Harbaugh is to college football what Barnum was to circuses.  Sleepovers at recruits houses. Throwing out first pitches at baseball games. Showing up at the World Series game with his baseball glove that elicited a national story on how many baseballs he has collected over the years including winning a battle over a kid for one?  How about the signing day extravaganza Michigan hosted last February to introduce their new recruits.

Okay, you get the picture.

A coach for one of my son's high school teams called me one night and told me I was relentless and omnipresent. This occurred in the midst of the worst season the program had endured in many a year. There were several players from an ultra successful club team I coached on that high school team. The young coach, whom I recommended for the position, was struggling mightily. The team was under performing and players were seeking me out. It was difficult for me to avoid them as I not only coached them in club but they were / are also friends of my son and were often at our house. I did my best to be supportive of the new coach, but he evidently felt threatened by my coach / player relationships with many of the players he also coached.  I can appreciate and understand that.

In the telephone conversation that evening the new coach stated his belief that he was unable to be effective as a coach because of my relentless omnipresence hovering over his program.  In short, he was lashing out and blaming me for the team underachieving. Now, I had never attended a practice and had offered zero input to any coach on anything related to that high school team up to this point in time. I attended games to cheer on my son and his friends. That was the extent of my involvement.  I had supported the coach to the players who wanted to vent. I was surprised by the coach's comments. Hurt and angry as well. In my reply I told the coach he was wrong to play someone who had always played forward as a defender and a another who had always played as  defender as a forward. I ended the conversation by saying I would only cheer for my son the rest of the season. I wouldn't even applaud other players efforts. He thanked me and informed me this is what he wanted.
Two things happened almost immediately as a result of that conversation. First, the personnel changes I suggested were made. Secondly, the team performance improved dramatically.  A third, more subtle change also occurred - that coach lost the respect of many on that team. In effect, he lost that team by making his coaching struggles about me. The conversations with players I had after that telephone conversation were supportive of me. The players tone was devoid of hope even as I counselled my son that they were a good team and could make a strong run in the tournament. This fell on deaf ears. They no longer believed in their coaches and had begun to doubt themselves.

That high school season and the conversation with the high school coach has stayed with me over the years. Missed opportunities for those players has haunted me. They held so much more potential than what they delivered upon on the pitch. The idea that I was relentlessly omnipresent has held as well.  I know it was meant in an adverse sense, but I did not then and do not now take it as such.  I watch Coach Harbaugh and see much of myself in him.  Old school yet innovative at the same time. A deep love for the game and a passion for the people who play it - not just as players but as young men entrusted to my care.

I am too strong a personality?  That is what the young coach stated.  What he likely meant is that he was threatened by me, by my established relationships with players and my 3 decades of experience in coaching the game. I begun as his biggest ally. I recommend him to the athletic director on board of education members for the job.  Even after the season when I was approached and asked to re-evaluate my recommendation of him for the coaching position I continued to voice my support for him to remain as the head coach.

I am relentless and omnipresent.  That is a goal of mine. These are traits I look for in players.  I want leaders who believe they will win every game and who will be relentless in pursuit of victory. I will outwork everyone of the student athletes entrusted to me because they will need to outwork the opponents they face on the pitch. I set the standard that they will strive to meet. To that end, I attempt to surround myself with the very best, the very brightest, soccer minds I can find to assist me. I am fearless in learning from others. I want my philosophies and thought processes to be challenged on a daily basis.  I need to continue to grow as both a person and a coach.  The new high school coach, probably unknowingly, contributed to this process. What he likely intended as harsh criticism. I took as affirmation that I am passionate, compassionate and driven to be the best I can be. Did the experience change me?  It made me reflect and learn. I am better for it. More driven and relentless than ever before. These characteristics and my omnipresence are not (yet) met in my current situation by the student / athletes and their families. I will continue to be relentless and omnipresent in building the relationships that will build these characteristics in the core group that can lead and elevate the program to a higher level.

