This topic deserve it's own thread instead of being buried deep somewhere else under Coach intentionally left blank's thread. We all talk a lot about "player development". For me, that includes sportsmanship. IMHO, both, the coaches & parents are responsible for player development on and off the field. For some kids, the soccer skills they learn may be of little use to them past the age of 14, or high school, or for even fewer -- college. The skill these players have developed last a lifetime. Great Story!

http://bit.ly/frqBNU

Pass,

You articulated the topic much better than I have in the past. My wife and I do our best to raise our children. We have beliefs and fundamentals that are important to us that we hope our children will respect, follow, and utilize throughout their life. We hope that those individuals either share similar philosophies or respect our beliefs when selecting who we choose to associate with and who we choose to have participate in our children's lives. A coach is one of those people. We certainly consider "who" the individual is as a person when evaluating the coach. Thanks.

What a great story, thanks for sharing it.

Sportsmanship is definitely a hit or miss. One kid goes home and jokes about an incident during their game early that day on facebook while another goes home to write a "I hope you get better soon" note to the opponent in which a 50/50 tackle resulted in a severe sprain. Both just recently happened.

My 02 is blessed to be on a team with a coach who we respect and who shares our values. Our BB cannot wait to go to practice or games and in the year he has been with this coach has improved as a soccer player. His coach tries to teach the boys a high standard of behavior and respect for others. For a competitive person like myself it is so easy to make soccer an idol, I must constantly remind myself that who I surround my BB with will to some extent shape who he becomes. To that end, we must select a coach very carefully and care as much for our BB's attitude as his soccer ability.

My son fouled a boy in soccer camp, he stopped and helped the boy up. The coach told my son that if you foul somebody like that don't even acknowledge that it happened and basically shrug your shoulders and walk away. We pulled him out of that coaches group and went to another group with a different coach. That coach was a POS and I don't care if he was the best coach in the world he would never coach my boy. Soccer is a game , character is for life...

mplsnsg wrote:Pass,

You articulated the topic much better than I have in the past. My wife and I do our best to raise our children. We have beliefs and fundamentals that are important to us that we hope our children will respect, follow, and utilize throughout their life. We hope that those individuals either share similar philosophies or respect our beliefs when selecting who we choose to associate with and who we choose to have participate in our children's lives. A coach is one of those people. We certainly consider "who" the individual is as a person when evaluating the coach. Thanks.

I agree with Soccer4fun. Great story. Then, I read your avatar...peekaboo peecachu? Scares me and I'm fearless...


Sorry for the young player. I believe slide tackling before U10 should be deliberately discouraged by everyone.

Much respect for Sergi, now Barcelona's Juvenile B coach. Makes you wonder how many other coaches in this situation would have set the same example for Fair Play. Definitely looking forward to watching Barca's Juvenile A at Dallas Cup -- April 17th.

Sergi Barjuan -- Perhaps Barcelona’s most successful left-back ever, Spaniard Sergi Barjuan collected three league titles and two Copa Del Reys with his boyhood club. Sergi spent a while out of the game after retirement, but in July 2009 he accepted Pep Guardiola’s proposal to fill the position of Barcelona’s juvenile B coach. The defender has been there ever since and is responsible, along with ex-teammate Luis Enrique, for the influx of Barcelona’s young stars.

you may need to choose English at top of page

http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/castellano/noticies/futbol_base/temporada10-11/04/03/n110403116685.html

anselansel wrote:My son fouled a boy in soccer camp, he stopped and helped the boy up. The coach told my son that if you foul somebody like that don't even acknowledge that it happened and basically shrug your shoulders and walk away. We pulled him out of that coaches group and went to another group with a different coach. That coach was a POS and I don't care if he was the best coach in the world he would never coach my boy. Soccer is a game , character is for life...

All well and good....wait until the hormones kick in.

i understand your post and can see your point. however like all things , when you have the will to do something, some decisions are easy. coaches who encourage cheating, disrespect or unethical behavior have only as much power as you give them, you sign their checks. You are always in control w your kid as to what you will tolerate, because in the end it's only a game......

anselansel wrote:i understand your post and can see your point. however like all things , when you have the will to do something, some decisions are easy. coaches who encourage cheating, disrespect or unethical behavior have only as much power as you give them, you sign their checks. You are always in control w your kid as to what you will tolerate, because in the end it's only a game......

Well said.

Our daughter the other day received her first zoomreport. It went over what she needed to work on, how she has improved and what she can do at home to get better. By the coach taking his time to fill this out, showed that he cares about her progression.