What makes a great coach?

So everyone knows that I am great! Wow, that is a good start! I watched last night Lyon vs Real Madrid. The Real is the most expensive roster in the world and guess what? They lost against Lyon!

After all, it made me think about team and coaches. You can have the best players in the world and be incapable of making them play together. The great coaches understand that coaching in not only Xs and Os (technical skill) but much more. They have durability, determination, resilience, energy, intuition and passion.

A coach has also to have a vision.
Strategy: Is there a long-term plan or vision for the team or club?
Tactics: The elite coaches can wrong foot opponents, change match, win a match...
Team building: This is my believe. Real Madrid learned that 11 "galacticos" won't make the best team. Players who are workers are just as important as the superstars.

Good fundations in skills, motivations, compatibilty players and little of intuition make the perfect coach!

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Passion

Is there anyone reading my blog? Is there anyone who can tell me why are we pushing our kids in sports so much? Knowing that 70% of America’s children are abandoning organized sports by age 13.

And in addition, soccer is not the first sport! Now, if I am talking about my own kids, there is one who runs all the time and he is having fun. He is a very good athlete and performs all the time. Why? Because he is having fun… The oldest one, she is physically strong, could be a great soccer player but efforts equal pain. I went for a jugging with her and we practiced 1v1. I asked her to be more aggressive when she practices and plays. She did last practice but she got into the car and said that she was tired…. Man! Ok you are going to tell me, boys and girls are different! Yeah! You don’t have to be Einstein for figure out! But there is a major difference, one runs because he likes it, the other because she has to.

My friend called me today and said “I know why Americans are less good in soccer than other countries” “because of Nintendo” Well, it is a fact that rich people don’t play sport anymore and stop at 13. If you look at the kids who play sport, I won’t be sure at 100% but I will say the ethnic is different. Brazil, Argentinean have the best soccer players in the world because they are coming from poor family. In Europe, there are less and less white players…

So it is difficult when you are a coach of soccer that doesn’t get pay, who does it with passion to figure out what is going to happen in long term. Basketball, Baseball are priorities in this environment. Like me, don’t ask me to watch football. I don’t get it and feel it is too slow for me. I grew with speed track in motorcycle and soccer. My friend is teaching me the game of football but it is not my cup of tea. So I know that for all parents, it is the same when they watch a soccer game…

My goal is to teach a wonderful game and have fun with the kids. I would like for them to be passionate about it and have fun with it. When they need to run, they do it because they love it, not because they have to…

At the end, it is just about passion!

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Talent vs Teamwork

The one of the teachings more marked of this CAN 2010, this is the chronic inability of the French-speaking countries of Black Africa (Ivory Coast, Cameroon), to play as a team. One there finds nevertheless the better individualities of the Continent but that forms only an addition of players gifted. Not a collective one. And as often by the past, that was not enough against teams with less provided in pure talent but animated with a state of mind and of a superior collective force.

To be honest, I didn't enjoy winning our D1! It scared me more than anything else because I thought right away about Spring! Scared because we have to reproduce the same quality of game. Is it possible?

Athletic performance is mainly determined by technical and physical abilities are stable elements that will not change or fluctuate within a short period of time. The psychological aspect is one of the most important. Athletes need to build self-confidence.

One aspect we are missing right now, I know it is winter and I am starting to worry too much! It is the trust and teamwork. We have some talents but we don't have a team right now.

I am going to need some helps!

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1v1 situation

It is no secret that one of the most important situation during a soccer game is the 1 v. 1 matchup. During the course of a game, attackers have to decide whether to beat an opponent by dribbling past him or her, or passing the ball, while defenders try to prevent opponent to get near the goal and score.

To be effective in the 1v1 situation each player must have a good overall technical and tactical understanding. In many cases the outcome of a game is a direct result of the various 1v1 opportunities the team is able to win.

Coaching youth soccer should emphasis the 1v1, the basic skills of control and passing. As kids get older, progress to team play and organization should be including.

Creating a winning team takes time, effort, patience and skill.

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Cooking vs Coaching

What is the major difference between a chef and a cook? Some people will say, experience, knowledge and talent. I will say feelings! A chef has to look at his ingredients and try to make the best of it. Each ingredients are different. Each seasons, ingredients have different flavors.

You take a lemon in December or June, they will be a different but it is still a lemon! Coaching is like cooking, you have some ingredients and you have to try to make the best Mayonnaise possible! Some days, your ingredients won’t play correctly and you have to try to adjust your recipe. When I am cooking, I can’t following a recipe. I know what I want and I improvise with my ingredients. Of course, there is basic that you can’t avoid.

Yesterday I was watching Inter Milan, where Mourinho is an incredible chef. During the game, I thought Muntari was not playing very well and Inter Milan was down 2-0. At 64mm, Mourinho subbed Muntari with another player. 3mm latter, 2-2! That is cooking! Mourinho said something about Italy versus England or other coaches like Wenger, Peterson where coaches have a vision and the clubs give them the time to create their recipe. Mourinho was complaining that in Italy, he doesn’t have the time to create his recipe and the club wants to have results quickly.

My friend said that he thought we should try to win with a different recipe. First when he told me this, I listen and finally realized that is the real point. It is not about winning but developing.

I think it is pretty sad when you are watching young soccer. This is not soccer. You can have five cooks in a box and none of them was a chef! Most of my experience in coaching or watching other teams playing soccer struggle to win. There is no development of players. Coaches are following one recipe and try to stick with it. It is so frustrating sometimes. They don’t pay attention of their ingredients. This is the age-old approach of trying to fit players into the games played and defined by adults. They are missing some fundamental building recipes - understanding how young players learn and applying those concepts to the free-flowing, problem-solving nature of the game. Of course, we are not talking about professionals soccer players. So we have to develop our players. Win or lose, that is not the point. We should focus on training, fitness and having fun.

My goal is to be able to have players that are skillful, experiment and strong. After it requires “elite” players. Like Tony says “not all horses can jump” which is true but only because we are at the highest level.

I would like parents and my best friend to realize that it has not been ever about wining but developing. If somehow, I will have time to convince everyone that it is a fun game and my kids are improving. I would rather watching a game where the players are playing well than just win because the coach is better than the other one. I would rather to hear “wow, these kids are improving” than “my kid is getting fit” or “great game” because we won. What is going to happen if I lose?

We need to focus on using our resources to train or hire better coaches to work with more coaches and players, even across club lines, rather than continue to have clubs compete for the same coaches or players.

Coaching is a craft, not a science!

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