Having been a coach for some time now, one of the biggest improvements I can see to soccer in the United States is the relationship between the parents and the coaches... Oftentimes, I feel this imaginary wall between the two groups, like there's a friction that shouldn't be there. In European/South American Countries, the coaches are very cordial with the parents... And conversely, the parents trust the coaches... Now in America, because of the stigma placed on coaches by movies, poor coaching experiences, etc, some parents may feel a need to "protect" their child from coaches, and I totally get that.
At NUSA, all of our coaches are USSF certified and registered with the league. This means that we have completed a background check and taken (at least) some educational courses to ensure we have the knowledge to work with children/young adults. I guess what I'm trying to say is, PLEASE COMMUNICATE WITH US, but above all... TRUST US.
We want what is best for your child on AND off the pitch... If we notice your child is struggling in a group, we know it's much better for that child to move into a more skill-appropriate group, work hard and then move up... It doesn't help us as coaches, you as parents OR the child if they are not having fun and playing with kids of a similar skill level....
Our development league is designed to be FLEXIBLE... Just because a child is a certain age, doesn't necessarily mean they should play with kids of the same age... One may be better, so we move them up... or... someone may need some work and we may put them with a different group... The goal is to allow the child to develop AT THEIR PACE and if you trust us with your child's development, they will be able to have fun AND grow as a soccer player!
Here is a great article/video on the parent/coach dynamic:
http://devzone.positivecoach.org/resource/video/joy-fawcett-parents-let-coaches-coach
See you on the pitch!
Coach Adam
