The Soccer Sidelines

In the Line of FireThis past weekend, I was asked to be the Assistant Referee (AR) for my son's 2003 travel game. I'm not a referee, but on this day I had just come from a game and was wearing my coaching uniform. We look like race cars on the field and stand out from a mile away - especially since our club colored are red, black, and white. I was hard to miss. One of the AR's didn't show for the game and the Center Referee (CR) caught me before the game. My son's coach, bless his heart, pointed me out to him before the game as a possible substitute for the missing AR. I came to enjoy my son's game and ended up holding a flag and running up and down the field. Time to make the most of it, I thought. You need to know that I'm not a licensed referee. I have taken a course in officiating games, but that makes me a coach with a course in officiating. It doesn't make me a licensed referee and it certainly doesn't give me the right to make official calls at a soccer game. This last point is one that I'm glad to say the CR emphasized when he handed me the flag. I was to help him to see when the ball goes out of play, but calls like the offside call - one that has many moving parts (See episode #18 - The Offside Rule Explained) - was a call that he would make. This pre-game substitute AR speech is something I've heard before when I've been volunteered to do this job & I'm grateful for it. Watching a game with referee eyes is hard enough. This speech takes the pressure off a little, but as you'll learn in a minute, doesn't stop parents from throwing criticism. During our initial conversation, I could see that the CR got the sense that I might understand the calls well enough to help out, but he didn't know or trust me yet - so, as I would have done myself, he put some restrictions on. He did, however, tell me that if I think there MIGHT be an offside infraction, that I was allowed to hold my flag 45 degrees down as a HINT for him. He would make the call. The first half went by pretty well. I could see he was supporting what I was telling him about what I saw. He called me over for the second half, corrected my flag signals, and gave me a little more freedom to signal him with things I was seeing on the field. My head hurt when I was done. In my head, I was watching every touch of the ball - saying to myself "Out on white... out on blue... out on white. Out on blue..." with every touch - just in case the ball went out of bounds. I was terrified of raising my flag in the wrong direction when I saw it fully cross the line - or missing who it went out on all together when I did raise my flag. As a point of reference, I keep stats on my own games. In yesterday's game - the one that we played just before I came to watch my son's second game, we recorded 340 first touches in the first half, 409 first touches in the second half - for a total of 749 first touches in that game. My stats keeper had an emergency call during the first half, so some of our first touch stats were missing and I know that not all first touches get recorded properly even in the best case scenarios. What I was watching as a proxy AR wasn't just first touches. I was seeing first, second, third, knees, bumps, side-swipes, and ricochets off of shin guards. Whomever touches the ball last before a ball goes out of bounds on the touchline (sidelines) loses the chance to play it back in, so every little touch counts. Then I was watching the offside line - running up and down the sideline - staying even with the second to last defender (not including the goal keeper), watching and/or listening for the kick/pass and checking player positioning to determine whether or not a player was in an offside position at the time the pass was made - and if they materially impacted the play. I was a volunteer.

Being Cold is No Fun

It's amazing to me how many parents I see every year on the sidelines who are unprepared for the weather. I expect this from my teenaged kids, but when I see full grown adults shivering on the sidelines, I think I need to do an episode on this subject. There is no good reason for you to be cold on the sidelines of a soccer field. The weather will adjust the way you dress for it, but warmth is your right. Teeth chattering is probably not encouraged by the American Dental Association. And blue finger tips are not attractive.

Weather is Relative

There is a big difference between running around in 50 degree temperatures vs sitting on a cloth chair in 50 degrees. Your activity level make a huge difference in how you feel at a game. If you're sitting still in 50 degree weather, be prepared to be cold. If you're running around in 50 degree weather, you're probably grateful to have things a little cooler.

A wet 50 degree day is much colder that a dry 50 degree day thanks to the added evaporative effect of wet clothing against the skin. Windy days can penetrate layers. Hill tops or large flat surfaces like a soccer field with no wind break can amplify the wind effect.

Take this stuff seriously. People can and have suffered hypothermia in 50 degree temperatures - especially when they're wet from sweat or other bad weather like rain or snow.

Taking Care of Players

Players have special needs. Here are a few thoughts on players:

Benched players will be colder than players who are actively running.

