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-   -   Kid's sports - Revenge of the Coaches (http://cellar.org/showthread.php?t=17214)

lookout123 06-18-2008 04:55 PM

No, all in -5 ten week sessions of rec - would be under $450 annually.

The range given for the club programs are a range for different programs. We're at the lower end of average because we've been able to keep our field costs down up to this point and because of a couple well timed sponsorship agreements. A cross town club which has been around for abour 10-12 years longer advertises their professional coaching staff resumes with some... padding shall we say? They guarantee that any player who goes all the way through will get a college scholarship or a pro offer or they'll return their tuition. It is a pretty empty promise considering just about anyone who goes through 10-12 years of club training would be getting offers anyway, but that type of thing allows them to charge in that upper range. They probably have 700 kids running through their program each year at an average of $4000 so they have a pretty healthy profit margin in there.

Sundae 06-18-2008 05:30 PM

Blimey O'Reilly!
I know parents who are serious about their children's sporting prowess spend money on it, but £2000 a year?! Whew! I thought only the horsing set had to spend above £1000 (and they spend well above!)

Still, money well spent compared to TVs in rooms, McDonalds, designer outfits etc...

lookout123 06-19-2008 12:20 AM

The difference between the US and European soccer club organization is that your clubs don't really charge the kids to make money. They train kids in development or elite programs. The kids play and some go on to be great. They either work their way up to the first team or are sold to another team generating a tidy sum for the club to keep on doing business with.

In the US clubs don't own player rights in any way. Parents pay for training, players come and go as they please. If they become great they go play for whoever wants them with no compensation to the club.

monster 06-19-2008 05:36 PM

Kids' sports cost a lot over here Sundae. But they're also much more a way of life. Soccer is one of the cheap ones.

As is swimming.

But a low-level non-profit swim team will still cost at least $800/child/year and that doesn't include equipment and competition fees. Equipment's not bad compared to other sports (but more than you'd think...) and comp fees are $3/race, maybe 5 races per meet, meets maybe twice a month. And then hotel bills for state comps....

Now if you want to get expensive, try travel hockey (Ice hockey). And Figure skating. Ouch.

lookout123 06-25-2008 04:34 PM

Forgot to update after last week.

I was handed two new kids 5 minutes before the game because my team has been short players ever since the session started. Apparently it irritated someone that I was using a "ringer" from another team so we'd have enough to play. Nevermind that the ringer is the 5 year old cousin (with very limited skills)
of one of my players.

Anyway, we played the game. It was pretty uneventful. The teamwork has really broken down because we don't have the same players from week to week but they're still having fun. Except for Lil Lookout. He asked before the game how well he has to do so he can move up to the next age group after this session. I told him that he had to play like he belonged with the older kids and work hard even when he wasn't in the mood.

He scored a first half hattrick for his club team. Then he turned around and scored a hattrick for another club team that was short players right after his game. Then he turned around scored 6 in his rec league game. So 12 points scored in almost 3 hours of soccer in one morning. It looked like he was having fun.

The best moment of the whole morning wasn't a goal, but an awesome passing move he and J pulled off. LL was playing out on the left wing when he received the ball about 10 yards from the goal. He had already scored twice from there so the defenders charged at him and the keeper moved to that side of the box. Lil Lookout started to dribble really slow but wasn't doing much. At the same time J started sprinting down the right side where noone was paying any attention to him. LL stayed calm and let the defenders get right to him before he split the two defenders with a perfectly weighted pass that caught J in stride. J just stuck his foot out and let the ball bounce into the far side of the net before the keeper even realized what was happening. Awesome awesome play.

Sundae 06-25-2008 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lookout123 (Post 464792)
The best moment of the whole morning wasn't a goal, but an awesome passing move he and J pulled off... Awesome awesome play.

And those are the moments that make football as good as it is.
Well done LL, and well done you.

lookout123 07-03-2008 01:38 PM

When I started this thread I chose the title as a nod to star wars, episode three as this was my third soccer thread. it turns out the name was appropriate.

Today I officially announced that I will not be coaching rec league after this session is over. We have three more weeks left and then, fini.

