Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

A coaching badge or qualification proves that you went on the course, nothing more.

Collapse
X
  •  
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    A coaching badge or qualification proves that you went on the course, nothing more.

    So, I’ve got a friend that did Psychology at University. Whenever we’re in the pub or at a party and he meets new people, eventually it comes up in conversation, and as soon as it does people say things like ‘did it make you look at people differently?’ or ‘are you analyzing me now?!’. He is an analytical man, he takes situations and breaks them down, he gives decent advice, but is he that kind of guy because he studied psychology, or did he study psychology because he’s that kind of guy?

    The thing with training in something or studying something is that whilst you can learn skills and techniques, as discussed in the ‘It’s not what you know’ blog, it will always come down to a question of attitude and approach. I did my coaching badges prior to it being a compulsory, or certainly highly recommended, element of working with children. I wanted to learn, I wanted to develop my coaching but I also wanted to test my own beliefs and approach against what was being taught and what was being sold as the ‘right way’ to coach.

    People are different, some are open to new ideas, some believe that they know best and will resolutely hold onto that opinion even in the face of evidence or popular opinion. I’m quite stubborn, but luckily my personal beliefs, based upon a lot of experience and observation, marry quite closely with the general approach being taught within FA courses.

    If what I had heard or what had been given within the coaching courses that I’ve attended had been conflicting with my own beliefs would I have simply stopped believing what I believe and accepted their word for it? Probably not. However, I was open to ideas and approaches and the courses that I have done, have challenged my thinking and I have changed as a coach as a result.

    At this time, most clubs and leagues strongly suggest attendance on a Level 1 course if you are coaching youth football. Responses that I’ve heard from people attending range from the positive to ‘waste of time, I knew all of that already’. If you believed that children learn best by being competitive at the earliest possible point to build resilience and a winning mentality then would being made to go on a Level 1 change your mind? If you believed that children develop best within an environment where the emphasis is completely on fun and participation with no competition at all then would a Level 1 course alter your opinion? In both scenarios it might challenge that belief but if you do the right things in the course you’ll be fine to go back to your club and coach your group as you see fit without any oversight or challenge unless you overstep the mark so far that you reach a safeguarding concern.

    A coaching badge or qualification proves that you went on the course, that you stayed until the end, and that you learnt enough techniques, drills and skills to pass the assessment phase. It does not, particularly in the earlier courses, mean that you subscribe to the FA’s ideas regarding how children develop, that you will use those techniques or approaches with your players or that you will coach in a certain way. You might be an amazing coach who took what they needed from the course and adapted it into your own fantastic sessions, or you might be a poor coach who copies the drills with absolute accuracy but brings an approach and an ethos that completely misses the point making them ineffective.

    I know a coach, who has done courses and has badges, who has spent 20 minutes of an hour-long session doing corner routines with 7 year olds on more than one occasion. You may think that that is a perfectly sensible thing to do with a group that do play matches in which corners will occur; you might think that that a 7 year old should be spending time with the ball at their feet not standing in a penalty area waiting for another child to cross it. Personally, I very strongly believe in the latter or those two options. Did my coaching qualifications tell me that? Yes, but more importantly I already completely believed it to be the case.

    It is not my job, nor the job of this or any other website to judge you as a coach, and writing a blog does not qualify me to say what is right or wrong, it just provides a platform to express an opinion. That opinion is that coaching is about identity and ethos, about knowing who you are and how you will approach your job developing young players. The FA have a clear, and considered belief on how to coach children to develop well rounded and capable adult players, and this is consistent through their courses and qualifications. If you are coaching and doing it in a way that is not in-line with that approach, whether you’ve done a badge or not, then nobody can stop you, provided that you don’t do anything too wrong, but is declaring yourself a qualified coach if you aren’t coaching with the ethos of the qualification really ok?

    #2
    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    ...
    A coaching badge or qualification proves that you went on the course, that you stayed until the end, and that you learnt enough techniques, drills and skills to pass the assessment phase. ....

    ..., but is declaring yourself a qualified coach if you aren’t coaching with the ethos of the qualification really ok?
    A coaching license is like any license, it is a minimal qualification standard. Like you said: you learned enough to pass the assessment.

    Just because you are a licensed driver, that doesn't mean you are a good driver. But it does allow you to say that you have met the basic qualifications for driving.

    Comment


      #3
      Duh. Anyone who has a a child do any type of sport is aware of that, even more so in soccer. Doing a job well isn't just about a piece of paper.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
        Duh. Anyone who has a a child do any type of sport is aware of that, even more so in soccer. Doing a job well isn't just about a piece of paper.
        you would be surprised by how many parents count on this. Parents don't really know the game so they have to trust in the system. If the club tell you this guy has all these licenses and you don't know any better, they got you. The clubs know that parents leave through their kids and abuse the S H I T out of it. By the time you figured it out, the season is over!
        Hence the club hopping!