Wet (sweaty) players will lose any heat they have quickly and can suffer shivering cold easily if not cared for on the bench

Goalkeepers will likely be colder than field players - especially if they are not seeing much action.

Injuries are more likely when players are not warmed up and their muscles, ligaments, and tendons are not activated before strenuous play

Wet balls slap and hurt!

Slippery wet fields make players prone to injury.

Players are wearing light weight wicking clothing in most cases - regardless of the weather

Dehydrated players don't have as much fluid in their bodies to circulate and keep them warm as hydrated players

Here are some things that make cold days a little more manageable for players:

Proper warm ups are important. It's not good to take human bodies form cold and stiff to full on game-like activities levels too quickly. I suggest having players show up a little earlier on cold days. Get the soccer cleats on. Get some activation exercises like lunges, opening-the-gate, closing-the-gate, high kicks, etc. going. Next, move players into some activities that encourages touches on the ball: rondos, passing exercises, etc. Don't forget about your goalkeepers! Keepers need to be loose and limber, gloves warmed up, bodies warmed up, etc.

Hydrate well the day before a game. This is true for every game, but it's even more important when players are going to be exposed to extremes in weather. Water helps the blood to circulate - which helps to keep the muscles well fueled and the body thermostat in good working order.

Have a blanket for the bench. Benches can be pretty cold and they will suck the heat right out of players if they're allowed to sit on a cold bench for a prolonged period.

Keep players who are getting ready to go in warmed up. Make them do jogs or high knees down to the corner flags and back. It's never a good idea to let people sit and get cold. Better to warm up through moving, than by huddling up under a blanket and getting stiff. Though a blanket is better than not having one.

When players come off, have them sip some water. We need to keep replenishing the body with fluids to keep the kids hydrated and moving.

Keep an eye on your goalkeepers during games.

The Adventure of CoachingI think most parents come into the world of coaching out of a love for their own kids and a desire to support them and provide well rounded learning experiences wrapped in fun. If we consider the world of grassroots soccer, by that I mean non competitive travel or select soccer, we see kids coming together from all backgrounds and skill sets - all out to make friends, become and stay active, learn some new skills, and have fun. Fun is the number one draw for kids into youth sports, and fun is what a lot of parents hope to provide. In this post, I'd like to talk about some of the stuff that's not talked about in coaching courses.I want to talk about the stuff we think about before we ever get to coaching courses. I want to talk about you and the stuff that can't be easily quantified. Before you step up for the first time, you might want to know: would I make a good coach? What's the time requirement? What if I fail and the kids don't like me?  What if I don't know anything about the game? Will my kids accept me? How can I be a good coach? Would I Make a Good Coach?Obviously, this is very personal question. If you've never coached before, you probably don't know the answer. I came from a military background. There were not many kids in that environment. And I didn't start with the military until I was a bit older. 24 yrs old to be exact. I was the old man in training. Before that, I was in college with other college kids. I had my own business and I was making a lot of money for my age. I was having life experiences that were far removed from children and I was perfectly happy there. After the military, I went to work in corporate America. I climbed the ladder through middle management and into the C-Suite. I managed hundreds of employees, millions of dollars worth of projects, and had made all the kinds of transitions outlined so well in the book: The Leadership Pipeline: How to Build the Leadership Powered Company, by Ram Charan and Stephen Drotter. I was leader in those environments - but those environments were for adults. Kids to me were scary. I had no experience. I didn't have any great examples to draw from. And I thought I'd be really bad at dealing with them. When I had my own kids, I didn't have any choice anymore. Kids are kinda everywhere when you're a parent. You definitely can't avoid them - or all the bugs they bring home from daycare and school. Sickness on school cycles year after year was par for the course. Coaching kids when mine were really little was about the farthest thing from my mind. I was happy to get in a nap every so once in a while. When my kids expressed an interest in trying youth sports, I was a big fan. I swam, played hockey, lacrosse, soccer, ran track, wrestled, did gymnastics and martial arts in college... My memories of youth sports - working together as a team, pushing past weakness and discomfort, or even just putting one arm in front of the other for 4-8,000 yards twice per day every day with nothing but bubbles from another swimmer's kicking feet in front of me - those things, the perseverance, the teamwork, the sense of achievement after working hard - those things got me through many rough spots in life. I wanted that for my kids. When my kid's coach needed help, and I saw that the experience my kids were having would be better if I stepped up. I stepped up. I picked up the stop watch, tracked time, donned a title "Assistant Coach," and eventually managed the bench. In the early days, I struggled to remember my own experiences as a player - as if my experiences as a player would help me now as a coach. But I realized after a while, that playing and coaching are two very different things. Coaching requires organization. I had learned organization. Coaching requires good communication. I had learned communication.

