The Roles and Responsibilities of a Soccer Coach

Sports management is an extensive field that necessitates the creation of other career branches from it. In these sub-classes of managing sports exists soccer coaching, which entails various functions such as recruiting, training, and managing footballers (Allmann et al., 2012). They further mention that soccer coaching is also responsible for counseling and promoting players and, therefore, soccer coaches are crucial individuals in the domain sports management for their diplomatic and friendly nature towards everyone in the field (Allmann et al., 2012, p. 8). In this regarding, soccer coaching is not only focused on the winning outcome but also training players for every competition that impacts all athletes positively for their own personal development.

Soccer coaching has therefore been deemed a great career and this can be attributed to the prodigious benefits extended to the great international coaches.

The survival and prosperity in soccer coaching is a long journey that any person with the wish to join must exhibit certain attributes. According to Coleman and Steen, the coach has to success-oriented in order to direct them in visualizing the exact areas that they seek accomplishment (1996).

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The coach is also expected to lead by demonstrating programs within the environment whether school or college, as well as in the community. The coach's success is determined by the people surrounding them and, therefore, they need to be close and surrounded by good people, who are capable of adopting their philosophies through sharing dedications, as well as showcasing collective and concerted efforts towards the quest for success. In this context, the assistant coaches selected or recruited must exhibit the aforementioned traits to aid the coach and the entire team in pursuing success (Stewart & Sweet, 1992).

It is also imperative for the soccer coach to recognize the type of friends they have, coaching being a leadership function there is a tendency of both negative and positive influences emerging from persons around. It is, therefore, imperative to identify individuals with positive effect in the coaching profession and recognize them as friends.

The soccer coaching profession necessitates the establishment of a formidable coaching philosophy. Kohlberg asserts that the fundamental considerations with regards to the construction of an individual’s coaching philosophy are the style of coaching and coaching objectives (1968). With respect to the coaching objectives, there are various aspects that need to be considered such as making improvement as an individual (coach) or individual players, training athletes in the new mechanisms of effective competition, initiating fun programs for the players, winning titles (for example, the league), rising to being the best and top teams in the league or enhancing the winning record by lessening the magnitude of losses (Schmidt, 1975). For instance, coaching of high school teams emphasizes winning and most coaches in this field of soccer have concentrated of producing the winning outcome, even though it does not serve as a determining factor regarding the footballers' success. In this context, coaches are not supposed to overemphasize winning, because it acts as a precursor for the decline of players' motivation and self-esteem, as well as fear and anxiety in case of failure (Jaffe & Manzer, 1992). Therefore, coaching should be molded in a manner that allows measuring its success in various ways and not only focusing on the record of winning or losing or state ranking.

Coaching style is also another important facet of coaching philosophy. The concept of an effective coaching outlines the reflection of the coach's choice with regards to his leading and interaction with the players. Carr discovered that coaching style impacts on the discipline and motivation of athletes, as well as their space in the decision-making process (2000). The two styles of passive and authoritarian coaching if implemented should always coincide with the personality of the soccer coach, although every coach tends to mix various approaches and strategies. It is, therefore, essential for every soccer coach to take quality time and analyze their respective philosophies, as well as their styles of coaching for the purposing of attaining their objectives.

In an interview with Men's Soccer Coach of Duke University, Mr. Bobby Jensen (bobblyjdu@hotmail.com and 1-541-830-3010), I learned a lot more about coaching a soccer team. Firstly, I questioned him on the commencement of his way to the professional soccer coaching and he mentioned that he began by mixing both training and playing, where he was involved in a number of teams as their player whilst taking a coaching function at the Duke University Men's Soccer. He added that he commenced his qualifications at an early stage of his life and attained a Coaching Badge of Level One and subsequently, Level Two. He eventually secured a UEFA license. In this perspective, he states that he gained huge confidence in the domain of soccer coaching after such acquisitions.

Secondly, I asked him if there are any advantages that former proficient footballers could have in coaching soccer teams and in his opinion, he cited that it was misleading to consider retired professional athletes as the most suitable coaching candidates. He affirms that coaching is different from playing and that the two professions present a distinction with regards to the proficiency requirements. He concluded that the essential part is having played soccer to some sensible level for the purpose of establishing a vivid understanding of the soccer game and thereafter one will have the fundamentals with respect to working towards being a professional soccer coach.

Finally, I asked for his professional counsel that he would provide to the soccer coaches at the grassroots. In his path to professional coaching, he discovered that grassroots coaches need to understand that the manner of interaction between them and the footballers is significant. He further postulated that there exist vital basics at the grassroots that coaches need to be conversant with such as the arrangement sessions of training in order to focus on the area of achievement. He alludes that all sessions of coaching should be conducted with a great purpose and coaches must ensure that they attain players’ respect through showing care and concern to players when needed.