Coaching Soccer – The Coach Parent Relationship

One of the most difficult areas of coaching a youth soccer team is having successful relationships with the parent group.

These tips should allow for optimal success by setting expectations, hearing and addressing concerns, and allowing for positive relationships throughout the entire season.

Once your team is selected, prior to the first practice, have 2 meetings. Have a meeting with your players whereby you can discuss your expectations, allow players to ask anything of you, and also it provides a great opportunity for the players to meet and interact with each other.

The second meeting should be with only the parents group. The players could go outside with the assistant coach and play a game, or if held at a house they could all watch a movie are some ideas.

The parent meeting is very similar to the player meeting, and is the most important first step in having a successful coach/parent relationship. This shows your organized, well prepared, and have clear goals in mind.

Set clear expectations.

Simple as that. Lay out what YOU expect of THEM. Some suggestion areas to discuss at the meeting would be:

– Explain your coaching style. Everyone has their own style of coaching, so if you explain how you like to coach for success, parents have the understanding of how you coach.

– Explain your goals and objectives. By understanding what success looks like to you, parents will better understand what you are looking for, and what areas of success you are focussing on.

– I ask that you do not coach your child from the sideline. Cheer and encourage as much as possible, but please allow me to provide the coaching. I may have a plan in place for the team, and having sometimes 30+ extra coaches on the sideline can create confusion for the players.

– If you have concerns about your child or the team, please talk to me before, or after the next practice. I ask this so we can think through and have time to digest any concern. It allows for me to review the game, and you to review and think through your concern so we can discuss properly.

– Playtime, you must clarify your plan for playtime. If it is equal, inform and stick to it. If not, be upfront and honest and answer any and all concerns to address parental concerns.

– Allow them to ask you anything, and answer as thoroughly and clearly as possible. This allows for them to get to know who you are and how you will address specific areas of concern.

Using these tips should give you a great first step in having a positive relationship with your soccer team parent group.

By setting expectations early, of how you want the team to perform, and how you want the parents to handle certain situations, should greatly reduce the amount of “angry parents” during a season. Typically, in my experience, when a parent gets angry it is usually over an area whereby an expectation has not been set by the coach.

Hopefully you have found these tips useful, and good luck coaching your teams!

Benefits of Developing a Fitness Coaching Program for Business Offices and Small Gyms

Many business offices and small gyms are finding that there are several benefits to developing a fitness coaching program for their employees and also their clients. It is a well-known fact that working out can not only make a person feel better but that it can also lead to a better and happier work environment.

Several business offices are finding that by giving their employees access to a gym membership or corporate fitness program they are encouraging their employees to live happier and healthy lives. This in turn often lends itself to be true about their work attitude and environment as well. Exercise has many benefits that include better health, mental and emotion wellness, and self-confidence, all of these benefits can not only help individuals to feel better about themselves but often it makes them more confident and happier when it comes to their work as well. There are many businesses that have set up corporate fitness programs or gyms that there employees can often use for free or for a small membership fee. Some corporations and business even take it a step further and offer their employees fun and exciting opportunities like learning to mountain climb or going on corporate hiking and camping trips all to help their employees feel good and feel better about themselves and their jobs.

By hiring a company or an individual to do fitness coaching for a business office or small gym many employers will likely see a change in their employees that choose to take part in the fitness program. Although a fitness program will appeal to some employees there are others that may not enjoy working out or are too embarrassed by their current physical condition to even want to start working out. This is where the coaching comes in as a fitness coach can meet with potential members and help them to realize how much working out can do for you and how it can improve different aspects of their lives and how it can improve their work environment as well. In the work place individuals might be too embarrassed to go to a gym where they will be seeing their coworkers but a fitness coach can help them get the confidence they need to come to the gym in the first place and not only develop a good workout schedule but also a meal plan that is nutritious.

Fitness coaching programs not only focus on the physical aspect of one’s body but they also take into consideration the mental and emotional wellbeing of those that have memberships at small gyms and business offices that are looking to get fit and stay fit. Working out is great but many fitness coaches know that without lifestyle changes and changes in a person’s mental and emotional standing can lead to them not making any progress or even giving up and quitting the gym. An individual that is looking to get in better shape has to have willingness and a readiness for changing different aspects of their lives. When an individual feels like they are ready and willing to change their lives they are more likely to keep up with the fitness program and not only start to go to the gym regularly but they may also change other parts of their lives like their eating habits, they may stop smoking or drinking in excess in order to better their bodies and their minds. Also when an individual begins to feel better they will want to keep their membership at the gym or at the business’ fitness center and this is great for those small gyms as it means customer retention. If an individual can see changes in their physical appearance it will naturally start to make them feel better and more confident in themselves and this compounds and makes them want to continue to work out and to keep up with their fitness coaching programs. This is how small gyms get the retention in membership that they need in order to stay in business.

Many fitness coaches not only help individuals find the plan that will work best for them, but also how to find that inner motivation and different lifestyle activities that will help them stay entertained and excited about their workouts. Another important part of fitness coaching is that it allows for individuals to form a social support system which allows for individuals to tap into different resources and different groups of people that can help them stay motivated when it comes to making lifestyle changes. Fitness coaches help people turn exercise into a habit rather than a burdensome task that they have to do, many individuals find that after a while they begin to really enjoy working out and like the way that they feel after and during their workouts.

Fitness coaching is a great way for employers, employees, and for anyone just looking to get into shape to look into. Businesses and small gyms that employ fitness coaches for their companies and gyms find that they are a good way to keep members coming back and to keep their employees feel good about themselves. The benefits of fitness coaching are numerous and many of them can be seen directly in the way that their clients, employees, and employers alike look and feel. Fitness coaching is a good way for businesses and small gyms to help their clients and employees to improve their emotional state by making them feel more confident and to also help them kick those bad lifestyle habits that can impact more than just their physical state but also their emotional and metal states. When individuals find a fitness program that really clicks with them they will want to keep up with it and make it habit and this can lead to them feeling healthier and happier. Often when individuals are happy mentally and physically they are happier at work and in general all aspects of their lives which are not only good for them but it are also good for business.