Opportunities for Development
In our second in a series of 7 discussions on Opportunities for Soccer Development in Manitoba and Canada, we will look at the need for more qualified coaches. In 2014, the Canadian Soccer Association produced a document titled, Leading A Soccer Nation: Canadian Soccer Association Strategic Plan 2014-2018. It outlined four strategic priorities for Canada Soccer in 2014-2018:
- INVEST in Technical Leadership by supporting our players, coaches and officials at all levels of the sport.
- ENSURE consistent, World-Class performances by our National Teams.
- ENCOURAGE the growth of the game in our country.
- GOVERN the game in Canada professionally in collaboration with our partners.
Pyramid for Coaching Certification
Keeping the four objectives in mind, coaches and coaching education has a big role to play in order to achieve them. Considering this we will look at where we are, and where we need to go! It should be kept in mind these are ideas meant to be a part of the conversation and hopefully some of them implemented, and are not meant to deter or damage the hard work done by the CSA Director of Coaching & Player Development programs. Over the last ten years the Canadian national staffs have dramatically improved the philosophy and curriculum of our Coach Education Program. In order to improve even more the coach educational program in Canada, there has to be a full scale financial investment to add new coaching staff and programs.See the results of Iceland for the Euro-Qualifying and they will tell you that the main reason for their success is the improvement of the quality of coaching at the younger age
In my opinion, there are significant opportunities for improvement in our soccer coaching education and to ENSURE consistent, World-Class performances by our National Teams similar to Iceland but we need to invest heavily in coaching education and we need to take care of the following:
A – The Need for more Coaches
B – The Need for a New Pathway for Certified Soccer Coaches
C – The Need to retain our Coaches
D – The Need for Qualified Coaching Instructors
The need to establish a SOCCER Coaches Association!
We also need to move our training focus beyond simply acquiring soccer skills and knowledge. Success in games is about the application of new knowledge and skills – it’s about behaviour change. It’s about good soccer habits. Unfortunately, at the youth level right now we are failing in this mission: only 10-20% of what players learn in a soccer training session is transferred back to the game. The reason? Recent research shows us that there is a distinction between a ‘motivation to learn’ and a ‘motivation to transfer’, and while most coaches are good at tapping into the first source of motivation, the second is often left unaddressed. I think the CSA needs to introduce into their soccer curriculum what it takes to tap into habits and ‘motivation to transfer’—and highlight a strategy to close the ‘gap’ between learning and doing, and ensure successful application of the knowledge gained in soccer practice is transferred to the official game.
A – The Need for more Coaches
Where we are – The need for more Coaches
Trained, Certified, Qualified and MOTIVATED soccer coaches are the mainstay of any soccer development program. Who else can ENCOURAGE the growth of the game in our country more than the Coaches with the appropriate skill set for the level of soccer that they coach? Most community coaches became involved in coaching because their children play the sport. Those coaches are likely to drop out of coaching once their children are no longer involved.
Our coaching education program, especially in the early stages, must MOTIVATE the coaches to progress and stay in the game even after their kids are no longer involved. There are three different kinds of motivation: (1) extrinsic (stemming from external forces), (2) intrinsic (stemming from internal forces) and (3) a motivation (a state of lacking any motivation to engage in an activity, characterized by a lack of perceived competence and/or a failure to value the activity or its outcomes). As famed football coach Homer Rice noted, “You can motivate by fear, and you can motivate by reward” but both those methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self-motivation. We need to identify those who have the “soccer bug”.
Solution – The Need for more Qualified Coaches
- As mentioned in the past by several coaches and officials “In order to attract new coaches we must make coach education accessible to as many coaches as possible, by eliminating the fees of these courses or by providing financial support to attend from the Clubs, Provinces or CSA.(If CSA or the Provinces or the clubs increase the registration fee by $1 or $2 should be more than enough to cover the cost)”
- Do not mandate coaching certification for youth soccer coaches at the U4-U7 entry level (attendance based training required)
- Once the coaches join the organization we need to develop, engage and MOTIVATE them by providing them with the skills they need. In order to grow the sport of soccer. We need to identify the players and coaches that are self-motivated and are passionate about the game. “Motivation is a fire: a fire which is ignited by a dream and fuelled by passion, a passion to prepare and to know-how, when, where and why you do what you do.”
