Team Management
Jonas Holdeman
Knoxville, Tennessee
January 1992
Team Infrastructure. Team management begins with the establishment of a management team. Throughout most of its first 25 years, AYSO existed and grew in isolation from much of the soccer activity in the United States. Of necessity, AYSO developed as a total, self-contained entity. As a result, AYSO has a unique, integrated support infrastructure from the national level to the community level.
At the national level, AYSO provides leadership and direction in the form of the Board of Directors, policy statements, bylaws, rules and regulations, protection of players and adult leaders through nationally administered liability and property damage insurance and the accident reimbursement program, a computerized registration of players and volunteers, fiscal control through the controller and accounting department which oversees national and Regional operating practices and assures compliance with IRS requirements for tax-exempt organizations, a purchasing department which provides items for the Region including instructional materials for coaching and refereeing and patches, pins, certificates, etc., to recognize volunteers, the coaching and refereeing commissions which provide technical advice to the Board, provide curricula for technical instruction, and organize instruction of national level courses.
The support continues, through the Section and Area staff, to the community. At the community level, your Region organizes volunteers to handle publicity and registration of players, assignment of players and coaches to teams, obtaining fields and scheduling of practices and games, safety, accident reporting and claims, newsletters and division coordinators to handle communications, recruitment and training of coaches and officials, team uniforms, facility maintenance, setting and receiving registration fees, soliciting donations and raising funds and assuring the proper disbursement of funds in support of activities, and perhaps organizing playoffs and tournaments.
Organizing the team support infrastructure is the responsibility of the coach. Proper support of the team requires one or more assistant coaches, communications, organization of car pools when necessary, drinks for games, fan support and control, and planning for team parties and other outside activities, which aid in team bonding.
Avoiding Burnout. An AYSO community soccer program will be successful and enjoyable for all if everyone does his job. Participation by volunteers can also be very stressful if one or more volunteers either through choice or necessity takes on too many responsibilities. Over commitment is a trap many volunteers get into because they want the program, or their part of it, to succeed and cannot plan properly or are not effective in seeking help. We hope you will follow the advice given here and not try to do everything yourself.
You, as team coach, are expected to be the technical expert for the team. You are responsible for player training and organizing the players into a team (in some cases a technically experienced person such as an older AYSO player or a high school or college player may be available to provide training in which case your role may be more that of a team manager). If you spend a large part of your available time making telephone calls, organizing car pools and drink schedules, activities which can be carried out by any of the team parents, then you may be overburdening yourself and not making best use of your soccer expertise. Many coaches who do all the work end up burning out and quitting.
Team Parents Meeting. For these reasons and a variety of others we shall discuss, it is important to have a meeting with all of the team parents at least once each season. Ideally this meeting should be held when practice starts for the season and must be held in advance of the first game. In some cases there may be a large number of late registrations, in which situation an early meeting will miss the parents of the late registrants. You must be the judge of the timing in this instance.
Some coaches hold their team parents meeting at the practice field immediately before or after a practice session. Since younger children depend on their parents for transportation, the parents should be there anyway and this would seem like a good time. Such a meeting location is surrounded by distractions and some parents have to pick up or deliver other children to their practice or other activities, so the practice field environment is not conducive to effective communications.
A better arrangement would be to hold the team parents meeting in your home or the home of one of the parents, without the players. Insist that at least one parent of each player attend. Serve coffee or soft drinks to help create a relaxed, friendly atmosphere where you and the parents get to know each other. These parents are to be your support staff and it is better if they support you and each other willingly.
At this point, coach, you may be feeling impatient, wanting to get to the more technical aspects of team management. Please bear with us because from experience, this is important and we will get to the technical stuff in due time.
Players and coaches alike get involved in youth soccer for a variety of reasons. Some like the social interaction, being with others. Some are seeking the attention and respect of their peers. Some enjoy the challenge of learning and competition. Some players are there against their choice because their parents feel that playing soccer will be good for them and some coaches are reluctantly there because their child's team needed a coach. If the players, parents and coach have similar goals, then the seasons experience will be enjoyable. When there are disparate goals, conflicts can arise, for example when the players and parents are there for social reasons while the coach is very demanding and competitive, or vice versa. Differences in emphasis and goals should be resolved through discussion at the team parents meeting.
At the meeting it is suggested that the first item of business be introductions. The coach should introduce himself. The parents should introduce themselves in turn, telling a little bit about themselves and their child and what their goals in participation in soccer are. The coach should explain his goals, and if there is a disparity, agreement on the goals for the team should be negotiated. The players should also have a chance to express their goals at a different time and their desires factored in. This is particularly important as players get older.
The coach should explain his policies. Players are expected to arrive on time for practice and games and if the parent does not stay, the parents should pick the players up promptly afterwards. During games the coach is in total charge. Parents may shout encouragement to the team, but no one should berate any player, no one other than the coach should offer instruction to any player, and no one should criticize or berate any official. The coach should explain his policy for substitution, emphasizing that every child in attendance (barring injury or excessively late arrival) must be allowed to play half of each game. Each player should have a soccer ball with his name on it to practice at home and bring it to team practice.