When I saw the lineup for last saturday's game I knew it would be a cakewalk for my kids. I had all my kids back from vacation and the team we were playing had only scored 4 points in 6 games. They had a points for/against differential of 68. Their coach changed 2 weeks into the session and their strongest player hasn't been back since. My concern going into the game was how to keep my kids challenged and having fun without running all over the other team.

When we arrived and started warming up I realized they only had four players to my ten (I picked up a player's younger cousin somewhere along the line). Easy solution to the day's worries. I talked to the other coach who was really stressed out. The new director had jumped her butt about the importance of her team winning today. She's a good young coach and really cares about the kids. She knew it was an impossible task and pushing the kids harder wouldn't make them more likely to win, but it would certainly make the loss harder on their feelings. She asked me not to run up the score, something I had no intention of doing anyway. I offered her 3 of my players to even the teams out and she gladly accepted. I have learned not to lend Lil Lookout to other teams or our relationship is strained for the next several days and B, his friend and second best player on the team beat the crap out of eachother if they play against the other. So I gave her my 3 next best players and we started the game.

The game was never in doubt because my kids really do work well as a unit, but the game was fun and relatively close until the end. We were winning 5-3 with about 5 minutes left when something changed in the other team and my kids just started splitting them open with passes and tapping the ball in the goal. LL and B each had 2 left foot tapins and an assist in the last 5 minutes. S and S, two kids that rarely score got one each. All said and done the score was 11-4. Their kids were happy because they scored. Our kids were happy because they played and won. The other coach was happy because her players didn't give up before the game was over like they had in previous weeks. I was happy because, although the score jumped at the end, we didn't run all over them for an hour straight.

The director, of course, wasn't happy and he made some snide remarks about overly competitive coaches winning at all costs. He went on to explain that the complex will lose money because parents will not keep paying for their kids to play on losing teams. My first thought was, "you know only half the teams can be winning teams each week, right?" Grrr.

Last night was practice as usual. I was the only one of 4 coaches who showed up for a variety of reasons, so I coached all 4 teams. It was pretty frustrating because there were kids who literally didn't know which part of the foot to hit the ball with. I'm not talking about poor execution due to differences in coordination and skill level, I'm talking about they had never been told the right way to hit the ball. That's wrong. After 8 weeks of practice and 7 games there is no excuse for any of the kids to have not been properly instructed on the basics. I know all kids learn at different rates, but you have to tell them and show them if you want them to learn. They have to learn if you want them to win. They have to win some if you want them to enjoy the game. They have to enjoy the game if you want them to come back. They have to come back if you want more money. Does no one understand this very simple relationship between cause and effect? If the main concern for the director is money, he'd better figure out the steps to get that money. Even if the kids are (wrongly, IMO) not the primary focus the steps are still the same.

I got a phone call this morning asking what the devil I did that caused a number of parents to call the director demanding their kids be moved to my team. Uhhhhh, I coached them in a way that let them have fun, learn, and still let us all go home with smiles on our faces??? *BUZZZZ* Wrong! I obviously did something to convince the best players' parents to move to my team. I sat quietly listening as the director questioned my motives. Then my ethics. I unwisely laughed when he pointed out that my teams only win because I get the best players to move over. Then he questioned my commitment to the club. I calmly and quite reasonably, IMO, informed him that my loyalties are to people not buildings. I let him know that my loyalty and commitment is to the kids, not to his ego, his job, his paycheck. The fact that I can contribute to each of those at the same time is great but not really my concern. I reminded him that just two weeks ago he hosed over 120 kids in a one-sided feud with the former director and my kid and his friends were amongst those 120, so he shouldn't start talking to me about loyalty at this point. He backed off.

Then he called back to let me know he was faxing over my new coaching curriculum. I got it and it is such basic, pointless crap that I would have a hard time keeping my kids awake let alone interested. I was teaching this stuff to 4 year olds a few years ago. He pointed out that he was licensed higher than I am so he obviously knows far more than I do. His methods would bring the scorelines closer together on saturdays. He didn't have an answer when I asked if it would be bringing every team's score up, or just mine down. Fair enough.

