I have taken the lead from a particularly funny Twitterer @LegendaryCoach who tweets things that we all feel. I have shied away from fully expressing my opinions on this subject for fear of upsetting some fellow coaches….but I have swiftly reached the conclusion that there really is little or no excuse for unprofessionalism in your sessions.
There are several things that annoy me when watching other coaches, and these are only my opinion, as I’m fairly certain that I used to do things that annoyed other coaches also. They only annoy me because 99.9% of the time, there are other options available to the Coach, so therefore no excuse…..
Firstly it is an absolute given that you must have prepared the session you are about to deliver. There is nothing worse for a player than being involved with a coach who is clearly “winging it”, you can feel the stuttering of the session and your mind set wanders. All that happens is that, as a player, you are desperate for a game just so that you can enjoy yourself a little.
It can take an hour or so to prepare a session, but this is a sacrifice that we must be prepared to make in order to achieve both our personal, and also our player’s objectives. I got myself into the habit of preparing a week worth of sessions in one go on a Sunday afternoon whilst watching the Italian Football on TV. Throughout the prior week you should be noting down topics to work on, game analysis and goalkeeper’s feedback. This will all give you topics to focus on in the coming week and make planning your sessions that much easier.
Now that you have planned your sessions, secondly is to ensure that your equipment is prepared. YOUR FOOTBALLS MUST MATCH! This is merely my opinion, but a real pet hate of mine is non-matching footballs as it reeks of unprofessionalism and pub football. Whatever level of football, there is no excuse to ignore the simple little details and please scrap the Mitre Calcio’s or SportsDirect bargain balls for your senior players!
Make sure that you have a Ball carry Bag too – ASDA carrier bags are not acceptable! And it is also essential that your footballs are both clean and also pumped up before the session commences. Little things….
I am an advocate of solely using white cones for my sessions. I don’t know why other than I just prefer the simplicity of a single colour; it really irritates me to see coaches scatter a plethora of different coloured cones around to mark out one area – inexcusable and confusing for the players.
Thirdly, your kit should match. Even if your club do not have training kits, or cannot afford Coaching Uniforms then buy yourself a matching brand outfit – you can dictate this, and it will be noticed. Wearing various different brands simply screams “Amateur” to onlookers so pay attention to the message that you send out in the way you dress. I am also harsh in that I judge players and coaches by their boots – Copas and Kings immediately create an impression that they know their stuff, whereas brightly coloured ‘flare’ boots give me an initial impression of “Pretender”. In the same way that a wise man does not need to shout his knowledge, a good coach does not need to draw attention to himself.
And whilst I’m on clothing NEVER, EVER, EVER wear another team’s kit to training or matches. Even if it’s a shirt of the Premiership Club you support (especially if!), it is an insult to the Club and the Players you are working with. Amateur…..
In essence, coach and act as how you would expect your coach to behave and dress. Always start the session at the time you stated, dress appropriately and professionally (no grey or black ankle socks please!) and use good quality equipment. Don’t overlook the importance of planning, and also be prepared to change the drills as you go as sometimes they work and other times the simply don’t!
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