Dear parents,
The role that
parents play in the life of a soccer player has a tremendous impact on their experience.
With this in mind, we have taken some time to write down some helpful reminders
for all of us as we approach the upcoming season. If you should have any
questions about these thoughts, please feel free to discuss it with us, the
coaches.
1. Let the
coaches coach: Leave the
coaching to the coaches. You have entrusted the care of your player to us and
we need to be free to do our job. If a player has too many coaches, it is
confusing for him and his performance usually declines.
2. Support the
program: Get involved.
Volunteer. Help out with fundraisers, car-pool; anything to support the
program. There is a list if teammates attached to this packet. If you have
scheduling issues that conflict with practice or game times, you may wish to
ask a teammate for a ride. In addition, we will be asking for a team mom or dad
to organize cold drinks and snacks for after the game and orange slices for
half time. We would also like to find a volunteer willing to set up an umbrella
or awning each game to shade the bench.
3. Be your
child's best fan and support and root for all players on the team.
Support your child and his team
unconditionally. Do not withdraw love or criticize when your child or his
teammates perform poorly. Foster teamwork. Your child's teammates are not
the enemy. When they are playing better than your child, your child now has a
wonderful opportunity to learn. Encourage your child to work with the team.
4. Encourage
your child to talk with the coaches:
If your child is having difficulties in practice or games, or can't make a
practice, etc., encourage them to speak directly to the coaches. This
"responsibility taking" is a big part of becoming a big-time player.
By handling the off-field tasks, your child is claiming ownership of all
aspects of the game - preparation for as well as playing the game.
5. Understand
and display appropriate game behavior:
Remember, your child's self esteem and game performance is at stake. Be
supportive, cheer, be appropriate. To perform to the best of his abilities, a
player needs to focus on the parts of the game that they can control (his
fitness, positioning, decision making, skill, aggressiveness, what the game is
presenting them). If he starts focusing on what he can not control (the condition
of the field, the referee, the weather, the opponent, even the outcome of the
game at times), he will not play up to his ability. If he hears a lot of people
telling him what to do, or yelling at the referee, it diverts his attention
away from the task at hand.
6. Monitor
eating and sleeping habits:
Be sure your child is eating the proper foods and getting adequate rest. Daily
exercise is important as well.
7. Help your
child keep his priorities straight:
Help your child maintain a focus on schoolwork, relationships and the other
things in life beside soccer. Also, if your child has made a commitment to
soccer, help him fulfill his obligation to the team.
8. Reality
test: If your child has
come off the field when his team has lost, but he has played his best, help him
to see this as a "win". Remind him that he is to focus on
"process" and not "results". His fun and satisfaction
should be derived from "striving to win". Conversely, he should be as
satisfied from success that occurs despite inadequate preparation and
performance.
9. Keep soccer
in its proper perspective:
Soccer should not be larger than life for you. If your child's performance
produces strong emotions in you, suppress them. Remember your relationship will
continue with your children long after their competitive soccer days are
over. Keep your goals and needs separate from your child's experience.
10. Have fun: That is what we will be trying to do! We
will try to challenge your child to reach past their "comfort
level" and improve themselves as a player, and thus, a person. We will
attempt to do this in environments that are fun, yet challenging. We look
forward to this process. We hope you do to!
Being a player team player
requires that you take on another level of responsibility for yourself as an
athlete. It is no longer enough to sheepishly admit to your coach that you are
not fully ready for training, and that you have not made any investment in your
own development besides the formal training time set aside with your coach.
What follows are some practical suggestions that you can adhere to in order to
make the most out of your individual or team training times. It is most fun to
be playing the game, so we need to do everything in our power to make sure we
are ready.
READY TO PLAY
Players should bring with them to
every training session the following:
Put these items in your bag the
night before your session so that you do not have to hunt them down and thus be
late for training the next morning! Be at practice 10 - 15 minutes early, in
time to get your gear on so that you are ready to start on time.
PRACTICING ON YOUR
OWN
The best thing that you can do is
get your friends together, set up a field and choose sides and play. Sometimes,
invite players that are older than you, and better. The most important thing is
that you play, whether it is 1 v 1, 2 v 2, 4 v 4, or even 2 v 3, it doesn't
matter, just play. If you can not get others to join you, spend as much time
with the ball as you can. Find a wall to kick against, invent juggling games
for yourself, try to chip a ball into a garbage can from various distances, be
creative, and have fun. Above all, realize that it is not up to your coach or
your parents in order for you to get better. You have to claim responsibility
for your own development. Once you realize how much fun it is to play the game
with skill, you may never want to stop!