Friday, August 18, 2006

 A 12-year-old asks, "All my friends are on a team, why can't I be on one too?"

    That is the question some local athletic associations must come face to face with soon, as they near the start of another soccer season. The sport is enjoying record growth, in the number of children wanting to play. But, the supply of coaches is falling short.

    Sports programs in Boxford, Topsfield, Middleton and North Andover are thriving, teeming with young children anxious to learn and play. The problem these programs are having is a lack of coaches.  

    The coaching shortage can be attributed to two reasons.  First, in many families both parents work and do not have time to attend practices and games. Second, with the tremendous growth of soccer, a sport most parents never played, and don't understand, there is a dearth of coaching talent.

    Put these together, and you have what Peter Novello, North Andover Soccer Association President, calls a major coaching challenge.

    "If we do not get a few more coaches soon, we will have to disband some teams formed for this fall," Novello said. "No one wants to tell a kid they can't play because of a lack of coaches. They just wouldn't understand."

    But the fact is, there are not enough coaches!   Some towns, like Middleton, have soccer programs starting at age three and going to age 17. How many coaches do you think that takes? The answer: about 100. In these four towns area there are 3,300 children involved in soccer programs alone.

    This requires 500 coaches and assistant coaches, most of whom have never played soccer.

    "We not only need coaches, but volunteers to work in various capacities in our soccer program," Scott McKeen, President Middleton Youth Soccer says. "My kids are grown and no longer involved in town sports, but I am still involved here because there is such a tremendous need. We need to find a way to get more people involved."

    So, how does one address the rising need for more and more coaches? Mass Youth Soccer Association (MYSA), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and enhancing the culture of soccer in Massachusetts, provides coaching clinics where you can obtain a coaching license.

    Established in 1977, MYSA is the second largest state youth soccer association in the country, with over 185,000 registered players. MYSA encourages coaches to obtain coaching licenses from them by attending a certified clinic. For more information about clinics, go to www.mayouthsoccer.org.

    There is a fee for their clinics, but most athletic associations will reimburse you upon completion. Mike Gilfeather, Topsfield Athletic Association Soccer, recommends the MYSA certification program.

    "We require the coaching card to coach in our program," Gilfeather said. "It assures us that all coaches in our program are on the same page."

    One common reason that parents do not volunteer is a lack of knowledge about the sport. In Boxford's baseball program this year, a Mom took the head coach role for a 10-year-old little league team, because without a coach the team would have been disbanded. She did not feel confident in her baseball knowledge, but supplemented with some assistant coaches who provided the coaching talent she lacked.

    If you do not feel confident in your knowledge of the sport to be a coach, try being an assistant coach. Every team needs at least two coaches and preferably three. While you may not be an expert on the sport, there are a lot of other jobs that can be performed by anyone with some organizational skills.

    Preparing game rosters, scheduling games and practices, reserving practice fields, communicating field changes and weather cancellations, game and practice re-scheduling, collecting money for player fees, distributing uniforms and equipment, player registration and age verification, the list goes on and on.

    "All of this administration stuff takes time!" said Brad Sweet, a Boxford soccer coach. "When a parent considers taking a coaching job, the time commitment is a big deal."

    Consider volunteering to be the team manager, and help with the administration workload. This is a good way to become a coach-in-training and learn the sport. Those parents who did play soccer in college or high school are sometimes reluctant to commit to coaching because of the time commitment. If they knew that they would not have to shoulder the administrative workload, in addition to planning practices and games, a few more of them might volunteer.

    "It's a struggle to get enough volunteer coaches to fill all the slots," said Jim Gikas, with the Boxford Athletic Association. "Each team is structured with a head coach and at least one assistant coach. It has always been tough, and we have to 'twist a few arms' to get enough coaches."

    Even arm twisting is not working in some towns. Middleton and North Andover, who collectively field 1,900 soccer players, requires 157 coaches for their programs. Both towns are faced with disbanding teams formed for the fall due to a lack of coaches.

    "In Boxford, we set up a coach's training committee that is led by Brad Sweet," Gikas said. "This has helped develop coaching talent for Boxford. We have some excellent soccer coaches, but because of the commitments to their day job they are unable to make all the practices. The administrative duties can definitely turn some people off."

     Gikas had a good experience this winter with an indoor soccer team, where one of the parents handled all the administration and he just focused on coaching.  "It worked our great," he said.

    "The new 8v8 format for the U12 program exacerbated the coaching situation this year," Peter Novello said. "This new format decreased the team size and required additional teams to absorb all the players, thus increasing the coaching deficit for every program in the state."

    The pay is lousy, but the benefits are great. Being a coach in any sport helps a parent to understand their child better. By watching your child interact with others their own age you gain a lot of insight you would normally miss.

    A side benefit is meeting parents of other children your child's age. You will find that you have a lot in common with these parents. Sharing in each child's victories and defeats is a priceless reward reserved for coaches.

    When they get it right, the look on their face is worth every minute you spend coaching. While you may think they are not listening and will never get it, as the season matures their accomplishments will make you proud!

    Brad Sweet, Boxford's Coaching Coordinator, offers this advice: "You need a personality to coach." Getting the kids to relate to you is the first step in being a good coach.

    If you would like to find out more about coaching or even volunteer, here are some places to start: Boxford, www.baasports.com, e-mail soccer@baasports.com; Topsfield, www.taasports.com, e-mail taasoccer@yahoo.com; Middleton, www.middletonsoccer.com, e-mail mys@middletonsoccer.com; North Andover, www.nasoccer.com, e-mail president@nasoccer.com.

          Mark Balding is a Boxford parent with children in BAA sports programs and a BAA coach.

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