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          you would be surprised by how many parents count on this. Parents don't really know the game so they have to trust in the system. If the club tell you this guy has all these licenses and you don't know any better, they got you. The clubs know that parents leave through their kids and abuse the S H I T out of it. By the time you figured it out, the season is over!
          Hence the club hopping!
          Op here and I agree. Very few parents played the game themselves let alone at a high level. In the other big sports there's so many that used to play, love the sports and follow them passionately. They might not always be licensed but they're out there volunteering with their enthusiasm and experience. There's more of them to go around. Most soccer parents know they don't have a clue so they rely on the "experts". Some of those so called experts are no better than used car salesmen

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
            you would be surprised by how many parents count on this. Parents don't really know the game so they have to trust in the system. If the club tell you this guy has all these licenses and you don't know any better, they got you. The clubs know that parents leave through their kids and abuse the S H I T out of it. By the time you figured it out, the season is over!
            Hence the club hopping!
            Crap, that was painful to read and probably pretty accurate in many cases.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
              you would be surprised by how many parents count on this. Parents don't really know the game so they have to trust in the system. If the club tell you this guy has all these licenses and you don't know any better, they got you. The clubs know that parents leave through their kids and abuse the S H I T out of it. By the time you figured it out, the season is over!
              Hence the club hopping!
              Same thing can be said of so many different professions. Just because "All of our home inspectors are fully licensed" does not mean your home inspector has any clue about residential construction.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                Same thing can be said of so many different professions. Just because "All of our home inspectors are fully licensed" does not mean your home inspector has any clue about residential construction.
                Try again!

                Comment


                  #9
                  "Our real estate salespeople are fully licensed" does not mean that the realtor can actually tell you if the property is a good investment.

                  "Our security officers are fully licensed" does not mean that the rent a cop has any clue about how to protect people in case of a real emergency.

                  "All teachers in this state must be licensed to be in the classroom" Do you know how dumb some teachers are?

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                    "Our real estate salespeople are fully licensed" does not mean that the realtor can actually tell you if the property is a good investment.

                    "Our security officers are fully licensed" does not mean that the rent a cop has any clue about how to protect people in case of a real emergency.

                    "All teachers in this state must be licensed to be in the classroom" Do you know how dumb some teachers are?
                    the last 2 make since. I guess when we are talking about soccer in this country; there are many licensed coaches but the product on the field is still below par.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      I have a lot of respect for youth coaches. I am a college coach and although I have masters in sports management, I have to admit that I wouldn't be a very good youth coach. Pretty much my job consists of managing the team. Therefore, I recruit players who understand the game and are technically solid. I deal more with the cohesion of the team rather than the technical aspect of a player.

                      Youth sports are very complex. Therefore, coaches have to use different learning strategies in order to make sure that everyone is getting the right instruction. I don't believe that youth coaches get as much respect as they should deserve. People (especially parents) tend to forget that without them many kids wouldn't have the opportunity to learn the game.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                        I have a lot of respect for youth coaches. I am a college coach and although I have masters in sports management, I have to admit that I wouldn't be a very good youth coach. Pretty much my job consists of managing the team. Therefore, I recruit players who understand the game and are technically solid. I deal more with the cohesion of the team rather than the technical aspect of a player.

                        Youth sports are very complex. Therefore, coaches have to use different learning strategies in order to make sure that everyone is getting the right instruction. I don't believe that youth coaches get as much respect as they should deserve. People (especially parents) tend to forget that without them many kids wouldn't have the opportunity to learn the game.
                        Amen.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                          I have a lot of respect for youth coaches. I am a college coach and although I have masters in sports management, I have to admit that I wouldn't be a very good youth coach. Pretty much my job consists of managing the team. Therefore, I recruit players who understand the game and are technically solid. I deal more with the cohesion of the team rather than the technical aspect of a player.

                          Youth sports are very complex. Therefore, coaches have to use different learning strategies in order to make sure that everyone is getting the right instruction. I don't believe that youth coaches get as much respect as they should deserve. People (especially parents) tend to forget that without them many kids wouldn't have the opportunity to learn the game.
                          That is definitely true - working with kids and even at specific ages is no easy task. There are plenty of good and well intentioned coaches out there but often times clubs and the general mess that is youth soccer gets in the way. Plus parents who don't have a clue either

                          Comment

                          Previously entered content was automatically saved. Restore or Discard.
                          Auto-Saved
                          x
                          Insert: Thumbnail Small Medium Large Fullsize Remove  
                          x
                          Working...
                          X