Daddy Coach is not a troll

[Unregistered]

It is an unfortunate tag that is hard to shake even with licensure. Another option is stay where you are. There aren't enough coaches at the lower levels that are enthusiastic and try to learn. Most do what you are thinking - leave once their kids do. IF you really enjoy it then stay.

OP here. Thanks. I do enjoy it. The question is whether I would have any respect if I moved up to coaching Elite/Premier. How would it be received by the parents? Can't play. Can't kick a ball well. Overweight. Gray hair. But in the last 50 games coached, my teams have lost 4. Is a great win-loss record at the lower levels enough? I've accomplished all I can at the lower levels.

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OP here. Thanks. I do enjoy it. The question is whether I would have any respect if I moved up to coaching Elite/Premier. How would it be received by the parents? Can't play. Can't kick a ball well. Overweight. Gray hair. But in the last 50 games coached, my teams have lost 4. Is a great win-loss record at the lower levels enough? I've accomplished all I can at the lower levels.

Step aside

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OP here. Thanks. I do enjoy it. The question is whether I would have any respect if I moved up to coaching Elite/Premier. How would it be received by the parents? Can't play. Can't kick a ball well. Overweight. Gray hair. But in the last 50 games coached, my teams have lost 4. Is a great win-loss record at the lower levels enough? I've accomplished all I can at the lower levels.

If I were a premier parent I wouldn't even know how to look up your old won-lost record, and it wouldn't cross my mind to do so. I would care about your soccer resume, and currently yours would give me pause. That said, if, once you started coaching my kid and I thought you were one of the greats, your resume would be irrelevant.

[Unregistered]

OP here. Thanks. I do enjoy it. The question is whether I would have any respect if I moved up to coaching Elite/Premier. How would it be received by the parents? Can't play. Can't kick a ball well. Overweight. Gray hair. But in the last 50 games coached, my teams have lost 4. Is a great win-loss record at the lower levels enough? I've accomplished all I can at the lower levels.

No premier outfit would hire you. You don't have the necessary prereqs to even be considered (like having played college soccer at the minimum, regardless of your license). Again, you seem to think your wins have merit. They do not. Have you ever been to a premier level game? Are you aware of the vast differences between many of the leagues and clubs within premier? Your kids may win now simply because they were sandbagged into a very low level of soccer (that is how our club is so successful in level 4 and 5 .... the parents and coaches eat up the wins like candy). Your kids may just be bigger, fast, and more interested in soccer than their opponents and enjoy Ws as a result. Once again, I would say you focus too much on your wins as credence that you and the team have done a great job and it really sounds to me that you have nothing else to base their success on (like they play (or continue to try to play) great soccer, even when struggling and overmatched).

[Unregistered]

No premier outfit would hire you. You don't have the necessary prereqs to even be considered (like having played college soccer at the minimum, regardless of your license). Again, you seem to think your wins have merit. They do not. Have you ever been to a premier level game? Are you aware of the vast differences between many of the leagues and clubs within premier? Your kids may win now simply because they were sandbagged into a very low level of soccer (that is how our club is so successful in level 4 and 5 .... the parents and coaches eat up the wins like candy). Your kids may just be bigger, fast, and more interested in soccer than their opponents and enjoy Ws as a result. Once again, I would say you focus too much on your wins as credence that you and the team have done a great job and it really sounds to me that you have nothing else to base their success on (like they play (or continue to try to play) great soccer, even when struggling and overmatched).

OP Here: Painful to hear this, but this is the kind of advice I'm looking for. Though I can assure you that I'm well familiar with the premier stuff. My team/team(s) play/played one Premier level tournament per season as part of the program and we fair pretty well. In our last outing we won more than we lost earning a gold level status on Got Soccer starting with zero points in a single weekend because we made the semi-finals and earned bonus points for defeating teams ranked significantly higher....(honestly that jump in the standings surprised a lot of people including me). I think my team plays like a mid-level Premier team, which is pretty good considering the lack of time spent training. Further, my kids (both my actual offspring and the kids on my team) have been borrowed by the Premier team(s) when they are in pinch for personnel and they can hold their own and sometimes excel based mostly on Soccer IQ and a strong will to do well. I try to instill a desire to win, and to find a way to win, in the kids I train.

That being said, the area I'm from isn't known for the highest level soccer. I'm saying my kids do compare reasonably against the Elite/Premier stuff we have locally, which is where my interest lies.

But yeah, maybe I wouldn't be accepted without experience playing the game, regardless of actual ability if I'm given the chance.

[Unregistered]

Sorry, but the more detail you provide the less likely you sound as a reasonable hire.

W/L's mean very little in developing a player, and the reference to Got Soccer pretty much nails it.

I second the referee recommendation.