216 Days Until the Start of the 2017 Season

The 2016 season ended 73 days ago and we have 216 days until the 2017 season officially begins. The transitioning from review to preparation is underway. I am moving on from "why" Team 29 failed to meet some of my expectations to what is necessary for Team 30 to fulfill its potential.

Program > Team > Student / Athlete

I believe we are all better when we are servants to a greater good.  In my personal life, I strive to serve God. As stated on the introductory page to this site, God is first, family and friends are second and I am third.  God > Others > Me.  Team 29 of our program made strides in establishing Program > Team > Student / Athlete as the basic tenet of the Lima Senior Soccer program but we still have a ways to go before we can say this truly defines who we are.

To begin with, I am not convinced every student athletes appreciates or understands Program > Team > Student / Athlete.  Allow me to provide an example of what I am talking about; we established new academic standards for eligibility in 2016. Each student/athlete was required to maintain a "C" grade or above in each class in order to be eligible to participate. Still, when weekly academic reports were issued we had a handful of student athletes who failed to meet this standard. In this regard, those student athletes failed themselves, their team and the program.

In a school system absolutely loaded with athletic talent this is an all too common occurrence.  And completely unacceptable to me. Maintaining a "C" in academic classes is about two simple things completely within our control - attitude and effort.  We are simply asking our student athletes to be average n the classroom.  Some are making a choice not to do so and are thereby lcultureetting down their team and, by extension, the program not to mention themselves.

So, here lies the first hurdle we must clear in pursuit of establishing a Program > Team 30 > Student / Athlete culture.

Being sure to have our shirts or jerseys tucked in at all times.

By the end of the 2016 season we had become very good concerning this simple task.  Many of the players rebelled at this rule when it was first instituted, but eventually became compliant with it if not overly enthusiastic about it. Simply put, compliant is not good enough. Too many of our student / athletes failed to recognize the reasons behind mandating shirts be tucked in and in fact, ignored the rule whenever out of sight of the coaching staff.  When allowed to wear their jerseys to school on game day the majority failed to tuck the into their pants. And it was of no surprise when I recently attended an indoor game to see not a single player have their t-shirt tucked into their shorts.

What's the big deal?

Behavior.

We have a cheer we break huddles with: Prepare like Champions! Play like Champions! Become Champions! A big part of this is to look the part. We look the part, we begin believing. We begin believing and we begin acting the part. We begin acting like champions and we begin playing like champions. eventually we become champions.

Character is all about doing the right thing even when no one is watching.  We are not there yet as witnessed by having our jersey's hanging out during school hours. There was a failure to comprehend and understand the importance of living the role of champion 24 / 7 / 365.  This has extended to the off season as was recently witnessed at the indoor game.  They won the league championship with an undefeated season and will believe this is an accomplishment that invalidates the need to look the part failing to realize how they look not only impacts  how they feel about themselves but how others perceive them to be. Being a rag-tag group is perfectly fine if your highest aspiration is to win your rec league indoor grouping.  It's not nearly enough if you aspire to be the champions of the toughest scholastic soccer league in northwest Ohio.

Personal preference before TEAM interests and program well-being.

No one player is bigger than the TEAM and no team is bigger than the program.

Last winter I led a Leadership Class for many of our student / athletes. A main theme of this class was the importance of being a Servant Leader. The general premise of this is for the individual player to serve the TEAM and by extension have the TEAM serve the program.  We have made strides in this. There is also still work to be done here.

So much of what is discussed here is either or propositions

We should always strive for perfection. It may never be attained by greatness can be. We all make mistakes. Each mistake made is a learning opportunity. That is, we have a choice when a mistake is made - accept it or correct it. Our decision on how to handle a mistake, adversity, sets the course for who we will become.  If a mistake is not corrected, our forward progress is stopped. We plateau as a an individual and as a team. What we allow, will define who we will be.

