1 Coaches Manual In the academy the RESULTS and the MATCHES are irrelevant when compared to training sessions. That s where you IMPROVE your bad points Johan Cruyff
2 Table of Contents 1. Player Development 2. Team Identity (Style of Play) 3. Player Commitment and Attendance 4. Parent Coach Commitment and Attendance 5. Coach Commitment and Attendance 6. Communication 7. Team Meetings 8. Player Meetings 9. Homework 10. Training and Secondary Players 11. Field Locations 12. League Games 13. Inclement Weather 14. Game Days 15. Training Gear and Equipment 16. Camps 17. Goalkeeper Training 18. Team Manager 19. Tournaments 20. Winter Training 21. Contacts
3 1. Player Development Developing a person as well as a player is the number one priority at Blair Football Cub (Blair FC), the following principles of the Blair FC and Southampton way are as follows: The longevity and the journey of Player Development Individual Development > Team Development Decision making that best suits the players (Player Centered Coaching) Player development is the key to the long term success of Blair FC. Our ultimate goal is to produce and develop the best players in Blair, and keep them in Blair. We also want to develop and will welcome players from outside the community. Alongside this, we want to give our players the best opportunities to further their soccer journey and play at the next level, whether that is, high school, college, or professional. We have a duty to our players to put them in the best environment by making it competitive, challenging, and fun. 2. Team identity (Style of Play) Winning is a byproduct of development When we talk about team identity, we are talking about how we want our teams to play. We will train our teams the way we want them to play. Lead our players into decision making through guiding questions, don t allow them to just rely on their athleticism. Characteristics of the Blair FC identity: Technical Play out of the back (refrain from long balls and punts) Perfect the basics Don t practice until you get it right. Practice until you can t get it wrong
4 3. Player Commitment and Attendance We live in a town where our kids play a number of different sports and this is demanding on our parents. However, there is an expectation that our players attend every practice, game, and tournament that the coach puts on. Practices are required, they re not optional. Absences from both practices and games can have damaging effects on player and team development. If a player is to miss a team function they must report it to their coach. Excused absences are the following; school or religious functions, sickness or injury. If players are to miss outside of these excused absences then it is to the coaches discretion to reduce playing time. It is encouraged that the coaches keep an attendance log as this will help accountability and future reference. 4. Parent Coach Commitment and Attendance The role of the parent coach is a thankless job. The hours put into this position is truly admirable. Our club cannot run without them. The role of the parent coach is to attend practices and learn from the coach, as well as implementing and reinforcing what they re teaching from the curriculum. Reinforcing the curriculum will incur when the coach cannot make a training session due to a college or work function, parent coaches will be required to be at all games and pick the team when the coach is unavailable. Administrative duties such as registering for tournaments are also the responsibility of the parent coach. 5. Coach (Trainer) Commitment and Attendance For the most part, our coaches at Blair FC are either students or coaches at Midland University and have a commitment to their institution. However they have a commitment to us at Blair FC, their responsibilities are to conduct two training sessions per week, and be available for games when they can. The key responsibility for the coach is to implement the curriculum. During August 11-25 the coaches will be in preseason and will be responsible to find two days a week
5 in which they can train before continuing with the rest of the season. In the instance that a coach cannot be at training, they must first seek another coach to see if they can cover before handing it over to the parent coach. Communication is key. 6. Communication Communication between coaches, parent coaches, team managers, and parents is imperative of being a successful member of Blair FC. Over communicate opposed to nothing at all. Consider a number of ways with your team manager to communicate to your parents. Email, team snap, Facebook, etc. The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand. We listen to reply. 7. Team Meetings It is highly encouraged that you have a team meeting at the following times: Before Fall Season Before Spring Season End of Spring Season Topics to consider when meeting: Training times and days Attendance policy Arrival time (if we train from 6-730, we start at 6 not arrive at 6) Player and Parent expectations Potential Tournaments
6 8. Player Meetings As coaches it is required that you provided a 6 week evaluation for each player. These evaluations will take place half way through the season and at the end of the season. You can access the evaluation sheet from Paul Cox coxp@midlandu.edu. You must document these and provide a copy to the club. 9. Homework As coaches, it is our duty to ensure that the kids are having fun, learning, and getter better and as a result falling in love with the beautiful game. Assigning homework after each practice is required. Examples of homework are below: Watching a game on TV or live (Our global partner, Southampton will play on NBC every week) Juggling Moves you have done in practice Write something down they want to get better at Team and personal goals YouTube videos Playing during recess at school 10. Training and Secondary Players During the regular season it is important that we are holding a minimum of two training sessions per week. Players will ideally arrive 10-15 minutes prior to the start of the sessions with cleats and shin guards on. EG: If practice is from 5-630, practice starts at 5, not be there at 5). Training with another Blair FC is permitted, however they must seek permission from the coach you play for and the coach you will be practicing with. A secondary player will play for another Blair FC team when he or she does not have practice or a game with their primary team.
