One of my favorite coaching forums is www.and-again.com. Recently it had a thread about the differences in approach of the USSF and the NSCAA and what other opportunities exist for coaches who want to improve their knowledge of the game. As one of the coach’s said in his post: "There's much more work required on behalf of the coaches themselves to continue their coaching education - and a lot of things can be done that do not involve taking coaching license courses." I eventually realized that the main purpose of the license courses seems to be certifying that I met the criteria of the course, not to teach me everything I needed to know. I recall at my D course during the wrap up the instructor said (with some disdain) how "thin" our knowledge of the game was as a group. At first I was put off by that comment because that's why I took the course, to "thicken" my knowledge. I did learn a lot during the course but not enough to feel I was fully versed in the topic of my practical: 1v1 attacking. They covered it briefly in the D but I still felt uncomfortable critiquing and correcting my coach/students. It became obvious to me that the instructors expected me (and the rest of the coaches) to know more about the subjects on which we were tested than was covered in the course.
Once I realized that the purpose of these license courses is more for certification I faced a quandary. Where do I go to get the experience and knowledge needed? My state association basically runs just the licensing courses. The situation as a coach is somewhat different than, say, getting a Professional Engineer's license in my field. I got most of what I needed to pass the PE exam by getting a degree in chemical engineering. The license test measured how much I retained.
Where is the equivalent to college for soccer coaches? I could be wrong but there doesn't seem to be "one stop shopping" for us. I think we get mixed messages when the licensing is combined with a course. I think many of the participants coming into the license course (myself included) think that the sole purpose of the test is to determine how much we learned during the course when it really is assessing the knowledge of the coach, both what was learned in the class as well as what the coach learned prior to the class.
As a result I've had to rely on books, tapes/DVDs (mostly from the NSCAA), watching Fox Soccer Channel, playing in a men's pick up game every week and most recently refereeing. In addition I'm fortunate to be working with my club's DOC on forming new U12 girls teams for the last two years then handing them off to other coaches in our club. Working closely with my DOC is similar to working as an apprentice in a trade.
It's a shame that after a certain point getting an education as a coach is pretty much a do-it-yourself project. In addition to my comments on the licensing courses, it seems that the higher courses (including the NSCAA) are geared for those who plan to coach full time. I say that because of the time and expense required to take them that make it impractical for anyone who works a non-soccer related full time job. It would be nice if there were courses that provide more advanced information coaches like me want regardless of whether a license comes with it. Personally, I don't ever expect to get an A, B or C license at my stage in life but still want to continue my education (which is one reason why I visit this forum daily).
I think the NSCAA comes closer to this idea than the USSF by not favoring non-players. Since I haven’t attended their higher level courses I can’t say if they cover what I’d like to see in a course. I did attend their Special Topics Diploma course on “Reading the Game.” I went in with high hopes thinking we were going to watch a Revs game (which we did) then have it broken down by their coaches to show what they picked up. Nope. We were assigned into three person groups. Each group was assigned a different topic. My group studied the movement of the Revs forwards. After the match we reassembled to share our observations with each other. Occasionally the instructor would throw in some brief comments but that was it. So you basically had the students teaching each other. ?? They did provide a handout but it was more an outline of suggesting what to look for when coaching a game.
As an example of what I’m talking about the NFL channel runs a segment called AFC (or NFC) Playbook where the commentators analyze parts of games to show what they’re talking about. They repeat the tapes in slow motion isolating on individual players and how they move. The closest I’ve seen to this is on the International Tactics tapes/DVDs by Jape Shattuck which I got in my D course (which is no longer provided as part of the course). On my local TV they have a segment with Patriots coach Bill Belichick using the “Belistrator” where he shows what makes certain players of their next opponent so dangerous. He does the same thing the NFL channel does: slow motion replays isolating on player movement. Between the NFL show and the Belichick segments I’ve learned more about American football than I ever did.
I wish there was something equivalent outside of the licensing courses for non-professional soccer coaches and fans.