Defining who we want to become as TEAM 30 will be the key to the 2017 season. Setting goals is a part of this process, Defining the process to be followed in achieving the goals set is a area we failed miserably in last season.  The goals set were within an established comfort zone. There would be minimal change required to reach these goals. They were safe goals. They accepted expected adversity as their lot and lacked true challenges to be overcome. They goals set were well within established comfort zones and lacked impetus to expand and grow, to improve.

These are the areas we will be concentrating on over the next 8 months. Can we step outside of our established comfort zones to set our goals AND define a process that will provide us a legitimate shot at achieving our goals?

Dare to dream big.

Work to make those big dreams come true.

That's what 2017 needs to be about.

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.

What does it mean to be coachable?

The latest high school season ended a month ago. After taking time off I am just now beginning to analyze our performance.  I have found it prudent to allow time for the emotions of the season to pass and also for myself to become rejuvenated from the grind.  How do I know when to begin again the process?  When I start yearning to be actively coaching again, it is time.

As I have reflected upon the season just passed, the theme that has emerged is "coach-ability."  This might seem a straight forward subject, but it is not. For example, is a player uncoachable or has the coach failed to find the best way to coach a player?

The hallmark of my teams has always been defense. They have always featured stout if not stifling defense that fuels a fast paced balanced counter-attacking offensive style. Not this past season.  We allowed 2.12 goals per game which is abysmal by my standards. The most important question to be asked is, why?

In analyzing the goals we allowed certain trends become apparent.  First, our backs were overly aggressive at times - they often dove in or stabbed at the ball instead of containing the attacker. This was something we addressed in training on a regular basis to little avail.  Secondly we were caught very flat or lacking defensive support on a far too regular basis - death to a zonal defense.  Again, this is something that was addressed on a regular if not daily basis in training.

So, now the question becomes, were the players uncoachable or did the coaching fail to reach the players?  I know from experience my coaching methodology has worked in the past. Was my approach with this group of individuals off or were they simply uncoachable?

Mistakes are welcomed if we learn from them.  And this is where we begin to uncover where the problem lay this past season.  Repeated mistakes become bad habits and we repeated the same mistakes in our back line on a regular basis.  No matter the approach in training the mistakes remained the same and constant. We simply could not overcome established bad habits.

I submit there are varying degrees of coachability

Not coachable: The know it all. Not receptive to instruction. Listens only to his own voice.

Selectively coachable: Does what is asked but only when it is self-serving. Mostly does whatever he wants.

Reluctantly coachable: Goes through the motions but doesn't fully embrace coaching. Reluctantly committed.

Coachable: Does everything asked of him. Surrenders self to the TEAM.  Trusts and empowers coaching.

When our performance is looked at in the context of the above scale, it becomes abundantly clear why we struggled defensively this past season. Team Culture was and will continue to be a frequent topic of conversation. In some ways, this past team was extremely selfish. That might sound harsh, so, in simpler terms, we had players whose excellence was defined by their arms and legs more so than by their heads and hearts. And let there be no doubt about it, this was apparent whenever we encountered adversity this season.

Now in my third decade of coaching I have seen my fair share of players who refused to take coaching, rejected instruction and eschewed the earned experience of those who would help them. Mostly I have seen the game pass these players by or seen them languish in mediocrity due to their arrogance, anger, subversion or low self-esteem. I have also seen plenty of players make transformative changes in their approach to the game that lead to TEAM success and earned them the individual accolades they had so desperately sought on their own.

How does a coach overcome a players inability or reluctance to take coaching?

I can identify "problem players" at the moment when I intervene with advice, instruction or criticism. It is at that moment when the athlete makes a choice between responding positively or reacting negatively that determines his destiny as a player. This can also be said of a team as a whole. Unless a coach can somehow influence a change from negative to positive in the player and or team

Can coachability be developed?

I have had some past success with this. Discovering a players motivation to learn and improve - what buttons to push to energize the players learning process is a key.  The individuals goals as a player are another.  What does the player wish to achieve and can he be convinced the coach holds the best interests of the player in mind as well? Which leads us to the player / coach relationship. This is where I failed with some individuals and therefore for the team this past season.

