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Issue 157 – Loud-mouthed parents needs educating – 17 March 2011

Also in this issue:

Dear Coach,

There are, sadly, many occasions when youth soccer lets down it's most important "customers" – the children who play the game.

In newsletter 147, I published extracts from some of the horror stories that subscribers to this newsletter have sent to me and they continue to flood into my inbox. I've even been told of a club in the UK who have to employ stewards at their U8 and U9 matches because spectators are so badly behaved.

Clearly, there are many people connected with "the beautiful game" who don't understand that adults can completely ruin the soccer experience for young children.

But it's not just loud-mouthed parents who need educating about their responsibilities.

Coaches have a duty of care towards the children in their team that goes far beyond checking the playing field for hazards – although it is important to check for stones, glass and dog mess before you put any cones down!

In today's article I'll explain what we have to do to make sure the children in our care are safe, how to spot the tell-tale signs that your players are not being protected from harm and what actions you have to take if you suspect (or are informed) of any issues that impact of the welfare of your players.

Yours in soccer,

Steve Watson, Editor

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Youth soccer coaching and child welfare – the risks, responsibilities and rewards

According to US Soccer, 18 million children play league football in the USA.1 The FA believes that about 4 million children play "the beautiful game" in the UK, of which 1.1m are girls.2

Even if we multiply this figure by just five (that's very conservative, considering that there 196 countries in the world) there could more than 100m children playing organised soccer across the globe.

That's 100m opportunities for a youth soccer coach to make a lasting, positive impact on a young person's life. It also means that 100m children need to be safeguarded and protected from harm while they're in the care of their soccer coach. 

Whichever way you look at it, it's a big responsibility for the coaches and administrators who run the game – and we all need to be on the ball.

What is "child welfare"?

For more than 150 years, soccer has been perceived as character building, as healthy, wholesome and a source of discipline and commitment – an ideal sport for children.3

For the vast majority of children that is still the case. Soccer can help them to learn how to be a good team player, take instructions, be self-disciplined and to always try their best. For these children, soccer is a very rewarding pastime.

But organised soccer can, for a small number of children, be damaging in a variety of ways.

Physical harm

Young soccer players can come to physical harm as a result of:

• too much coaching.

• using poorly maintained equipment.

• playing soccer in an unsuitable place.

• being sexually or physically abused.

• playing against much younger/older children or adults.

• Being exposed to extremes of weather.

Emotional harm

• Your players can be harmed emotionally if they are unfairly criticised or shouted/sworn at.

• They can also be bullied by a coach or team mates who focus on their physical appearance – "come on fatty... get a move on!"

How to safeguard your players

As coaches, we have a moral and legal "duty of care" towards our players. Our main responsibility is not to teach them how to play soccer or win matches... it is to ensure their safety and well-being.

There is a simple three-part check list for making sure all our children have a great time playing soccer.4

1. Get the right people involved - by seeking references and carrying out criminal record checks.

2. Create a safe environment by ensuring adherence to codes of conduct, educating parents and adopting best practice.

3. Having a clear and easily accessible way for adults and children to report their concerns and know they are being taken seriously.

More information on these three points can be found in the "Resources" section at the bottom of this article.

What you have to do – some simple guidelines for youth soccer coaches

DO NOT:

• Train children on your own. Meet with parents before the season starts and tell them that there has to be at least one parent present for each player at every training session. NO PARENT, NO PRACTICE.
• Take young players in your car to matches or training.
• Allow young players to leave practice sessions on their own.
• Coach your players too often or for too long. A ratio of 2:1 (training time to match play) is plenty.

• Leave your players unsupervised, even for a minute.
• Criticise or shout at players in front of their friends
• Encourage a child to play soccer if he or she says they are injured.
• Train or play matches in very hot or very cold weather.
• Put pressure on children to perform to an unrealistically high standard.
• Allow young children to play soccer against adults or older children.
• Make a sexually suggestive comment to a child.
• Allow players to come to your home.
• Help them do personal things like get changed or administer first aid if they can do it themselves.

DO:

• Treat your players with respect, even if they are behaving badly!
• Check equipment for damage and discard faulty items.
• Check your playing areas for stones, glass or anything else that could hurt your players.
• Take a pro-active stance to bullying. Talk to your players about bullying, it's effects and how to report it.
• Listen to your players' concerns and act on them.
• Be a role model. Don't say one thing and do another!

How you can tell that something is wrong

There are many signs of physical and emotional abuse. They range from sudden speech disorders to poor personal hygiene.