In understanding what motivates people to get involved as a coach it is important to realize that most do not get involved because of the rewards and recognition, but without it most people will not stay involved. We definitely need more coaches (Especially self-motivated coaches, who love the game, want to succeed and make a difference).
B – Certified Coach Education
Where we need to go – The need for a new pathway for certified soccer coaches
Coach education in Canada should be free of charge as mentioned above. Coach education should give time to coaches to put in practice what they learn. Attendance based Certification may be sufficient to get a Community Fundamental License but it’s the personal experience one gains from actually coaching that really helps them develop as a coach – That experience is even more important as you progress through the coaching levels. For every license you get after the Community Fundamental Licence, there should be a Performance Based Certification with a minimum amount of practical experience gained before moving on to the next level. For that reason, I strongly suggest that Mentoring coaches should be reintroduced.
Our coaches need time and experience to develop their craft and the reintroduction of mentoring should help with that. Having coaches with a high level of coaching education will give Manitoban and Canadian children the opportunity to receive a strong foundation. This is something that is not the case at this time in North America and in many provinces in Canada including Manitoba,- where at the provincial, club and community levels the coaches are often under-qualified and lacking in basic training principles. Higher level experienced and certified coaches will give our players the best chance of becoming good footballers.
In my opinion, it is obvious in Manitoba and Canada that you need to get your education in a good private club or academy if you want to become a professional footballer. In Manitoba for example, almost 90% of players that are moving on to Universities or Professional environments have used private academies to supplement their training because this is where most of the qualified coaches are found.
The outlook today on coach education is not much different than 5-10 years ago when the system was based correctly on recreational needs – we didn’t have professional soccer in Canada or North America. Today we have professional soccer in Canada (3 MLS teams, 2 NASL teams, 2 USL PRO, League 1 Ontario/Quebec) with private academy and club representation. There are also 6 USL/PDL teams that are part of the four North American divisions. (MLS, NASL, USL/PRO & USL/PDL)
We must develop coaches who can be involved at the highest levels of the game.
We need a High Performance Based Certification , a PRO licence for coaches who want to make a living coaching and to help our players reach those levels. We need a vastly different outlook with an intelligent, common sense based overhaul of the system that will include PRO licences and support those wishing to achieve this level of coach education.
The education of coaches is one of the key factors in the development of soccer players that go on to achieve national, professional and International status.
Solution – Coach Education
- If the game in Canada is ever to compete with the best footballing nations of the world we need clear pathways. Much like player pathways, there must be a new pathway for coaches.
- The introduction of Soccer specific Physical Trainer & Goalkeeping Licence: Basic and Advance.
- Mentoring coaches should definitely be introduced.
Opportunity for Development – With descriptions
The graphic above outlines my ideal pathway for coaches culminating with the PRO license, the highest level of coach education. These are the certified licenses coaches and instructors ought to be required to obtain by Canada Soccer and its Provincial Member Associations.
We need a revamped pathway for certified soccer coaches
As part of the coaching education for those who are interested you can view my presentation on “The Profile of the Modern PRO- Coach” that I presented to the PRO LICENCE coaches when I was invited to be an instructor for the Pro licence course in 2011.
This is a short version of the Power Point. If you want the entire presentation please e-mail me at eduardo@world-soccer-academy.com
C – The Need for Coach Retention
Where we need to go
We need to find a way to keep ALL the quality coaches in the game, especially those with National B and National A qualifications. Locally, there are several good National B and National A- licensed coaches who are not involved in the club or provincial systems. How can an emerging and ambitious province afford to have some of its most valued resources sit idle? I’m sure the same is true for other parts of Canada.
You could say the Canadian and Manitoba system is like a lottery. If you are lucky you can get a good education but if you are unlucky you can get a coach during your first years of learning football that has no education or experience – or even worse – you get that throughout your playing career. Canadian clubs tend to allocate a lot of their resources in the youth system to pay for their administrative staff and equipment but very little for coaching development. The reality of running a small business tends to push the Long Term Player and Coaching Development plans to the back shelf. Many in the system, especially when they are appointed to a new position, are intimidated by knowledgeable or high level licenced coaches. Too often it is the “Yes man” coaches and staff preferred with limited knowledge and experience so they can achieve their personal agendas. Their thinking is not long-term with the fundamental aim of improving the coaching sphere.
