when my boys were little... I coached my younger son's Grant's soccer team...
from pre-k through the spring of 6th grade I coached youth soccer
coaching is a difficult task
it is tough to coach the children
it is even more tough to coach the parents
I think I would have had better players if the parents were more coachable
parents were not always onetime...
the kids were not always dressed and ready...
parents would show up and call their kid to the side to say hello at practice... often disrupting the drills by pulling their kid off the field when they should be on the field
parents rarely showed up for game time any sooner than game time
even when the intended arrival time was 30 minutes prior to the game
many of the parents set their children up for failure
it was Rec Soccer...
there was that "everyone gets a trophy" undertone\overtone
shamefully... the priority of keeping score was not really part of the game in the early years
which sets a failing tone to the game
if scoring goals and stopping goals from being scored is not the objective
well... then you are not understanding the game
it is not about having fun
it is about having fun playing the game
if your goal is fun... you may not get soccer or fun as a byproduct
if your goal is soccer there is a greater likelihood of achieving both soccer and fun as an end result
JUST FOR FUN IS NOT FUN
it was frustrating...
it was not always fun...
one year a member of the MORE board presented another member with a Certificate of Awesomeness
I asked I could steal that idea
the board member whose day job was graphic design said, "steal away... I did not create it... I stole it myself"
so... I created for each member of the team a Certificate of Awesomeness
presented each child with a certificate
then said a few words about each of the children and why they are awesome
this was not a participation trophy
these kids were all awesome in their own way
then... I awarded myself with the same certificate
as I felt unappreciated by the parents
I hope they look back on the years of playing soccer for the Eaton Futbol Club\Eaton Eagles as fondly as I do
the children and the parents