[Unregistered]

Seems like you are a ripe candidate to take up reffing. And, I don't mean that as sarcasm at all.

Know the game well enough.

Appear to want to stay involved.

No kids to tie you down.

Everyone needs good refs.

Agreed. That's what I did and it works out great.

[Unregistered]

If you pay attention here, you might even realize I've posted here before. I'm not from there.

I have a serious question and I swear I'm not a troll. My club has three levels of soccer. A Rec level, an advanced Rec level (some would call it "Rec Plus") and the Elite/Premier Level.

I coach a team in the middle. We are sort of like a select rec program without travel.

Here's the question. I've got two strikes against me because I'm a Daddy Coach, and I never actually played soccer. So yeah...I can't juggle. I'm not great at kicking the ball either. I'm an older guy too, which doesn't help.

Again, I promise I'm serious here. I've been coaching for several years. And I've diligently tried to improve my skills as a coach. I have a license and a couple certificates.

For the last 2 years (and now working on my third year), I've been very successful working with my teams which run the range from U12 to U15s. In my middle bracket, I have coached my kids to a lot of wins. I know it's all about development, but my teams tend to be older and in this middle tier, most parents and kids want to see wins.

No kidding now, I've figured out that in the last two years, my teams have won over 90% of their games in the local area. If we want to lose, we have to enter an elite/premier tournament.

But the problem is that this is my resume.

Should I try to move up? Would you, as parents, accept a coach at the Elite/Premier that had that kind of win/loss record without experience playing the game? (I'm serious). I estimate my team(s) have lost only 5 games in about 50 played.

Really not a troll. What do you think? My youngest kid is outgrowing the team, and that's the last of my kids in youth soccer. Trying to decide what to do next.

In a million years, no reasonable soccer parent would ever pay to have you coach their kid beyond the age of u14. You never played. You have zero contacts with college coaches. You have zero experience with the recruiting process. You are a Daddy Coach. You take yourself much too seriously.

[Unregistered]

In a million years, no reasonable soccer parent would ever pay to have you coach their kid beyond the age of u14. You never played. You have zero contacts with college coaches. You have zero experience with the recruiting process. You are a Daddy Coach. You take yourself much too seriously.

If you are paying your coach for who they know and what they know it sounds like you are the delusional one.

[Unregistered]

In a million years, no reasonable soccer parent would ever pay to have you coach their kid beyond the age of u14. You never played. You have zero contacts with college coaches. You have zero experience with the recruiting process. You are a Daddy Coach. You take yourself much too seriously.

OP here: I honestly hadn't thought about that aspect of it. That does give me pause.

[Unregistered]

In a million years, no reasonable soccer parent would ever pay to have you coach their kid beyond the age of u14. You never played. You have zero contacts with college coaches. You have zero experience with the recruiting process. You are a Daddy Coach. You take yourself much too seriously.

OP here again: Oh, forgot to say this...word of mouth is a powerful thing. I have no trouble finding parents who want their kids on my team(s). Some elect not to move their kids up to Premier/Elite because they like the progress and the wins. Parents seek me out now...mostly from rival teams.

[Unregistered]

OP here again: Oh, forgot to say this...word of mouth is a powerful thing. I have no trouble finding parents who want their kids on my team(s). Some elect not to move their kids up to Premier/Elite because they like the progress and the wins. Parents seek me out now...mostly from rival teams.

Sounds like you got your answers, but will continue on the W/L thing.

Why even ask the question?

[Unregistered]

In a million years, no reasonable soccer parent would ever pay to have you coach their kid beyond the age of u14. You never played. You have zero contacts with college coaches. You have zero experience with the recruiting process. You are a Daddy Coach. You take yourself much too seriously.

So many people are jumping to far reaching conclusions. OP doesn't seem to want to be getting an A license and coaching an ECNL team. There are needs for coaches at all levels. While he still has much to learn it's unnecessary to squash someone who wants to improve himself and become a better coach.

[Unregistered]

OP here again: Oh, forgot to say this...word of mouth is a powerful thing. I have no trouble finding parents who want their kids on my team(s). Some elect not to move their kids up to Premier/Elite because they like the progress and the wins. Parents seek me out now...mostly from rival teams.

OP = just keep coaching if you like it. DOn't listen to the TS dbags who think they know it all. Youth soccer needs good coaches who care and take the time to learn all the time, at all levels. Just if you want to coach at a higher level you will need extra training.

[Unregistered]

OP = just keep coaching if you like it. DOn't listen to the TS dbags who think they know it all. Youth soccer needs good coaches who care and take the time to learn all the time, at all levels. Just if you want to coach at a higher level you will need extra training.

What's starting to grate on me, personally, is the constant references to winning and records and such, and not enough on player development.