In the end I let him know I'd finish out this session, but it was time for me to quit coaching in that program. He got the final word in by telling me he was going to be letting me go after the session ended anyway. :rolleyes:

So after this session I will no longer be coaching rec at all. I will be coaching the club program though so I'll still get my fix. I will, however, miss teaching new kids about the game.

Sundae 07-03-2008 02:41 PM

SO sorry Lookout.
Arseholes.

Flint 07-03-2008 02:45 PM

"Follow your bliss." If it means starting your own rec program, launch yourself at that challenge. I'll throw another cliche at you: "If you build it, they will come."

monster 07-03-2008 02:54 PM

There's going to be a gaping hole in the "market" when that program tanks once parents realize what this idiot has done to that program. If you think you can and want to fulfil that need, good luck to you -I'm sure you can do it, but I'm also sure there will be some nastiness along the way. He doesn't sound like one to admit the error of his ways and mend fences. It will be worth it, though. Good luck with whatever you decide.

lookout123 07-03-2008 04:02 PM

It's all good. Our club program is thriving and we already have a rec program in the works. Without a complex we are an outdoor only organization using rented fields. That is what most soccer clubs in the country have so it isn't bad, we were just spoiled. there is already talk of a new indoor complex in the permit phase about ten minutes from the old place, so you just never no.

The new director requires coaches to have parent meetings (as if I didn't talk to my parents anyway) so I'll let them all know that this will be my last session. Most of them know what I'm doing already so word of mouth will do what it does. I expect the fall soccer program at the indoor facility to be pretty sparse. It is every year as parents move their kids outdoor for a taste of something different. The new director hasn't been around long enough to know that we really had to work some magic to keep the fall program going strong... so it should be a lesson for him as all of us that used to keep it going are also moved outside.

whatever, it's just a game.;)

xoxoxoBruce 07-03-2008 11:12 PM

Sounds like a bunch of people playing a number of games. :smack:
Methinks I like yours the bestest.

lookout123 07-09-2008 12:07 PM

The season is winding down and the end can't come soon enough. The director decided that one of the glorious changes he was making was to quit throwing money away. Makes sense, right? Except that he views any saturday without games as a $6000 loss. nevermind that the Saturday is smack dab in the middle of a 4 day weekend and we traditionally host a drop in tournament on that day. Pretty much every game in every age group was a forfeit.

Our team had the seven required players so we were good to go. The other team borrowed a couple players and we were off to the races. The coach for the other team was my new BFF, mister "i have a tiny penis so I'll make up for with hypercompetitiveness". The teams were pretty equal for the first 15-20 minutes. Lil Lookout and B were moving and passing well. The defense was solid and the rest existed peacefully unaware of the game around them. We went into the break up by 2 points. Apparently that was completely unacceptable to the other coach because his wife brought his other two sons over. nevermind that they are two and a half years too old for this league and play club ball. Whatever. After five minutes it became pretty clear those two wouldn't pass to anyone but eachother. They're good players and significantly bigger than my average player so they pretty much had the run of the field. By the end of the game LL, B, L, and a few from the other team just stood and watched as the two players dribbled and shot. I asked them why they weren't playing and they all just shrugged and said it was stupid. LL said he wasn't going to get hurt trying to tackle them because the refs weren't calling any fouls. Eh, can't argue with that.

The other team won 8-4 and my kids couldn't have cared less. My BFF walked around with his chest puffed out having avenged his earlier loss in the season. Cool.

Half the coaches in the age group have already announced they aren't coming back. The same happened in the next age group too.

As it stands club practice is 2-3 nights/week in August and early September, but games don't start untiil the end of September. Lil Lookout really doesn't want to go four weeks without a game so it looks like I will be signing him up for another session of indoor even though I won't be coaching it. He played a game with a U10 team this week. He was nervous about it because some of those players are three years older than him but I reminded him that they are the same players he was nervous about when he turned five and they were eight. That settled his nerves a bit and he played pretty well. He scored a couple of real crackers and had one outstanding assist. Looks like it is off to U10 he goes for the next session.

Pico and ME 07-10-2008 06:50 AM

WHAT AN AWESOME THREAD!!!!!