The Reason We CompeteCompetition between human beings has been around a long time. Paintings in the Lascaux caves in France, it is believed, show images of sprinting and wrestling around 15,300 years ago. Similar paintings and sculptures show humans participating in sports like wrestling, swimming, gymnastics, and archery in Mongolia, Libya, Japan, Iraq, Egypt, and Greece. Arguments have been made that competition was originally used as a way to sort out who might be fit for service. Some people have shown that sport has been used to teach lessons about life and in the development of basic human skills that the human race needed in order to survive and thrive. Being up close and personal with youth sports for many years - both as an athlete and as a coach, I believe youth sports is a great environment to push one another to be better. We challenge one another to be the best versions of ourselves possible. Competitors bring their best "game" to the game, pit them against one another, and learn a lot in the process. Youth sports is meant to be a safe environment first and foremost. After our kids are safe, it's about issuing challenge and answering that challenge. Where Does The Challenge Come From?Challenges in youth sport are not limited to the obvious. Sure, our opponent challenges us to bring the best of ourselves to the field of contest, but how about the challenge that we issue ourselves? Swimmers are often challenged to beat their own times. Challenges, in fact, come from all around us. If we have a coach, our coach challenges us. As kids, our parents challenge us. We challenge ourselves. Our opponents challenge us. Spectators challenge us. The weather challenges us. History challenges us. All that challenge, when delivered in a safe environment, makes us stronger. When we rise to the occasion, we feel good. When we attempt to overcome a challenge, even if we don't succeed, it exercises our mind, body, and spirit. If we try over and over again - eventually, we will either succeed, or at the very least, become a lot stronger. The Role of Our OpponentIn the days of gladiators, final competition ended with the death of one or more of the contestants. The best or most lucky survived. The purpose of the contest was not development or strengthening of the contestant. The purpose was entertainment. Two or more gladiators fought for the entertainment of the crowd - and some may argue to provide an outlet for the crowd and satisfy a natural human blood lust. The purpose of youth sports is to strengthen our young people's minds, bodies, and spirits. We care equally for the children on both sides of the contest. We do our best to match children so that contest will be as fair as possible. The objective is not to kill the other team, but to give the other team a solid challenge and force them to tap all of their strength and wisdom - to maybe stretch the other team so that at the end of the day, both teams go home tired, smarter, and stronger than what they were when they came out in the first place. Viewed from this context, our opponent actually brings us a gift to every match. They bring the best of themselves - which hopefully forces us to leave the field a little better ourselves. If our opponent didn't show, we wouldn't have a game. If they didn't bring their best, we wouldn't have a good game. If they do show and they give it everything they've got - win or lose, we benefit from that experience. Gratitude For Our OpponentThe fact that we're walking off the field as better versions of ourselves after every good match is an awesome thing. It is for this reason that we feel and express gratitude for our opponent, for the rules that make our game safe and fair, the the officials that make sure the rules are followed and safety is highest priority, for our teammates for joining us in the effort, and for ourselves for the effort we gave both on and off the pitch. Done right,

