by Tim Nash
Coaching young soccer players has its unique challenges, and one of them is getting players to accept playing a position new to them.
Some players will embrace it, others will resist. Others still will shut down completely.
“I don’t know how to play there,” they say. In reality, other than positioning, there is nothing new they need to know. They just need to be a soccer player. No matter what position they are playing, the skills they need don’t change.
by Tim Nash
Student-athletes are busy. Jamming practices, classes, meetings, appointments, studying, individual fitness training and any number of other tasks into their day can be a lot to handle.
There’s little coaches can do other than issue warnings about the importance of using their time wisely, encourage players to stay organized and not fall behind in the classroom or on the field. After all, it’s ultimately up to the player to get it all done.
At Georgia Southern University, men’s soccer coach John Murphy has given his players a tool to assist them in their daily lives.
by Tim Nash
Here’s the problem with rules: if you have a rule, there has to be a consequence for breaking it.
And, of course, there has to be team rules. As much as chaos can be fun, it’s never going to be helpful to your players and never going to be part of your team culture. So, at the start of each season, you explain the rules and make sure your players know you are fully capable of enforcing them.
The punishment for breaking a rule, though, is usually left undefined, and the answer to a question about punishment is often, “I’ll decide.”