To be honest, the culture shift we implemented in the program this season was drastic and there was a certain (and expected) level of backlash against new rules and standards. The demand of players that they be subservient to TEAM instead of self was difficult for some to grasp let alone adhere to. Our disciplinary issues mostly fell into this realm.

In the Mel Gibson movie "The Patriot" the militia are an undisciplined lot who break ranks and flee in retreat at the first sign of adversity. They must learn to trust one another and band together tactically to become greater than the sum of their individual parts before they can turn the tide of battle in their favor and rout the British.  It took time, but they eventually found their way.

So, yes, coachability can be developed. Learning to trust one another is the foundation that must be established. Making self subservient to TEAM is a major step. The simple proposition that an individual will sacrifice his own selfish desires, needs, wants for the good of the TEAM is what must be brought forth. This can best be accomplished through building relationships that help the student athlete buy in to the TEAM philosophy.  This is what occurs in the movie "Remember the Titans" where a diverse group of high school athletes overcome social differences and selfishness to become a TEAM far greater than the sum of its individual parts.

Coachability is a state of mind. It is about having the internal strength to trust teammates and coaching to achieve more together than the individual can achieve on his own. The transformation that must sometimes occur is about learning to willingly allow one's self to be subservient to the TEAM's whole. Developing an understanding that excellence is defined by head and heart even more so than by legs and arms must occur. When these things are allowed to blossom and grow transformative change from selfishness to selflessness can occur. That's when I have seen an uncoachable player turn into a coachable player.

We Will

Sprint to set our defense

Execute our defense with multiple efforts to completion

Be strong to and strong on the ball

Play unselfishly with SPACE and PACE to create great chances

Dominate with our EFFORT plays

Blame it on the refs!

The foreigners on my son's college team say the single greatest obstacle to the USA developing into a world power in soccer is the lack of quality refereeing in the country.

Hmm,,,,

I know we could all share "referee stories" to help illustrate their point. Our recently concluded high school soccer season saw blown calls, phantom calls, missed calls ,,, and the film doesn't lie. I believe our visitors from other countries were talking about more than a referee having an off day - we're all human after all. Rather, they were referring to how anyone with a whistle seems to be able to referee a game here in the States.

I know we had one gentlemen who was in his first year of refereeing who had to be 60 if he were a day.  Decided he needed something to do or wanted to give back to the game.  He was not physically capable of refereeing a high school soccer match.  It really was disrespectful to the game.

On the other end of the spectrum are the young kids who take a referee course are given a badge and are then sent off to referee. No experience required. Just get out there with your whistle and have at it. Is it any wonder the retention rate for officials is so low?  We set them up for failure.

I understand in other countries the route to becoming an official is much more difficult.

Now, I know several referees who I consider to be very good.  A few of these gentlemen have refereed my son and his mates from other countries.  This gave me cause to reflect on what our standards for referees are.  If some of the best we have are thought to be inadequate by our foreign guests ...

I get their point.  The officials are part of the soccer match. We expect a certain standard from the players and a higher standard from those who coach them.  Should the standard for those who officiate be a high one as well?   All three groups (plus spectators, grounds crew and so on) are vital components to the contest.  When any one area is lacking, the whole is lacking,

Player Development gets a lot of attention in this country. It's a billion dollar cottage industry what with clubs, camps, clinics, individual instruction, videos, books, etc.

Coaching Development gets a lot of attention. NSCAA and USSF coaching courses are mandatory for most competitive youth leagues and certainly for college and professional coaching jobs.

Referee Development?   There are avenues to rise through the ranks in USSF. Weekend academies at youth tournaments and promotion to regional or national youth soccer events such as Presidents Cup, State Cup and ODP events.  Grade Levels for referees.  Yet, I keep coming back to the basic level referee courses. Part of the course is now on-line and the rest is conducted in a few hours in a classroom and perhaps on a soccer pitch,  You take a test that everyone passes and are awarded your badge.  You are now a USSF referee!  If you are 18, you can also be a OHSAA referee!