7 11. Field Location All training fields are located at the Blair Sports Complex. We may have further options at different locations in the future. Once you have selected your times and days for practices please co-ordinate with field coordinator on which field you will be allocated. 12. League Games When your game schedule has been released, the parent coach will immediately send a copy to the players/parents and the other coaches. Team schedules can be found at the following websites: www.ensa.us www.nebraskaleague.org Each team is responsible for bringing a net and three field flags to every game. These will be distributed to the parent coach prior to the season. Fines may occur if we do not bring these. Player cards are also required at every game and you will be able to get these from the club administrator. 13. Inclement Weather The club president will give the final verdict if the fields will be closed for practice. However if he doesn t give a verdict in time, it is to the discretion of the coach or parent coach to determine the safety of practice that day. Please be sure to communicate efficiently with your team. Facebook and Twitter will be key sources for information.
8 14. Game Days Home games will be played at the soccer complex. For home games we will wear our grey jerseys, black shorts unless specified by the coach. Players will need to arrive 45 minutes prior to kick off. Once the players are ready, the warm up will take place for 25-30 minutes. Players should bring their balls with them. Away game directions can be found at the following website, www.ensa.us and www.nebraskaleague.org. For away games we will wear our black jerseys and black shorts. For away games players should arrive 45 minutes prior to kick off, allowing for traffic. The warm up will take place for 25-30 minutes. Players should bring their balls with them. Players should bring BOTH jerseys to ALL games. 15. Training Gear & Equipment All cones, and bibs, will be provided to the coach from the club. Training gear maybe provided as well. During games, coaches will be required to wear a Blair FC shirt, and shorts or athletic pants. No jeans or leggings. For training it is encouraged to wear Blair FC apparel if you have it. Other acceptable forms of training gear are from our partners, Adidas, Midland, and Southampton, or a nonlogo club color (Black, Silver, and Purple). Coaches will be required to implement training dress code for their players. They must do the following: Assign a colored shirt for practice Assign a colored short for practice Assign a colored sock for practice Unacceptable items of clothing for soccer practice Jeans/Leggings Basketball jerseys or cut offs Tank tops Basketball shorts or shorts below the knee Shin guards over the socks (put the socks over the shin guards) Baseball shoes Tennis shoes (must wear soccer specific shoes)
9 16. Camps Blair FC will be hosting a Foot skills Friday camp during the fall which will be free to all registered players at Blair FC, there will be a fee for non-registered kids. As we grow as a club, we are looking to add in winter camps as well. As coaches you are strongly encouraged to point your players in the direction of these types of camps. 17. Goalkeeper Training We are very fortunate to have our very own qualified goalkeeping coach, Brennen Devaney. Brennen recently completed his NSCAA Level 3 in goalkeeping and will be offering goalkeeper sessions twice a week. Please encourage all interested keepers to contact Brennen regarding session s deveneybl01@midlandu.edu. This will allow him to coordinate his sessions by age group. 18. Team Manager For some teams the parent coach will serve as the team manager and parent coach. Other teams will have; Coach, Parent Coach, and Team Manager. This is not a coaching position. The team manager is a liaison between the coaching staff and the parents. The role of the team manager is to deal with the administrative duties. Communication is the key here. 19. Tournaments It is strongly encouraged that all teams compete in at least two tournaments throughout the calendar year. Individual team fundraising is encouraged to give your teams the best economical chances of entering tournaments. A list of tournaments can be found at, www.nebraskastatesoccer.org/events/tournamentsn.aspx. Determine which tournaments you want to attend early because spots will fill up fast. The club pays for 1 tournament if you attend 2.
10 20. Winter Training As our club grows we are looking to give our players the best opportunity to develop 12 months a year. We are going to explore our options and see which winter facilities we can use. At the end of the season, please contact Paul Cox coxp@midlandu.edu for your desire to have access to winter facilities. 21. Contact Information Thank you for accepting the position of a coach with Blair FC your contribution is extremely important to the success of the players, teams, and club. Please reach out to your respective competitive coordinators for questions. All registration and administrative enquiries can contact the club administrator.