As a coach, referee, and fan, I am always surprised to hear some of the things that can come out of parents\’ mouths during games. So much so, that there will multiple posts devoted to soccer parents. Don\’t get me wrong. A vast majority of parents are very encouraging and well-behaved during games. In addition, I recognize that I am no saint. I have not always been the ideal coach or fan. And if you ask my youngest, he would say that I\’m a bad soccer parent because I will tell him to hustle and on occasion \’coach\’ him just a bit. However, I know I am getting better so I do feel like a can share my thoughts with you without being considered too big of a hypocrite.
As a coach and as someone who wants to improve soccer in the United States, there is nothing that drives me crazier than parents reinforcing poor play. The biggest example of this is the long ball.
U.S. parents are obsessed with the long ball. When a player kicks the ball 40-50 yards down field, you will hear a chorus of \’ooooohs\’ and \’aaaaahs\’ coming from the sidelines. It does not matter where the ball goes. The player will still get lauded for his/her \’tremendous\’ kick. Naturally, players hear and like this reaction. So any opportunity they get …. BOOM! … there goes the ball accompanied by the parents\’ approval.
What parents are reinforcing is a type of soccer called \’kick ball\’. In kick ball, players just kick the ball as hard as they can. It may go in the right direction–towards the opponent\’s goal–but rarely will it go to one of the player\’s teammates. If you get both teams playing like this, it by no means \’a beautiful game\’.
Soccer is all about the first-touch and ball control. The better first-touch (on the ball) a player has and the more control he/she has over the ball, the better the player, the better the team, and the more beautiful the game becomes.
So what can parents do? A lot. But for the purpose of this post, reinforce a good first touch and good ball control. Ooh and aah when a player makes a good stop. Do the same when a player makes a good pass to a teammate. When a team starts to string together several nice passes in a row, start an \’ole!\’ cheer after each pass, as bullfighting spectators do when the matador eludes a bull\’s charge. This will get the players\’ attention.
Remember, the first-touch and ball control are skills that take a long time to develop and can never be mastered. David Beckham and Cristiano Renaldo will be the first to tell you that their first-touch and ball control can be better. Anything that parents can do to encourage this behavior, the better.
It is still OK to ooh and aah the long ball if it is done with purpose and precision. A 30-yard shot on goal is worthy of such recognition. So, too, are long punts that result in a scoring opportunity.
Leave a Reply