There may be times when the coach cannot attend practice or games. A typical team, particularly as players get older, may have a wide range of experience and ability. It is difficult for the coach to address the range of needs at the same time. For these and other reasons it is important to have an assistant coach. If you have not already recruited an assistant, the parents meeting would be a good time to request (and insist if necessary) this assistance. Encourage parents attending practice to assist shagging balls or with other activities when needed.
Communications should be the next item of business. For rapid dissemination of information, the telephone tree is most effective. Three volunteers are needed, a primary contact, a secondary telephoner, and a backup. All must have an accurate list of team members with telephone numbers. When a message, such as cancellation of practice because of rain, needs to be passed quickly, the coach calls the primary contact, who calls the secondary contact. The later two then split the list and call each team member with the message. The backup is used when one of the other telephoners is not available.
For other communications, a team newsletter is often popular. One parent becomes the newsletter editor. The newsletter may be printed and distributed weekly describing the previous weeks game mentioning each player's contributions and accomplishments.
Water must be provided for each game, and frequently oranges and/or soft drinks are provided after the game. It is suggested that one family bring ice water and cups and another bring after-game drinks each week. A volunteer is needed to arrange and publish a drink schedule, and call the designated parents each week to remind them of their responsibilities.
A nice finishing touch for the season is to have a team party. One or more volunteers should be designated to organize the team party.
If team pictures are desired, one volunteer should be designated to organize this.
After the parent's meeting, the coach should provide each family a player list which includes the coach and assistant coach's name, address and telephone number, the players' names, address, birthdate, telephone number, and parents first names (and last name if different from the child). Also make sure each family has a schedule of games.
Establish Goals. At the end of the year, roughly half of the players will move up to the next division. The coach must have prepared them for this transition. If the coach is to do this, clearly the coach must know what the demands will be. Thus the coach must establish two types of goals, personal and team.
Your personal goals should include preparation to coach in the next higher division. Plan to attend some coaching clinics. If none are available, ask the Regional chief coach to organize some. Suggest topics which are of interest to you. Talk with coaches of older divisions and perhaps assist them with some of their practices. Find a more experienced coach and ask him to be your mentor. Talk with referees who officiate in the older divisions.
Establish goals for the team. Write out a week by week schedule of topics to be taught. It is more important for the players to learn than to win games. If it is your goal for the team to win the next game, then the players must use those skills and tactics that they are most comfortable with, in which case they are not learning something new. If, however, they are encouraged to use new, recently-learned techniques, they will make mistakes and possibly lose games they might otherwise have won. But in the long run, say by season's end, they will be a stronger team than one which concentrated only on winning every game.
Dealing with Injuries. Remember that all players must wear shoes and shinguards at all games, and it is recommended that they wear them at practices. The shinguards must be worn under and covered by socks. Never return a player to the game if you feel that the injury is serious or could become serious through continued play. It is well established that injuries frequently come in pairs. In compensating for the effects of one injury, the player may incur a second injury in a different location.
When an injury occurs which requires treatment and may result in an Accident Reimbursement Plan (ARP) claim, be sure an accident notification form is completed and returned to the Safety Director, who will send a copy to the AYSO national office. This form may be filled out by a coach or official or the Safety Director. The form includes the name of the player, the date, the nature of the injury, and the name of a witness to the accident. The form should be filled out and returned to the Safety Director promptly, or in any case within 90 days.
After a more serious injury, another form stating that the child is fit to return to play must be filled out and sent to the Safety Director. It is important that the player is fully recovered before returning to play, because the ARP does not provide coverage for reinjury.
Preparation for Practice. When planning practices for the week, you have two sources of topics, your long-range plan for the season and your observations from the previous game. Decide what you will do at each practice and what special materials (cones, chalkboard, extra balls, etc.) you will need. Plan a warmup activity which leads into the main topics. Do not try to teach too many different things at one practice. Devise drills and activities specific to the topics taught. Conclude with a game-like activity which emphasizes the topic taught.
Preparation for Games. Find out which, if any, players will be absent from the next game. Work out your substitution schedule in advance of the game. Try to arrange equal playing time for all players. Players develop through playing, and if weak players are only given the minimum required playing time they will likely remain weak players. Also your team should learn to play without your star players in preparation for games when the stars may be absent. When the substitution schedule is prepared in advance, the coach can devote more time to observing the game, rather than thinking who will be substituted next.
Prepare a line-up card before the game. Bring a first aid kit, and balls for pregame warmup. Establish a set of customary warmup activities so the players can get started with little supervision. The purpose of the warmup is to prepare the players mentally as well as physically for the game to follow. Select co-captains for the game and instruct them as to their duties, responsibilities and choices.