What is so Important About Commitment?Commitment makes The Soccer Sidelines "Important Stuff" list across all categories: parents, players, coaches, and volunteers. Commitment is a basic building block of the foundation for every youth athlete and is something that each member of a community - from parents and coaches, to organization leadership and volunteers - all have a responsibility to model and promote. If you're wondering - how can a volunteer influence a player's understanding of commitment, just consider the volunteer who fails to show up for an important job like washing team pinnies. Every player will literally be clothed in the stench of a failed commitment. Don't think they won't notice that some adult didn't follow through on their commitment to wash those pinnies. Commitment is something that is so ubiquitous in the youth sports environment, that we often fail to recognize it as an important actor in the shaping of our player's character. Commitment as a PlayerFor many players, youth sports may not be their first exposure to the concept of commitment, but it may be the most profoundly personal experience with it. The first time a youth athlete experiences lactic acid buildup in their muscles usually comes with being physically and mentally tired, they may be surprised when coach tells them to get some exercise to help them feel better. Players get a chance to practice commitment every day in youth sports - in both big and small ways. From getting out of bed on time to feeding and hydrating themselves, to supporting team mates, players start to understand the meaning of being "all in." They stand a much better chance of absorbing this message if we are intentional about communicating it - both at home and on the pitch. Youth sports may be the first environment where players get to exercise their commitment to something bigger than themselves. Committing to a team, to fellow players, to their own development as a way to support their team as opposed to as a way to make themselves look better, or to the game of soccer in general are all examples of this extra level of commitment in action. I recently had an opportunity to ask a few of my high school aged players about commitment and what they are committed to. A small group of my players did not register in time to get placed on my team. In one case, the player said he registered, but didn't. The second case, Dad wrote me a note asking for his son to be placed back on my team. In the third case, the player wrote me a note explaining why he missed registration and why he wanted to play. In all three cases, I was looking for clues as to what the player was committed to and how committed they are.  The first player just faded away. It seems that the registration process was too hard, so he gave up trying. The second player was absent as well. His dad was doing all the talking so I got no sense of what the player is committed to. The third player wrote me several paragraphs about why he was late and why we was trying to get back on the team after registration had closed. To paraphrase his comments, they were about being committed to himself and his own fun. I was looking for evidence of commitment to his team mates, to his coach, or to the game of soccer - I only found commitment to himself and the fun he thought he would or would not have. I can tell you as a coach and as the President of a Club, if a player shows up with a commitment to his team, the sport, his team mates - in short - something bigger than him or herself, I would move mountains to support that player. When all I see or hear in terms of commitment are proxy commitments from parents (who may want their kid to play more than the kid does) - when I see a half effort and then a fold, or if I see the main commitment is selfish, I'm not terribly motivated to go above and beyond. Now, I might still help, but it's the kids who show that they have commitment...

Don't Miss or Underestimate This!

Something powerful happens when a group of good people come together around a common goal. Bringing character, development, and fun to kids in our community not only benefits the kids, but brings adults together in really positive and powerful ways. There are more than two teams on the field for every practice and every game. If we underestimate the team team of parents, the teams of coaches, or the teams of volunteers and staff that make these activities possible, then we’re missing out on a super powerful resource - and possibly some awesome friendships.

The Teams Contributing

Most of the attention on a soccer field is directed at the ball. Coaches and those who understand the game tend to zoom out a little more and watch players shapes, movements, and timing. Referees are watching for compliance, energy levels, safety, and fairness. But if we zoom out even more, individual parents, groups of parents - and zooming out even more, club and organizational leadership, come into focus.

Parents chatting with parents

Volunteers working with volunteers

Coaches working with assistant coaches - and maybe other coaches

check Club leadership working with parents and volunteers

check Coaches working with parents and volunteers

check More... 

Opportunities to forge positive relationships around the game are not limited to those wearing uniforms. The opportunity for parents and other volunteers to come together and create value for one another are limitless!

Friendships extend form the soccer field into other areas of life. Synergies and community building can grow in many directions.

What Happened On Our Fields

To illustrate this phenomenon, I draw on experiences I had this past two weeks with my Club Academy. Our Academy serves kids from 3-8yrs-old and is structured around large group practices once or twice per week depending on the age, and games once per week. Planning for the season started many months before and opening day was two weeks ago.

Opening day is always awkward. There are new players, new parents, new coaches... no one really knows what to do or what is expected, so people stand around, see one another, and look for some direction. Everyone wants to fit in and everyone is hoping that they and their kids will have a good time on this new season adventure. This season was no different.

What's Happening Here?

Enter your text here...

Your Heading Here

Enter your text here...

