Maple is going...going...gone

[Unregistered]

With regards to the coaching license, again its nonsense. These alphabet licenses are a joke. It means absolutely nothing. Give me a coach that has playing experience, is organized, knowledgeable when it comes to soccer, is passionate and is great with kids over some clown that was able to get a week off from work to attend some pointless week long seminar about how to coach kids.

There are alphabet licenses that are a joke (I'll throw out E for starters, D is up for debate). But your post is a joke in regards to what you're implying about A-C licenses, which require a huge amount of time and effort to achieve and have extremely low passing marks (when I got my D, the desired pass rate the higher ups were pushing was 25%).

[Unregistered]

In case you haven't noticed there is minimal competition at the rec/town level .

Most Town Travel teams are better than the teams in the lower NEP/NEC divisions. Of course there are exceptions, on a team by team basis, but overall the competition level is fine. Town Travel is appropriate for 80% of the players in NEP. That said do both, the more touches the better, assuming both have decent coaches.

[Unregistered]

Ok, enough of this crap. NEP isn't some elite league that only the best of the best get in to. Maple wasn't that way either. As a matter of fact every "premier league" in every state is built the same way. So stop with this ridiculous nonsense. There is a hierarchy within the league and that's perfectly fine. In case you haven't noticed there is minimal competition at the rec/town level and the landscape of soccer has changed. Lower divisions are created for kids and families that have a keen interest in having their children play soccer and learn how to play soccer. Yes there are some parents that have some grand elusions that their kid will make Division 1, but not all parents think that way. The higher divisions are for the "higher end players". The reason its watered down isn't because everyone is accepted its because there are to many clubs and the best kids are spread amongst all of the clubs instead of them all being on one state team. There is absolutely no way in this current environment that they will all be placed on the same team. Every club, regardless of size will more often then not find a spot for a child.

With regards to the coaching license, again its nonsense. These alphabet licenses are a joke. It means absolutely nothing. Give me a coach that has playing experience, is organized, knowledgeable when it comes to soccer, is passionate and is great with kids over some clown that was able to get a week off from work to attend some pointless week long seminar about how to coach kids.

Ok I am off my soap box to go back into the shadows.

Totally agree with the first paragraph of your post but not the 2nd. In my experience the A-C licensed coaches are a cut above. This is a general statement, there are always exceptions. Learning how to be a good coach is similar to learning how to become a good teacher. You don't just become a good coach or good teacher, there's education that comes along with it. Some of it is on the job and some of it is formal. Getting an A license is no joke either. It's not easy.

[Unregistered]

Totally agree with the first paragraph of your post but not the 2nd. In my experience the A-C licensed coaches are a cut above. This is a general statement, there are always exceptions. Learning how to be a good coach is similar to learning how to become a good teacher. You don't just become a good coach or good teacher, there's education that comes along with it. Some of it is on the job and some of it is formal. Getting an A license is no joke either. It's not easy.

So the alphabet license comment was obviously a bit to far. I should have expounded a bit and for that I apologize. Coaches that are reaching the highest levels of certifications are definitely more often than not at a different level specifically A licensed coaches which requires a lot of work. I absolutely did not intend to minimize the amount of work and dedication it takes to achieve this level. Again I apologize for not going into more detail on that. For the sake at not being long winded I will leave it at that.

[Unregistered]

I think there is some serious self promotion out there. There are literally hundreds of A-C licensed coaches on the fields right now who are terrible. Just terrible. And not just terrible "shouldn't be coaching kids" terrible, actually bad coaches who lack knowledge.

I think there is a crisis of qualified coaches right now in New England. There are probably more coaches who'd consider "okay" than there were 15 years ago. But there are way too many teams. And coaches are spread thin.

I'd say right now, if your team is in the NEP (let's face it, your team isn't in the NSL anymore), there is a 75% chance or greater that your coach isn't good enough to help your son or daughter reach their potential. And that's up and down the divisions.

I think you used to be able to point to the ECNL, top level NPL/old Region 1 Premier league, MAPLE Division 1, whatever and say "Those are the top coaches" but I think that is far far from the truth today. Many of those coaches are there now because of revenue decisions and mergers. Merit means nothing in today's landscape. If you look at your NPL/ECNL teams, aside from a couple of really "cut above" coaches, you'll be shocked at how comparably poor these coaches are. On the Girls side in particular, Breakers DA and Stars/Scorpions ECNL. Some really bad coaches in those teams, alongside some of the better around.

There are probably coaches on here posting about their A, B, or C license, that are saying that they're a "cut above" but that's laughable.

The level of coaching on the whole right now in New England is a real issue. I mean, it maybe something that is sorted out in time. We've gone through some major changes in the landscape, with all the mergers and expansion. Maybe things will sort themselves out down the road, in 5-10 years. But RIGHT NOW things are dire.