No actual in-game on the field training or experience required.

So, yeah, our mates from other states may have a valid point?

Culture can win OR lose games.

I have not written much these past few months as I have returned to coaching high school.  I find it difficult to write in-season for a couple of reasons. One, I just don't have a lot of free time. Coaching high school soccer is a full time job in and of itself.  Secondly, most of what I would write about would be about the team I am coaching and because there would exist a need to be critical I do not believe it would be productive to do so.  Today I am going to tackle the broad subject of culture. And, yes, I will be using my current team to illustrate some of the points made.  I will also be using former teams to tell this story.

Some years ago I became a member of an email group of coaches from around the country. This group has been a wonderful resource for me. They have been mentors to me and perhaps I to them as well.  Upon joining the group one of the first things that struck me was how much of the discussion was devoted to team culture.  I will admit I found this a bit of a turnoff at first as I was looking for tidbits on technical and tactical issues. As I read through the discussions on culture I began to understand the importance of team culture and the reason this group of successful coaches devoted so much time to it. I have since become a student of team culture and advocate of working to develop a strong positive one in the teams I coach.

It doesn't happen overnight.

I took over a club team a few years ago. They had not had much success in terms of won / loss record and were looked upon as a team whose players could not make the team of the best club in the area. That first season we went .500 and most were ecstatic with having achieved that.  The parents attributed it to my coaching. While grateful of their acknowledgement of my contributions I knew I had made some difference but not enough. And so the transformation of that teams culture begun.

I knew from past experiences in college, club and even high school that when a coach recruits players to the team it can be difficult to find the right mix for team chemistry.  Most coaches select team members on talent alone and give little consideration to how team members interact with one another, with coaches, with referees and others in general. This is the lesson I was learning through interaction with the email group of coaches.

The second year with that club team saw about a 30% turnover in players. We held "tryouts" and found a few players who were both more talented than the ones they replaced and were better fits to the team culture I was striving to develop.  The team improved their on-field results that year actually winning a league title.  It was a lower level league, but a title nonetheless.

This is where things began to get very interesting.

It was apparent to me our culture needed strengthening.  We would need to lose some players who did not fit with what we were building. I put it to the team to recruit teammates they thought could raise the team to another level. A very interesting thing happened.  The players recruited some of the very best players from the region. They also refused to recruit some of the very best players from the region.  They were very discerning about who they wanted to join the team. Even beyond that, they recruited players to certain and specific positions with the intent of replacing soon to be former teammates who were not interested in buying in to the rapidly developing team culture.

The result of their efforts was a group of 40 players trying out for one team.  We quickly made a decision to form two teams - an "A" team and a "B" team.  After some realized they would no longer be a member of "the" team they had been playing on, they sought greener pastures elsewhere.  Not surprisingly these were the players who were disruptive to the team culture being established.  They were offered spots on the second team but declined because they viewed themselves as better than that.  Within a years time most either sought to rejoin our program or had given up the sport of soccer,

This brings us to present day.

I am now coaching a high school team that has experienced some modicum of success in past high school season. One of the things that has blunted or perhaps even stagnated the changing of culture is the fact the seniors of this group won a recreational state championship when in middle school.  To call it a state championship is even a bit of a misnomer as only a portion of the state was represented at these championships. Nonetheless, this is what they have hung their hat on and have stubbornly refused to embrace advancement of culture that could take them to the next level.  As a high school team they are as physically gifted and technically talented as any I have been associated with. Tactically they still have proclivity to play as they did in 8th grade which consisted to being bigger faster stronger than other teams their age.  I know because I watched them play when they were in middle school.

While we have made some advancements in play this season their old comfort zone beckons frequently. Against a weaker team they will goal hunt reverting to playing dump and run with little to no regard to actually doing so in a constructive and productive manner.  Our center midfielders become forward as do our outside backs. Players almost completely and totally abandon positional responsibilities in search of goal scoring opportunities. As a result, we have struggled in games we should have dominated and had some unexpected, even unpleasant results.

