Jess Taylor: A Lack of Female Coaches

This is the second part of what I hope to be a regular series on this blog. These articles will feature a guest writer, who will provide slightly different, or even alternate, perspective on soccer in America. Each writer will have at least one thing in common - a shared involvement in soccer at the grassroots and developmental level in this country. 

I first met Jess Taylor in Milwaukee, WI after a futsal game I had just coached last winter during the 2012-13 season. She struck me as a very outspoken and confident person, who is not afraid to speak her mind in a male-dominated field. As it turns out, she and her family also live not too far from my family in the same community and she joined my club right around the time I met her. The following is an account of Jess' thoughts on a lack, or rarity, of female coaches in the women's game.

Parent Coaches

The last couple of months, I have been thinking a lot about youth soccer coaches who also happen to coach their own children.

For the record, I have never coached one of my own children, as my only child is just shy of six months old. The closest I have come to being a parent coach is when I coached my younger brother, who is three years younger than me, from when he was sixteen until he was nineteen. This, by the way, was my first real coaching experience.

Among topics of nepotism and favoritism, I am really just curious about the thought process parent-coaches go through that results in a decision to coach their own child in addition to a dozen or so of his or her athletic peers. What is the driving reason that coerces people to undertake what could become a very controversial position within the athletic development of their own child?

In my experience, there are a couple of types of parent coaches that exist within youth soccer.

Gamesmanship vs Cheating

Last weekend, an incident occurred in the German Bundesliga in a bottom-half of the table battle between SV Werder Bremen and FC Nürnberg. 

Werder Bremen player Aaron Hunt took a large touch past a Nürnberg defender inside of the penalty area and appeared to stumble before going to ground. The referee immediately stopped play and awarded a penalty kick to Bremen. However, Hunt approached the referee to say a few words and the referee reversed his decision.

Upon closer look at the replay, it looks as if Hunt almost trips or drags his right foot across the ground to simulate a foul just after he is past his defender - in other words, a dive. After the game, Hunt even admitted he had attempted to gain an advantage:

“It was clear to me that I made a mistake. That’s why I did not have to think much about it. We don't want to win like that, not even in a battle for relegation.”

In a sport in which winning at all costs seems to be the motto of the day, Hunt's fair play, as some are calling it, has been deemed "refreshingly honest". 

Jose Reyes: Soccer is more than just a game...

This is the first part of what I hope to be a frequently occurring component to this blog. These articles will feature different guest writers, who will provide slightly different, or even alternate, perspectives on soccer in America. Each writer will have at least one thing in common - a shared involvement in soccer at the grassroots and developmental level in this country. 

I first met Jose Reyes in Carson, CA at the USSF C License course in July 2012. Quiet and unassuming at first, he quickly came out of his shell and proved to be very knowledgeable and collaborative with myself and our other classmates. I got to know him very well in the week and a half that the course lasted, and am happy to continue to have him as a colleague who I can bounce ideas off of and share resources. The following is Jose's response to my request that he contribute to this blog.

Things to come...

It's been a while since I have actually posted anything on this blog. I do have a couple of things I am working on in my spare time that I hope to have out within the next couple of weeks (I know that I keep saying that but this time I mean it!).

However, I do have some exciting news:

Youth Soccer and Commitment

I coach two boys teams at my club - 1999 Boys and 2003 Boys. This is my second year with both age groups. Throughout my time with these teams, I have been plagued by something that seems to occur much more frequently than it really should - players missing training or games for other activities.

These other activities include but are not limited to:

• Other sports, like basketball or baseball

• Music lessons, such as piano, guitar, or being part of an orchestra

• Unexpected family trips (by unexpected, I mean that I am given very late notice)

• School assignments, such as long term projects due the next day

• A Milwaukee Bucks basketball game

• Going out to dinner

• Family friend is visiting

• Skiing or snowboarding

• And probably some others that I have permanently blocked from my memory

Youth Soccer Clubs: Development vs Results

In my time as a youth soccer coach, I have experienced a variety of different club level philosophical approaches toward teaching young players the game of soccer. And in some form or another, it always seems to be inevitable that statements pertaining to the "development" of youth soccer players end being just that - a statement, but with little or nothing to tangible to back it up.

All of the clubs that I have worked for have touted their "development first" philosophy, whether directly on their website or verbally by the director of coaching or another coach. Below are a few excerpts from the websites of some of those clubs:

Some Thoughts on Coaching Youth Soccer

When I was just starting out as a soccer coach - fall of 2005 was my first season, I believe - I literally knew nothing about how to teach anything - let alone the game - to young players. Furthermore, my knowledge of soccer was questionable at best.

My first coaching stint, so to speak, was as an assistant to a former coach of mine with a U12 boys recreational team. I had no idea what I was doing and my former coach basically did all the coaching - I was there to demonstrate and to connect with the kids.

My lack of education and experience handling a group of young players was very intimidating, and I quickly found myself overwhelmed. I decided to assist with an older select team - one that my brother played on - and also included a couple of former teammates as this was a U19-U15 boys team.

This was equally overwhelming at times, as I found myself caught between my role as a coach and my relationships with the players who were close in age. But I persisted, and soon found myself in a head coaching role a couple of years later.

It was at this time that I began to discover a multitude of resources out there to help coaches. Reedswain was the first, then as I began to connect with other coaches in my home town, I discovered Success in Soccer. Finally, when I took my National "D" License through California Youth Soccer - North, my instructor recommended World Class Coaching.

I had an embarrassment of riches. All these books and magazines, coming to my front door every month. It was AMAZING!

BUT, looking back, I still had no idea how to coach.

American Soccer Culture: A Brief Analysis

This post is actually a combination of two separate topics I had intended to write about, but after some reflection, I realized that they both tie together under a wider umbrella topic: American Soccer Culture.

A very ambiguous title, and to some, probably a bit of a contradiction in itself.

Soccer in the United States is considered second tier to several other professional sports that I will not mention, because if you are reading this, then I'm sure you know which ones I am talking about. While the sport boasts high levels of participation at the youth level, I have a strong suspicion that these numbers include a large population of middle to upper class suburban kids who can afford the pay-to-play model that most youth soccer organizations require.