Coaches -- do you empower your players?

by Mike Mierau

From my days as a rookie, recreational league coach a decade ago to the present, I've been climbing a coach's learning curve that shows no signs of flattening out. I've been on a similar learning curve in my professional life. At work, my experience has taught me a lot about managerial styles -- some good, some bad, and others in between. I'm still climbing that curve too.

I've found an interesting similarity between soccer and the work place when it comes to managerial styles. At work, without question, the best management style is participative -- workers are empowered to make decisions and participate in the design of work processes and products. The best decisions are the ones made closest to the work being done. Successful coaching requires a participative management style too and this is true for soccer perhaps more so than for any other major sport.

Compare gridiron football, baseball or basketball to soccer. On the gridiron, every play accommodates a coach's intervention. Instructions (a.k.a. management directives) are transferred into the huddle and carried out on the field. Mistakes on the field can be corrected with immediate substitutions.

In baseball, every pitch allows for coaching intervention and adjustments. The manager, the third-base coach, the first-base coach, the hitting coach and the pitching coach often interrupt the game to issue directions. Baseball players spend nearly half the game at the manager's side in the dugout.

On basketball's hard courts, frequent times out are taken for directing set plays, controlling the clock, or stopping the opposition's momentum. Substitutions and directions can come into the game at will.

There is little opportunity for sideline direction in soccer. Yet, far too many parents-turned-coaches insist on the non-stop issuing of orders (often at decibel levels exceeding OSHA standards). At soccer's international level, there are no times out. Substitutions are allowed but for only three players. Coaches cannot control the clock or stop momentum. A brief discussion at the touchline while waiting for a goal kick is a coach's best hope to change defenses or instruct players during the game.

Soccer is a player's game -- a participative game. A team that is programmed to look to the bench for some sign of encouragement or direction in times of stress will sacrifice the spontaneity and creativity needed for a successful defense or attack. Players must be allowed the freedom to make decisions on their own, based on their view of the field. The traditional coaching style so pervasive in other North American sports is a tough habit to break, but success in soccer demands a different approach.

Here are a few things you can do as a coach, to free your players from the oppression of the North American coaching model:

1. Shut up. Your players can't hear you from 40 yards away and by the time they get your guidance, it will probably be too late. This has been one of the toughest things for me to learn and I still catch myself shouting at least a few times each game. Save your voice for praise and save the criticism for planning practices.
   
2. Encourage young players to take chances on the attack. Tell them it's OK to be creative and try new moves to beat that defender one v. one. Don't criticize a player for losing the ball in these situations. Lack of confidence and fear of failure translates into timid and tentative play. Praise players whenever you see a skillful maneuver.
   
3. Use frequent, small-sided games during practices. Three v. three or four v. four games help players improve their decision making skills. Fewer players and smaller fields means more touches on the ball and improved confidence.
   
4. During practices, be on the lookout for poor technique. Don't hesitate to stop a drill to correct fundamental problems. If necessary, slow the progression of the drill to ensure proper technique is demonstrated before moving to more difficult skill levels. The key here is to ensure your players come to the game with the proper tools and training. Then, stand back and let them utilize those tools as they see fit during the game.
   
5. When in doubt, see rule #1.

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