Lookout, one day you should write a book about your experiences here. It would make the New York Times Bestsellers list in an instant.

BTW, it seems to me you should be taking that directors job away from him, but then you would miss the hands on aspects of coaching.

lookout123 07-14-2008 04:54 PM

Saturday was a genuinely enjoyable soccer day. Lil Lookout has been frustrated at the idea of only playing one game on Saturday until the outdoor season starts in about two months so I was really hoping that he'd bring some zing back to his game this week.

We played a team coached by one of the hot heads that has been around for awhile. This is a guy who has bitched and moaned about the horribly unfair situation he sees in his team finishing behind mine every session. The guy is an absolute meathead who brutalizes his kid because he isn't as good as Lil Lookout. No seriously, I feel bad for the kid because he is a good player and likes the game... his personality just doesn't suit that of an attacking player. He is outstanding as a holding midfielder, defender, or keeper, but those aren't the glory roles so dad keeps pushing him into something that just isn't meant to be his role. Anyway, ironically as the program has become more and more embroiled in BS, this coach has been buddying up to me because he doesn't really understand what is happening but he has witnessed me come out on top when stupid stuff happened in the past.

Anyway, the game was a blast. The other team has K, L, and S as GOOD players. My two really good players LL and B are better, but when you step over to the rest of the team, the other team has better average skill than mine. I knew we would win IF LL and B both brought their A games and worked hard, but they've both been a bit discouraged lately as the team just doesn't gel well enough to keep a good passing game going. They are both preoccuppied with the Club team and have let their energy slip a bit in rec league. Not this week though.

The teams traded body blows with no score for the first five minutes. It was a pretty hectic pace up and down the field. I held LL and B back as a defensive wall and pushed my two runners without a clue up into forward positions to poke and prod for weaknesses. The other team was passing much better than my kids did so their was a lot of potential to be punished on the counterattack. After ten minutes the game had settled into a decent rhythm of their defense stopping my kids passing the ball up to the wall and their forwards dribbling right through my midfield until LL or B would strip the ball and counter. Our attacks died out because my two forwards weren't skilled enough to receive passes and shoot quickly. I switched the formation to put B as center forward with J (good ideas, but slow reactions) on his left and K(no ideas, no skills but runs around and confuses everyone) on his right. LL was the sole midfielder with orders that if he chose to play lazy and let his team down he would have to play defense the rest of the day. (He's developed the negative tendency to not work much to get the ball back because he's overly confident to outscore anyone when he does have the ball.) I had K and L on defense and S in the goal. That meant a decent back line with a weak keeper and a great offensive midfielder who is hit or miss on defensive duties. Either it would work great or we'd lose really badly. As it happened LL got kicked in the family jewels and it made him mad. From that point on he was possessed. He looked like a man with his hair on fire. I honestly have not seen my kid play that well in at least 6 months.

At halftime he was very discouraged because he had only scored one point. He had knocked the other keeper off his feet twice with blocked shots and had three assists but he still measures his worth in goals scored. I tried to set him straight on that and kept the same formation.

The teams continued to pummel eachother with numerous shots on goal but we were still winning 5-4 with ten minutes left. At that point I became confident that my kids would run away with it. K and L from the other team looked dejected. They had tried everything they knew and just couldn't unlock our defense. LL and B were finally linking up better and LL had regained some confidence in his defensive duties. LL blocked a goal bound shot with his head and then chased it down before dribbling through 5 players, losing the ball twice, getting it back and then crashed a left foot shot in. After actually seeing success after fighting hard the kid was unstoppable. He and B went on an unbroken run in the last five minutes to bring the score to 11-5.

good game based on the scoreline, but great game based on LL actually showing some hunger.

The best moment was when he was surrounded on the left side of goal, trapped at an impossible angle. he pulled off a dragback that was impressive but couldn't open up the angle to shoot. He then pulled it back again (effectively hopping on his left foot while rolling the ball with his right, evading the defenders' reaching feet) then he kicked what looked like a mis-hit. He actually banked it off the wall about 3 feet to the left of the goal and headed in the rebound. Great freaking move. I wish he'd teach me some of his tricks. /proud dad/


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