FROM THE EDITOR
Center Circle : WHY DO WE COACH ?
DR . JAY MARTIN // MEMBER SINCE 1977 , OHIO WESLEYAN HEAD COACH
5 From the Editor is a recurring column in Soccer Journal .
Since 1941 , the core of the Association has been Advocacy , Education and Service . It may be time to ask the question “ Why do we coach ?”
“ Coaching gives one a chance to be successful as well as significant . The difference between those two is that when you die , your success comes to an end . When you are significant you continue to help people long after you are gone . Significance lasts many lifetimes . That is why people teach , why people lead and why people coach .” -LOU HOLTZ
Soccer Journal conducted a totally unscientific survey to find out why we coach . We have done this before . We ask some of our member ’ s questions to see what they are thinking about a subject . This survey was very simple . An email was sent to 125 members . They represented all levels of soccer in the U . S ., both genders . The only question was simple : Please list the top five reasons you coach soccer in priority order . There was a deadline of one week . A surprising 88 members responded !!
“ That ’ s the beauty of coaching . You get to touch lives . You get to make a difference . You get to do things for people who will never pay you back . And they say you never have had a perfect day until you ’ ve done something for someone who will never pay you back .” -MORGAN WOOTTEN
There were many answers to the question . I stopped counting after I hit one hundred and three . But the three answers that finished far and away ahead of the others ( in priority order ) were :
• The influence of a coach while growing up
• The love for the game of soccer
• Early success playing soccer
Without question these three responses define why we coach . Let ’ s examine each response .
“ A coach will impact more young people in one year than the average person will in a lifetime ” -BILLY GRAHAM
The influence of a coach while growing up : When you decide to coach , you have made the decision to work with young people . You put yourself in a position to change their lives forever both on the field and off . You are now a role model . Everything you do – both the positive and the negative - will register with the players . You will leave a life lasting impact . There is no way around it . You can make a difference with one word , one pat on the back or one short conversation . Many respondents listed this as the number one reason they coach . As one respondent said ; “ My high school basketball coach is the reason I coach . I want to be him . I try to live up to him every day . I try to be the coach he was . I am not there yet !!”
And another respondent said : “ Throughout our lives certain people we encounter have a real impact on us . There is one coach I will never forget . She was my high school junior varsity soccer coach . I will always remember the hugs and the mind reading on the days I was struggling . She was a good soccer coach but an even more remarkable person . I learned much more than soccer from her . I have tried to follow her example in my short coaching career .”
“ Coaching is taking a player where they can ’ t take themselves .” -JOSÉ MOURINHO
The love for the game of soccer : Each of us has our own reasons why we love the game . Here are some of the reasons suggested by you from the survey .
“ The speed of the game is great . There is no standing like baseball or football . There is constant movement . Constant running .”
“ When I have the ball , I am the “ boss of the game ”. I dictate what will happen and 21 other players are waiting for me to make a decision . That feels great .”
“ I love dribbling and juggling . I can practice soccer alone .”
“ Soccer is a player ’ s game . Once the game starts there is no need for a coach ( sorry !!). The game belongs to the players .”
“ Soccer is a game played across cultures . Although American football is trying to go overseas , it is nor accepted by most cultures . Soccer is the universal game . Soccer is just fun !!”
6 | Soccer Journal