Promoting Literacy of the Mind and Body

Teenage athlete with different kinds of sports balls isolated on white background

We usually associate literacy with reading books.  But what happens when we include a definition of physical literacy to include the way the body and brain interpret and react to the world and people around us?

The idea that there is only one kind of intelligence has been challenged, I would argue successfully, by many researchers. I've read that there are 9 different intelligences, 8 different intelligences... Emotional intelligence, visual spatial, verbal-linguistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal... Howard E. Gardner, an American Psychologist at Harvard writes a lot about this in his many published papers on the subject. If you want to read more, check out the resources section below. 

As I read child development materials like the stuff Howard Gardner wrote, I realize that so many of these intelligences are likely to improve as a result of youth sports. Think about this: What would happen if we place kids who are in the rapid intelligence development age range - from 3 years old to 8 years old - in a safe, three dimensional physical environment, populated by other kids, structured so as to provide clear objectives, and stimulated by others trying to achieve the same objective. What if we ask kids to interact with a physical object and one another, control the object with their bodies, work together to solve puzzles and problems, and wrap the whole thing in fun? The result? Physical literacy. 

Sounds like the perfect training ground for kids. Read the list of 8 intelligences written about by Professor Gardner. 

* Music-rythmic: does the game of soccer not require sensitivity to sounds and rythms? How about timing that run from the (sound of the) kick of a soccer ball such that your body breaks the offside plane after the kick, but just as the ball crosses into space in the opponent's territory?

* Visual-spatial: what soccer player can perform well without spatial judgment and being able to visualize two or three plays ahead in the mind's eye? Soccer is a thinking person's game & very strategic. 

* Logical-mathematical: What soccer player doesn't need to understand the underlying principles in a causal system? How can they play if they don't understand angles, what will happen if they fake left, pass right, and intercept the through ball? 

* Bodily-kinesthetic: What soccer player doesn't need to learn how to control one's body motions and their capacity to handle objects like a soccer ball skillfully? How about having a sense of timing, a clear sense of the goal of a physical action, or the ability to train responses? 

* Interpersonal: How can a team gel unless players get in tune with team mates moods, temperaments, motivations, and abilities to cooperate and work as a group? 

* Intrapersonal: What soccer player doesn't spend time in self reflection and assessment? 

* Naturalistic: How about playing in all kinds of weather? What soccer player doesn't need to understand the relationship between wind and movement, heat or cold and body performance, nutrition and hydration and energy? 

Granted, I skipped existential intelligence and verbal-linguistic intelligence, but the seven other intelligences above are clearly enhanced by playing the game. 

Expanding Physical Literacy

Who Cares?

"How's the weather?" is a common conversation opener, but when I hear it, I brace myself for a boring discussion. I get it. This is important stuff though. People have been hurt or killed, and thousands of games get cancelled or delayed every season. I've heard parents and coaches complain about a closure or delay and I understand that too. We came to play soccer, not sit in our car or worse - go home without grass or turf jammed in our cleats. 

An effective policy is one that keeps players and spectators safe, and protects the fields from damage. 

It's Just Rain...

I hear this one a lot. A little rain never hurt anyone. While probably close to being true, a little rain might hurt a field. Well... the rain actually just softens up the field most of the time. It's a stampede of 14 to 22 pairs of cleats running across the field that causes the damage. 

Soft grass fields can be damaged easily. Cleats kick up clumps of grass. Mud slicks and holes are left where the grass used to be. Those slicks and holes grow. They become trip hazards, slip hazards, and ankle twisting hazards. The pool with water which hides their depth and bend player's knees backwards when they misread the terrain. 

Rain by itself ins't much of a threat. It makes the ball wet. It makes a ball slap hurt more than usual. It can get in a player's eyes and cause them to misread a header or slip and slide into another player. But the rain itself isn't much of a threat. In fact, one may argue, rain and mud makes the game even more fun! At least that's the way we looked at it when we were kids. 

Rules about playing on damaged fields have evolved over time. Today, playing on a damaged field is something we try to avoid. In fact, we try to avoid damaging the field at all. This way, we get a full season of play time out of it. 

Keep in mind that when fields are closed for rain, it's for safety of the players and protection of the fields. In our area of the country, the general rule is if there has been 1/2 inch of rain or more on a field in the previous 24 hours before an event, the fields are closed. Our County government makes that rule. What's the rule like in your part of the country?