Solution – Coach Retention
- We need to keep ALL the quality coaches in the game, especially the National B and National A. We need to embrace their knowledge and experience and to engage them.
- The best way to retain coaches is to ensure these three key words:
- Acknowledge
- Recognize
- Reward
- As with other things in life (such as our career and our community involvement) if we feel valued and appreciated for what we do we are more likely to stay involved and our enjoyment factor is increased. So it is with our coaches. We need to give them a sense of being valued and appreciated and the hopeful outcome is continued involvement and commitment to the club and the game of soccer.
D – The Need for Qualified Coaching Instructors
Where We Need to go – Who is Coaching the Coaches and the Instructors?
Another opportunity for improvement is in the coaching instructor department. Our coach facilitators need to be of the highest level with experience in both coaching and being a facilitator. These facilitators must at minimum hold the Canadian A licence and must attend a continuing coaching education program. Do our facilitators have the skills required to coach our coaches? In order to achieve the highest level in any profession you must ultimately learn from those with the highest level of education.
Someone once said “Do you get a university Master’s Degree from instructors also holding a Master’s or Bachelor’s degrees? No, you learn from people with PhD’s who have already been where you are and can best help you get to where you want to go.” We have the PhD soccer coaches in Canada we just need to get them involved and leave the politics out for the betterment of soccer!
Solution – Coaching the Coaches and the Instructors
- Our coach facilitators need to be of the highest level with experience in both coaching and being a facilitator.
- These facilitators must at minimum hold the Canadian A licence and must attend a continuing coaching education program.
- The instructor of the facilitators should hold a Pro-Licence and also must attend a continuing coaching education program.
What Next?
- The value of planning for the future (succession planning) Another measure of a successful club or association is its ability to hold on to coaches, and the planning it puts in place when a new pool of coaches is required. This is called succession planning. A succession plan is a way of making sure all the good work a club or an association puts into practice is not wasted. It is a way of planning for the future by putting in steps and processes to “keep the good work kicking on” not to start from Zero.Until now, the lack of emphasis on ensuring qualified coaches in our youth soccer system has affected the quality of players and coach education. We recently introduced a national curriculum for coach education and it is a vast improvement from what we’re used to, but as with everything, there’s room for improvement. We need to continually evaluate what we need our coaches to learn, who are going to teach them, and what role continuing education will serve in maintaining our coaching skills. This way our children would have structure and commitment from qualified people whom will guide them in the right direction.
- The establishment of a Soccer Coaches Association, with a local and national presence, would be useful improving coach development and retention.Another significant opportunity for development of the curriculum of our coaching education is that it fails to match our Canadian identity; it should emphasize our strengths while matching our Canadian Way to play soccer!
- This however leads into another topic for discussion at another time when we will talk about “The need for a clear vision, philosophy and curriculum” in more detail later in this series.
U5/U6 Developmental Plan
Final words
“It’s important that the CSA as they proclaim in their strategic priorities , invests in Technical Leadership invest in Coach Education so that players, of all ages and at all levels, can be adequately supported in their development with proven technical programs and well trained, knowledgeable coaches and educators. We should be able to add much quality to the work that is being done inside the clubs and provinces, make better players and help the national teams, and club sides, get better. The work is therefore more purposeful.” Having coaches with a high level of education gives Manitoba and Canadian children the opportunity to receive a strong foundation.
One suggestion will be to take a look at the coaching education in Iceland
PS- Check our Resources for Coaches page for more info!
WSA Blog Footnote
WSA is pleased to offer these blogs on topics and issues of interest to our soccer communities. WSA individually trough Eduardo Badescu and collective knowledge, experience and perspective, locally and internationally, prompts us to offer these thoughts for the consideration of all interested parties. Our blogs are put forward in the interest of the betterment of soccer, from the local to the national scene. We emphasize that they are offered in the spirit of service to our community at large. We hope these views will inspire positive and constructive debate amongst all who love our beautiful game.
And should these ideas find resonance within any of the many clubs and associations, we are eager to be involved in the proceeding developments.
Eduardo Badescu 