For 2017-2018, we have decided to partner with Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA), and it's part of Stanford University's Department of Athletics. This non-profit organization has been around since 1998, and its mission is to "transform youth sports so sports can transform youth.
PCA includes three main Positive Coaching themes. They are:
- To redefine a "winner," so that a winner is an individual who's given maximum effort, continually learned and improved, and is not afraid of mistakes.
- To honor the game, by respecting the rules, officials, teammates, opponents and self.
- To fill players' emotional tanks, by giving them more positive feedback than criticism.
As the upcoming season approaches, coaches look over the team roster, dust off the practice drills and rule books, and find ourselves thinking about the bigger picture. What are the goals for this team? Can we go undefeated? Can we do better than .500? Are these even the right questions to be asking? Maybe we should just have fun and not care about the win-loss record? What skills do I want my players to learn? Do I want these players to learn "life" skills above and beyond the specific athletic skills they'll learn -- skills such as discipline and teamwork?
We've been offering soccer programs for over 40 years now. Over this period of time, I've noticed that my goals as a coach have changed. I've moved from a "gotta have a winning season" coach to a "gotta use the sports experience to help teach my players 'life lessons' that will help them succeed in every aspect of their lives" coach.
Most of the kids we coach won't pursue competitive sports after they graduate from high school, and many will quit by age 13. In fact, only 1 percent of all youth athletes play sports in college. So, I ask myself, is it ultimately the most beneficial to spend most of my time teaching kids a skill that they're rarely going to use after eight to ten years? Sure, they need to know how to dribble, pass, and shoot a soccer ball. But why not concentrate more of our efforts on helping them develop into successful individuals who know how to work hard, cooperate with those around them and who respect others?
Through our national AYSO coaching program, and our 2017-2018 partnership with PCA, we encourage each parent to be a "Positive Coach" and understand two goals for every season: to try our hardest to win, and to help my players use their soccer experience so that they can be successful in every aspect of their lives. If our teams can accomplish these objectives, then we'll have had a winning season.