Thunder and Lightning on Soccer Fields

Whether we see lightning or hear thunder, it really makes no difference. You can't have thunder without lightning, and either one means you're in a bad spot if you're on a soccer field. 

What do they tell you in lightning storms? Get away from trees because the tallest thing is more likely to be struck than things that are low to the ground. Experts teach us to seek shelter, minimize our exposure, minimize the damage. 

Take it from a guy who's done CPR on a full grown man who had the misfortune of 50,000 volts of electricity through his body. High voltage and the human body don't mix! Think overcooked turkey and the smell of burnt hair here. Freaked out? Good. 

On a soccer field, the players and spectators are very often the tallest thing on the field next to the goal posts. That's like having 8-22 lightning rods running around. 

The illustration above, done by Ted Slampyak for The Art of Manliness, shows you the best position to assume if you're caught in a storm.

And don't go for the goal posts in case you're thinking that it's safer near them. Lightning spreads out across the ground when it strikes something like a tree, a goal post, or a human crouched in lightning position. That's why experts also have us spread out 100 feet between people - so if one ...

Making Lemonade out of LemonsThose with the power to take anything that is thrown their way and turn it into something positive truly have the power to save the world. When instead of seeing lemons, we see lemonade - when instead of seeing failure, we see opportunity, we rise above the common person and become invincible. Power is not in the illusion of control of the world around us, but in our ability to perceive the world around us in a healthy and productive way - no matter what comes our way. Youth Sports provides one of the best environments for young people to come to understand the power of perception - and as a consequence, the power of resilience. Getting knocked down and getting back up... experiencing failures and celebrating victories... Learning the relationship between the work we put in and the impact it has on our bodies, our minds, our spirit, and our team... Youth sports gives us the gift of thousands of teachable moments. We just need the ability to find and activate those moments to score in life in a big way. By Photographer unidentified. Retouched by TimofKingsland. [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsEdmund HillaryMountaineer and ExplorerIt's not the mountain that we conquer but ourselves. You're Either Winning or LearningAs a general rule, we're not all that much different from one another. Most of us have the same basic human abilities to adapt to our environment. We've adapted to life through many ages - from pre-historic cold through plagues - from under the seas to the top of Mount Everest. We ask questions of ourselves, throw our spirit against a thing which seems at first insurmountable, and over and over again, we emerge as winners or we learn. As a people, we never lose. We just try again. As a person, we each have that spirit within us. Nelson Mandela, after being badly beaten and thrown in jail for 27 years for his part in leading revolution in South Africa, became perhaps one of the world's most recognized leaders. Evidence of his resilience was shared with the world in one simple quote: "I never lose. I either win or I learn." If a man like Nelson Mandela can emerge after 27 years of fighting from a jail cell and declare to the world that he can "never lose," we have the power to emerge from a bad play or a bad game of youth soccer without being defeated. Where to Find Resilience on the Soccer PitchI don't think resilience comes naturally to everyone. Some kids tend to give up and walk away when things get tough. I do believe, however, that resilience can be learned, and if the environment is set up in such a way as to recognize and promote resilience, it can be absorbed by everyone who participates. Youth sports is going to provide kids lots of opportunities to practice resilience. Every time something doesn't work as planned, they get to practice. Every missed shot, every lost tackle, every time they step on the ball and pull a Charlie Brown, they get to practice. The key, I believe, is in what happens immediately following the opportunity to practice. When a player whiffs a ball and pulls a Charlie Brown (this happens to everyone), coaches and parents have a choice. Do we make it okay? Do we celebrate the whiff as a right of passage and something the player was "finally" able to do - meaning that they are maturing as a soccer player? Or do we cringe and send a signal that the whiff experience is embarrassing and should be avoided at all costs?The way we set up our environment on the pitch and at home make a big difference in whether a child is going to be willing to attempt a hard thing a second time - or tell themselves not to try. Trying again is a key ingredient in resilience. Our OpportunitiesOpportunities to teach / learn resilience on a soccer pitch are everywhere. I always assume that stuff happens off the pitch before kids e...