It can be hard to be a soccer coach and even harder as a woman to coach young boys. Here are six tips that will help you build a strong team without losing your sleep.
Have Faith
Even though its the 21st century, there are women who still face sexism.
Some women who coach men face prejudice from time to time.
The only thing you can do about this is to believe in yourself, have confidence and toughen up.
Don’t let these old-fashioned ways deter you.
Be a Good Coach
The only thing you need to keep in mind when coaching is to coach well.
Don’t differentiate or tailor your coaching on the basis of the gender of the kids.
The only thing to keep in mind is the children’s age and coach them accordingly.
Children need to be more encouraged and it requires a lot of patience.
You have to accept the fact that they will be more demanding and make mistakes and create a strategy accordingly.
Equality
I can’t emphasise enough on how important it is to treat your team with equality.
You will have to prove your worth because you’re a woman but that doesn’t mean you should give up.
In fact, you will need to work harder than a male coach to earn an equal position and be taken seriously.
This also means you can’t have girls and boys against each other/in the same teams.
Girls and boys have physical differences and it’s illogical to try to have the same expectations from both.
Take a moment to analyse this before signing up for the team.
Girls can be just as good as boys but you wouldn’t ask a man to compete with a woman for a 100m race, would you?
Qualifications Matter
Just like every other profession, your qualifications and soccer rankings matter.
Even more, if you’re applying at a reputed school/college.
These institutions want to provide their students with the best of everything and in no way will they compromise when it comes to sports.
My advice is to get a headstart.
If you’re passionate about soccer, you’ll prove your worth early on.
You will have a history of participation (if not winning) competitions at a young age.
These years of experience will teach you a lot and prove that you are worthy of being associated with a reputed institution.
Remember to Have Fun
Stressing about the performance of your team for prolonged periods will not do any good.
If your students continue to perform poorly, maybe its time to change your strategy.
Clearly, the current one isn’t working.
It’s wise to get to know your team better and understand the kind of strategy that works for them.
One of the most important things to keep in mind is to have fun every once in a while.
It not only helps diffuse the situation in an instant but also works as an excellent motivator.
Even on the darkest days, remember that you’re associated with a fantastic sport and soccer has the power to change lives.
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