One the other hand, we did find out early in the season that this team was capable of playing with some of the very best in the state. Although excited about this at the time I am now not sure this was such a good thing.  After playing with the eventual league champions for the entire game early in the season we took a huge step backwards against the other two perennial league powers getting blown out by both. All the brilliant play from early in the season completely disappeared in those two matches as players reverted to a previous comfort zone.

Team culture can win games for you.

Team culture can lose games for you.

Both of the above statements are abundantly true.  It was a three to four year process with club team to develop a strong culture of like-minded athletes capable to facing adversity, sticking together with one heartbeat and overcoming that adversity as a united team. My current high school team is not remotely close to having this type of string positive team culture.  Seeing this senior class graduate will be a good thing overall for our program.  That's not to say I dislike this class or any of its members.  They are good kids by and large.  I like each of them.  They have just been resistant to change. I consider them stuck in their ways with little interest in changing even if it were of benefit to them to do so.  I understand this.  This team's culture has cost them results this season. I'm not sure they realize this and if they do realize it, they don't seem to mind. They are comfortable with who they are and what their culture is.

The challenge from a program standpoint is to make incremental improvements in the programs culture moving forward. Can we develop a stronger positive team culture with next years team? This is the key to making progress in the process. Some refer to it as getting a program over the hump or taking a team to the next level. I am confident that with the right attitude, the right team culture, next seasons team will be better than this seasons team has been.  The 2017 team can achieve to greater heights than this years team dared to dream of provided the team culture makes advances,   If the team members are devoted to making team culture work for us instead of against us great things await.

What happened coach?

Circa 2006 I was coaching goalkeepers at a small high school in western Ohio.  There were 3 players who trained with me. A senior, a sophomore and a freshman.  All would make capable goalkeepers in time. It really came down to the amount of work each chose to put into learning the position.

The senior goalkeeper regularly chose other options when coaches were available to work with the team over the summer months. He missed team camp and then missed the contact days the coaches were allowed with the team.  He arrived to official practice out of shape.

The sophomore goalkeeper never missed any of the summer sessions. Additionally this kid had an unbelievable work ethic and a warriors spirit. He was in fantastic physical condition and set standards for various activities that hold firm today. He was also a bit on the short side for a goalkeeper, but made up for it with athleticism and determination.

The freshman goalkeeper came to us a bit overweight but had the best size overall. Standing approximately 6'3" I new once he rounded into physical shape he could be a good one. The question was would he work to get himself into shape?  He did. Dropping close to 30 pounds through the course of the season. By the time the season ended he was in excellent physical condition having improved his agility, coordination, quickness, speed and strength.

The sophomore won the starting goalkeeper position. By the end of the season the freshman was next on the depth chart.  The senior goalkeeper?  Well, he was naturally disappointed. In fact, he was very upset as was his mother.  His father, being a former college athlete himself recognized his son had prioritized other activities over being a goalkeeper.

I sometimes refer to it as senioritis. Others refer to it as a sense of entitlement. Call it what you will. The results are all too often the same. A senior year of soccer "ruined".   Now exactly who ruined it is often a hotly debated topic. In the story depicted above the senior goalkeeper and his mother blamed myself and our head coach for the decision to go with the sophomore goalkeeper.  Of course, the fact the senior had not put in the same level of work on goalkeeping that the sophomore (and freshman) had was of little consequence to them.  This was his senior year afterall! He "deserved" to be the starting goalkeeper  Being a senior apparently trumped all other considerations and criteria in their minds.

The reality is the starting position went to the most deserving candidate. It went to the young man who put in the effort and devoted the time to the art of goalkeeping.  Choices and priorities.

Coaches do play favorites.

Fact: Coaches play favorites:

They favor those who are accountable

They favor those who are responsible

They favor those who are good teammates

They favor those who work hard

They favor those who accept roles

They favor those who are coachable