Coaching During Games. Games are the time where the players put the skills and tactics developed at practice and training sessions to the test. It is the time for the coach to observe and assess the effectiveness of his prior teaching. If his team is having difficulty handling some strategy or tactic used by the opposing team, then the coach must accept this and plan to correct the deficiencies at practice. Take notes to avoid forgetting things which need to be covered. Some minor deficiencies can be corrected; a player having trouble with an opponent can be called the player to the touchline for a short conference. Sometimes a few words can remind the team of tactics taught earlier but forgotten in the excitement of the game.
More likely, the coach will have the opportunity to influence the outcome of the game through team management. A player consistently beaten by a much bigger or faster opponent can be switched with another on the field to reduce the mismatch, or a player winded or showing fatigue temporarily switched to a less demanding position. If the team understands several systems of play, the system may be changed to gain tactical advantage. The better trained a team is, the more management options are available to the coach.
Halftime gives the coach the opportunity to converse with the team. Give them a few minutes to get water and calm down. Ask them what problems they are having and what suggestions they might have for solution. Any advice from the coach should be short and concise. Offer solutions, not criticism.
After the Game. After the game, give the team time to get their drinks and then have them gather around the coach for a post-game conference. It may be appropriate at this time to recognize success and individual accomplishments, particularly if the team lost. Do not be critical of the team's or individual's performance or shortcomings at this time. Save the corrections for the next practice. Before dismissing them, inquire whether there are any injuries that the coach needs to be aware of.
Sportsmanship. In the area of sportsmanship, the coach should set a good example for the team. Be fair, courteous, and maintain self-control. Introduce yourself to the opposing coach and the officials before the game. After the game, be sure the officials are thanked for officiating the game, even if they did a poor job; they are probably learning just as you are. See that the parents of your players are respectful of the officials and the opposing team. Recognize good play on the part of the opposing players as well as your own.
Discourage intentional fouling by your players. Recognize though, that the team or player who never commits a foul through misjudgment is probably playing below their capability. Players and parents must recognize that fouls resulting from misjudgment will occur on both sides and this should not be the occasion for outrage. In any case play must be kept safe. The team must accept responsibility for the win or loss and not seek to place the blame elsewhere. The team must accept the responsibility for winning the ball back from the opponents rather than claiming foul and expecting the officials to give them the ball. A team which is ahead playing a tough opponent should fight to maintain that lead rather than hoping for the time to run out. Runners who look back to see where the opponent is frequently lose, as do soccer teams who pray for a fast clock to protect their lead.
Managing Tournaments You may have the occasion to take your team to a weekend tournament. Tournament play brings in a number of new considerations.
Prevention and management of injuries is another matter for concern. During any game, players may experience minor scrapes, bruises, sprains and sprains. These are usually inconsequential because they have time to recover before the next game the following week. In weekend tournaments they may play two or three games each day for two or more days in a row, so minor injuries have a chance to compound before they can heal. The team must have a first aid kit with supplies to deal with commonly occurring problems, and there must be someone to attend to immediate problems. The prime responsibility for knowledge in managing minor injuries rests with the coach. At the same time, the coach has responsibility for the players on the field during the game. Thus the team should have a second trained person who can handle minor problems during the game.
The first step is preparing for the tournament by assuring that the team is physically fit. They must have endurance to recover quickly from the demands of the game to avoid excessive fatigue. Beware the well-meaning parent who buys their child a new pair of soccer shoes for the tournament, for this often results in blisters the first game so the player may be disabled for the rest of the games. In hot or humid weather it is difficult for the players to take fluids in as fast as they are lost. A dehydrated condition results in a decrease in athletic performance as a minimum, and can result in heat exhaustion or heat stroke at the worst. Players should be given fluids before the game so they start prehydrated. Provide fluids during the course of the game by substitution or bringing them to the touchline individually for water. Of course this means that the team should be trained to temporarily fill in for the absent player. After the game, continue rehydration until the next game, or through the evening. After each game and before the following one inquire as to minor injuries which may have escaped your notice so you can deal with them before the injuries get worse. In this respect you must have the confidence of the players so they will talk to you and not hide the injury for fear of not being allowed to play or the desire to appear tough to their team mates. During games, substitute frequently to allow the players to rest, and switch positions on the field, that is move a player from a position which requires a high work rate to a more restful position to allow a chance to recover when necessary. Clearly this means that each player should be able to play every position. Fatigue can affect the team's mental attitude. Often teams will go flat midway through a tournament. Thus you should plan time to prepare the team mentally as well as physically for competition before each game.
Parents can scout out the location of each playing field in advance, and report on playing conditions. They can also locate places to get water, food, rest, and find laundry facilities and emergency medical services.
This review was originally prepared for use with a new AYSO U10 coaching course, but was not adopted for that course. It is intended to be a comprehensive review of youth team management. The author solicits suggestions for improvement.