FineSoccer Kids 14

Welcome to the FineSoccer Kids Newsletter. Today's title could simply be "Why ask WHY".

When I first start to train players, I always tell them that if there is ever anything that I tell them that they do NOT understand or that they do not understand why I am asking them to do it, they should ask me before proceeding. When I tell them this, many of these players seem surprised.

Too many players these days do things simply because their coaches tell them to. They never bother to find out the reason for doing this and without knowing why they really don't learn. It is my belief that if you want to be a soccer player you need to know why you are being told to do things and THEN you have to decide if this makes sense to do. If it doesn't make sense to do, then get a better clarification. It's just like when you are in school. Hopefully your teachers don't just tell you that something is so and then leave it at that. Instead, if they are doing their jobs right, they should be telling you WHY something is so and then make sure you really understand this (in the form of homework, quizzes, reports and tests). If you do things simply because you have been told to do them, it's similar to the person who can tell you exactly how a computer works (because they were taught that) but can't actually use a computer because they don't know how to turn one on (they weren't taught that).

You might think that if I encourage my players to ask for explanations whenever they don't understand something that there is a lot of wasted time in my training sessions but the truth is that if I do my job correctly, they will know why I am asking them to do everything before hand so therefore there really aren't that many questions being asked.

There are occasionally times when a player will ask me why they are doing something and I will respond by telling them that they will see in a very short time (usually this is when I am doing something early in the progression and I know it will make more sense at the next level). I consider this a satisfactory reply as long as I make sure that they do completely understand things at the earliest time possible.

If your coach doesn't explain why he wants you to do something, be willing to ask him. Do realize that there is a time and place for doing this and don't do it in a challenging way. If your coach isn't open to having this conversation in front of everyone, ask him during the next water break.

If a coach replies to the question of "why?" with "Because I said so" then you have to make the decision of whether this is the right coach for you.

Please do realize that not all coaches want to be asked why they are doing something (I do believe that some really don't know while others just have different coaching philosophies than me), so don't expect everyone to be as open with information as I might be.

Any comments, questions or suggestions should be sent to kidscomments@finesoccer.com.

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Have a great day!

Lawrence