Good Afternoon Coaches,
Another week has passed and so many of us are missing the game and being with our athletes more and more as we wait patiently for any news (good or bad). I know that many of you are confused about the most recent announcement from CHSAA and I have asked Justin Saylor about what it really means and how it impacts the teams in school districts who have already announced they will not return to campus; but I have not heard anything back. I promise to communicate all updates and information with all of you as soon as I hear anything.
I recently had a great chat with another coach and I thought I would share some stuff with all of you. For a lot of players, getting the “workouts and skill work” to complete at home has been helpful; but most players value the concept of staying connected even more!
It is super easy for us to focus on “soccer skills and drills” away from our athletes; but keeping them involved in group discussions and culture discussions might be more impactful. As my coaching mentor Jerry Lynch would say, we need to “LUV” our athletes through this difficult and confusing time. When he speaks of LUV he is refers to the following:
L- Listening U- UnderstandingV- Validating
As coaches, if we can listen to what our athletes need/want from us during the pandemic, we will be able to better understand what they need. This may be different for each athlete and also per program; but through this, we can validate our response to them and provide the best content for growth in our teams while we are away from the fields.
Another great coaching resource.
United Soccer Coaches Webinar Series: United Soccer Coaches are offering 6 webinars on “Coaching through COVID-19” starting next Tuesday April 14th. Topics include:
4/14- Your Youth Soccer Organization Can Survive COVID-194/16- Keeping it Positive in an Unpredictable World4/21- Effective Leadership Through Tough Times4/28- The Coach as a Successful Small Business5/5- How Adversity Builds a Stronger Coach5/12- Club and High School: Working Together Through COVID-19
If you are interested, please register at the link below. You can sign up for all of the sessions or just the ones that spark your interest. All of the sessions are free for coaches.
https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/coaching-through-covid/
Take care and Be Safe, I hope you all have a great weekend!
Sean
