The Chatterbox
Go home hoarse
I believe that one of the major factors contributing to the development of the girls and this team is the fact that I am constantly critiquing their play. And when I say constantly, I mean constantly. When possible*, most every time a girl touches a ball in training I try to give feedback about her individual technique or her decision making. Most of the time it is a short technical phrase, like "Toe up, Jilly!" or "Keep it on the ground, Bidi!", or an encouraging "Great ball, Maddog!" or "I like the effort, Macky!", but it is there. I also am aware and communicate with the girls off the ball; timing of runs, positioning, etc.
*The times when it is not possible to watch every single girl on the ball (for example, when the girls are working with a ball each or in small groups), I try to be observant of as much as possible and rotate the commentary.
Some coaches go home hoarse from every training session and then sit quietly and watch games as "the game is the kids' fun time" and "the game is the best teacher". These coaches claim that the players become robots and creativity is stifled because of all the conducting that occurs from the sidelines. Many also think the kids are over-coached and this leads to a lessening of their overall enjoyment level. I agree with all of this to a point, though I think it is the opposite extreme if a coach of a young youth team just sits silent.
At the younger age groups, I believe that the players need more than just the game itself in order to realize their potential. League games and tournaments are as real as it gets for the kids, and many valid coaching moments only come as a direct result from the pressures of realistic game situations.
In fact, though I am often making comments to the players on the field, more times than not I’m directing my comments to the girls sitting next to me on the bench. Buzz used to do this a lot with the Thunder. Believe me, I should know as late in my career I saw more bench time than field time. I’m sure this is where I picked this habit up.
Most of Buzz's coaching moments were highlighting on the field mistakes from a certain player to a substitute on the bench who also played that position in an effort to educate. Though I didn’t see this at the time, Buzz was trying to make us all better by pointing out coachable moments to those within easy ear-shot. Most of the time I was so pissed off that I wasn’t playing that my retort was usually along the lines of “Well, put me in then if you want to see it done right!”. OK, I never said that out loud, but I was definitely thinking it.
Looking back at it now, I always thought I was better than the players who played ahead of me. We all have our own color skies. But to Buzz’s credit, he always played the guys who he thought would help the team the most. I see this now, didn’t see it back then.
I remember back in 1996, I was probably leading the team in minutes played that year. During USA Cup Week that July, the Thunder hosted the LA Galaxy (MLS) in a friendly match. I was so looking forward to the game as I knew that because of the tournament and the opponent, it would surly be a packed house. Moreover, I had a lot of young girls teams that I had been working with that summer coming out to see me play. OK, they might have been coming to see Cobi Jones, not me, but let me think what I want. My world is so much fun!
Anyway, as we’re getting ready for the game in the locker room, Buzz walks over to me and tells me that he’s going to start Russell Gee at sweeper instead of me. Russell Gee! What?!?! The guy can’t even kick a ball straight! I’m lying, he could kick a ball straight. Russell is a good friend of mine, and now the coaching director at Carmel United in Indiana. This was our biggest game of the year as I and most all the other players saw it, and I had played almost every minute of every game up until this point. What the heck? (G-rated version). Buzz calmly informed me that this game was an exhibition game that meant nothing to our league season, and he wanted to give some other players some playing time to keep the overall game fitness of the team at a high level and keep all 18 players sharp.
Needless to say I didn’t see things his way… not in the slightest. I now realize what he did was for the good of the team as a whole, but back then I was steaming.
So there I sat, right on the bench with nearly 11,000 fans packed into the National Sports Center in Blaine to see me… I mean Cobi and the Galaxy.
Throughout the first half, a number of chants of “We want Abboud!” rose up from directly behind out bench, instigated by about 20 girls from Lakeville who I had been working with all summer long. Was Buzz deaf? Couldn’t he hear that my fans wanted me?!?! Give them what they want, man!
Midway through the first half, just as another round of the “We want Abboud!” chants was just beginning, Buzz looked down the bench and called my name. Finally! I thought. He’s seen the light! And he’s seen Cobi blow by Russell at sweeper about 6 times. I strutted down the line in front of the bench, casting my gaze at all the luckless other substitutes who may never see the field that day, and giving a cool wave to my loyal “We want Abboud!” fans as their cheers grew louder and more intense when I stood up, seemly ready to enter the game and save the Thunder.
I reached Buzz and he stood to put an arm around my shoulder, about to impart some last words of wisdom about how I was supposed to go in and surly put an end to the Cobi Jones dominance of our back line. The “We want Abboud!” cheers had grown to such frenzy that Galaxy and Thunder players alike on the field were snatching glances into the bleachers to see what was all the commotion was about. “WE WANT ABBOUD! WE WANT ABBOUD!”
Buzz, eyes still focused and intent on the game, calmly asked "Mark, can you please go up into the stands and see what they want? Nice.
If anyone is curious, I went in at halftime. Cobi was faster than he looked... or I was a slow as I thought my good friend Russell was. :)
Where was I? Oh yeah, educating players on the sidelines. I warned you that I get off on tangents sometimes.
The game is definitely what the young players should enjoy most, but I don't think coaching during the game, if done properly, negatively impacts enjoyment levels. "Properly" to me at these young ages means 1) critique with a positive tone, see also Applaud, Coach, Encourage (ACE) 2) constant encouragement, and 3) validation of good ideas over unpolished technique. Moreover, this I guess I see everything that we do as a group as a development opportunity. Be it training or playing in games (friendlies, league play, or tournaments). The goal is to develop these girls to the best of my ability and, since none of them have yet shown an aptitude for telepathy, I it imperative that I verbally guide them at most every turn.