[Unregistered]

I think there is some serious self promotion out there. There are literally hundreds of A-C licensed coaches on the fields right now who are terrible. Just terrible. And not just terrible "shouldn't be coaching kids" terrible, actually bad coaches who lack knowledge.

I think there is a crisis of qualified coaches right now in New England. There are probably more coaches who'd consider "okay" than there were 15 years ago. But there are way too many teams. And coaches are spread thin.

I'd say right now, if your team is in the NEP (let's face it, your team isn't in the NSL anymore), there is a 75% chance or greater that your coach isn't good enough to help your son or daughter reach their potential. And that's up and down the divisions.

I think you used to be able to point to the ECNL, top level NPL/old Region 1 Premier league, MAPLE Division 1, whatever and say "Those are the top coaches" but I think that is far far from the truth today. Many of those coaches are there now because of revenue decisions and mergers. Merit means nothing in today's landscape. If you look at your NPL/ECNL teams, aside from a couple of really "cut above" coaches, you'll be shocked at how comparably poor these coaches are. On the Girls side in particular, Breakers DA and Stars/Scorpions ECNL. Some really bad coaches in those teams, alongside some of the better around.

There are probably coaches on here posting about their A, B, or C license, that are saying that they're a "cut above" but that's laughable.

The level of coaching on the whole right now in New England is a real issue. I mean, it maybe something that is sorted out in time. We've gone through some major changes in the landscape, with all the mergers and expansion. Maybe things will sort themselves out down the road, in 5-10 years. But RIGHT NOW things are dire.

Like anything else, coaching effectively for a specific age group is a skill that needs to be learned and practiced. The youngest kids in our system tend to get volunteers who know nothing about the sport or Soccer Dads who know nothing about developing kids in our Rec programs. In our Premier programs, the youngest kids get the youngest coaches with the least experience. You end up with kids who don't make the cut at the premier level because they don't have the fundamentals and even the kids who make the cut have no soccer IQ and make terrible decisions on and off the ball. All comes down to poor coaching and a pay2play model that is hypercompetitive at the younger ages.

As to licensing, it is a start, but it isn't the end. I will take a licensed coach over an unlicensed or lower licensed one any day. These courses require you to think, self-evaluate, and hopefully learn skills and techniques to make you a better coach. I know every license I've taken I've learned something from. It also goes beyond just the USSF. There is USC, La Liga, Futsal, etc. All add something to a coaches toolkit.

Bottom line, most of the big clubs have a curriculum and system with lots of activities for a coach to choose from and session plans already made up. Anyone can read a session plan, set up the activities and have the kids go through the motions. The questions that need to be asked about coaches are
1. Do they have the skills and temperament to teach at whatever age they coach?
2. Do they understand the relevance of the session content and how it relates to the development needs and goals of the team and the individual players?
3. Are they just going through the motions or are they passionate about teaching this game? Do they have a genuine interest in developing the individual or is this just another group of kids to them?
4. Are they constantly trying to learn and improve themselves as coaches or are they stagnant?

Everything else is irrelevant, at least to me as a parent with kids in the current system. As a coach, I'm constantly evaluating the above for myself. Licensing is a part of that, but not the only part.

[Unregistered]

Like anything else, coaching effectively for a specific age group is a skill that needs to be learned and practiced. The youngest kids in our system tend to get volunteers who know nothing about the sport or Soccer Dads who know nothing about developing kids in our Rec programs. In our Premier programs, the youngest kids get the youngest coaches with the least experience. You end up with kids who don't make the cut at the premier level because they don't have the fundamentals and even the kids who make the cut have no soccer IQ and make terrible decisions on and off the ball. All comes down to poor coaching and a pay2play model that is hypercompetitive at the younger ages.

As to licensing, it is a start, but it isn't the end. I will take a licensed coach over an unlicensed or lower licensed one any day. These courses require you to think, self-evaluate, and hopefully learn skills and techniques to make you a better coach. I know every license I've taken I've learned something from. It also goes beyond just the USSF. There is USC, La Liga, Futsal, etc. All add something to a coaches toolkit.

Bottom line, most of the big clubs have a curriculum and system with lots of activities for a coach to choose from and session plans already made up. Anyone can read a session plan, set up the activities and have the kids go through the motions. The questions that need to be asked about coaches are
1. Do they have the skills and temperament to teach at whatever age they coach?
2. Do they understand the relevance of the session content and how it relates to the development needs and goals of the team and the individual players?
3. Are they just going through the motions or are they passionate about teaching this game? Do they have a genuine interest in developing the individual or is this just another group of kids to them?
4. Are they constantly trying to learn and improve themselves as coaches or are they stagnant?

Everything else is irrelevant, at least to me as a parent with kids in the current system. As a coach, I'm constantly evaluating the above for myself. Licensing is a part of that, but not the only part.

Worry more about your kids teachers. They will play a far greater role in their development

[Unregistered]

Worry more about your kids teachers. They will play a far greater role in their development

Do you think coaches should have tenure?