Filed under: Dwyer Scullion, Soccer Coaching, Soccer News, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: coaching, communication, grassroots coach, Kevin Keegan, knowledge, listening, motivation, Newcastle United, organisation, Premier League level, Soccer, Soccer Skills, youth coach
I’ve been thinking about what it is that makes a great soccer coach. What is the essence of coaching? What are the core
skills that a coach needs to have in order to fulfil his role?
I guess the answer depends on what the role is, and there are a number of different ways to look at that. For example, a great youth coach might have different characteristics to a great adult coach. Similarly, a great grassroots coach might need different skills to that of a professional coach.
For the sake of argument, I’m going to lump them all in together and take the broadest view possible. Here are my five criteria for what makes a great coach:
Communication: a great coach should be able to communicate with his players on their level. The communication should be supportive and encouraging and should include everyone in the team.
Coaches should generally avoid using the word “don’t” and should try to be nurturing as opposed to bullying. And it’s important that no one is allowed to slip through the cracks – a loner in a soccer team is a potential problem and communication has to be consistent.
Listening: a great coach needs to be able to listen to his players and everyone else with a stake in his team’s success.
Players need to feel that they can talk to their coach about their game, and a good coach is able to respond to that in a positive way. I’m not saying that we should let players dictate where or how they play, but I think that a good coach can establish an effective two-way relationship with his players.
We also need to be able to take advice and guidance from other coaches and assistants. All the world’s great coaches recognise that they are part of a team and I doubt there are many successful coaches who dictate everything at their club. I know some coaches who are uncomfortable when a peer suggests a different approach. They need to be able to tell the difference between helpful advice and criticism. For me, the more ideas and viewpoints the better. I’ll still make my own decisions, but I’ll do that with the benefit of the views of the people whose judgment I trust.
Motivation: a coach has to arm his players with the tools to be better individuals and a better team. Chief amongst those tools is the motivation to succeed. Many people would say that this is the key factor – the magic ingredient – that every great coach must have.
Organisation: an effective coach must be organised. Everyone’s time is wasted if no-one knows what they are supposed to be doing, if the equipment isn’t in place, and if arrangements haven’t been made. Some coaches are terrible organisers but the trick is to recognise that and find an assistant who is a good organiser.
Have the knowledge: a coach can have all of the skills and characteristics described above, but it won’t count for much unless they have the technical knowledge to back it up. At youth level that might mean knowing how to coach players to pass over distance or perform a stop turn. At senior level that might mean knowing how to coach a team to change shape when moving from possession to defence. Either way, the coach has to have the knowledge, and whether they get it from the internet, a bookshop or a training course, a great coach has to know the nuts and bolts of the game.
I found it very strange that Newcastle United appointed Kevin Keegan as their new manager. Keegan is no doubt a great motivator and is known for his strong bond with his players. But it’s also true that he has tactical and technical shortcomings. I know that he will have people on his team who take care of that, but for me a truly great coach shouldn’t have to ask someone else to work out his team’s tactics.
Motivation alone is not enough, at grassroots or Premier League level. A great coach will invest the time to know and understand the principles and techniques that underpin the game.
So that’s five for now. As soon as I post this blog I will no doubt think of another half dozen so I’ll post those in due course. In the meantime, please feel free to get in touch and tell me what you think makes a great coach.