Be alert to them at all times. 

A full list of signs of abuse

But sometimes there may not be any signs of abuse. You may just feel that something is wrong. If you are even slightly worried, it is your responsibility to act on your concerns and do something about it.

What to do if you are worried about anything

Different clubs, leagues and governing bodies have different ways that concerned coaches can report their concerns and you should be aware of the reporting routes that are available to you.

But whatever you do, do something. Never ignore a child who tells you they have a problem and if you see or hear something you don't like, never turn a blind eye.

If a child comes to you with a concern:

• Stop what you are doing and listen.

• Don't cross examine the child or ask leading questions.

• Reassure the child that they are right to tell you about it.

If you suspect the child may have been abused, contact the police without delay. More

Conclusion

This article might seem intimidating and even worrying to some of you. There is so much you need to be aware of!

But I make no apology for drawing your attention to some of the issues around the protection of our most valuable asset – our children.

If only one child is saved from being abused as a result of this newsletter I would be very happy. Now that really would be a result!

Resources

Safeguarding Children and Young People in Football
http://bit.ly/i5JBbO

Educate your parents
http://bit.ly/yMC2q
http://bit.ly/gKUN7H

Codes of conduct (download)
http://bit.ly/gq1e8P

Best practice
http://bit.ly/e4Hz4Z

Bullying
For children: http://bit.ly/hMZQz5
For everyone: http://bit.ly/dUJfnS

References

[1] http://usa.usembassy.de/sports-soccer.htm
[2] http://www.thefa.com/womens/
[3] C Brackenridge et al, Child Welfare in Football, Routledge, 2006, p.10
[4] http://www.thefa.com/Footballsafe

Do you want your players to be able to retain possession of the ball on an individual basis?

Then check out this week's Smart Sessions Core Skills which is called "One man army". It will help you teach your players how they can be in charge of a game if they have the ball and can keep it away from the opposition.

For more details, click on the banner below.

Clear the decks

This game is designed to give football players from the age of four upwards lots of practice in moving the ball.

It can be used as part of a kicking/passing coaching session or as a warm up game. But however you decide to use this game, you can be sure that your players will have a blast playing it!

Set-up: use a small pitch with a neutral zone in the middle. The neutral zone can be anything from one to 20 yards across – the actual width is determined by how far your players can kick the ball.

Divide your players into two teams and place one team in each half of the pitch. Each player has a ball.

How to play: On your command, all the players kick their ball into the other team's half of the pitch. They also have to keep their half of the pitch clear of balls by kicking back any balls that the other team kicks into it.

Players are not allowed in the neutral zone and balls that end up in the neutral zone are "dead".

After a minute or two, call time and see which team has the fewest balls in their playing area. They are the winners!

Progression:

• Use left/right foot only.
• Throw the ball.
• The ball has to be passed to another player before it can be kicked back.

Steve's Coaching Clinic

How can I get my players' attention?

Steve

When communicating with my U10 players at training sessions I never take more than 30 seconds to explain a game or drill and it seems to work well. They are off and running in no time!

But I can't seem to get their attention in the first place. They're always chatting among themselves or watching other things that are happening on the other side of the training field.

I've tried to wait until they are ready and sometimes I've waited for three or four minutes before I yell at them or blow a whistle. I've also tried excluding the problem kids for small periods of time but nothing works.

I'm very frustrated! 

My answer

Dear Coach,

You seem to have a couple of problems here.

1. There are some "problem kids". I assume that these are the children who chat the most and are the most easily distracted.

2. You have tried waiting for your players to pay attention for up to four minutes. But it didn't work and you tried shouting and/or blowing a whistle instead.

But the good news is both of these problems can be dealt with together.

If it's difficult to get all your players' attention there's no point in singling out the problem kids. It is much better to go back to your waiting strategy. But this time don't give up after four minutes.

Once you've made it clear that you want to speak to your players, just stand there and wait. Even if it takes the whole session!

Don't resort to shouting (it only works once) or blowing a whistle (they're not dogs)... just wait.

I can guarantee that it won't take long for your players to realise that they're not going to be playing any more football until they come over and listen to you.

And if the problem kids are at the centre of the problem, peer pressure will get them to toe the line.

Stick to the waiting game and your problems should soon be over!

Best wishes,

Steve Watson
editor, footy4kids

You can comment on this Coaching Clinic on the footy4kids forum.

Send your youth soccer coaching questions to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text74935 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and I'll do my best to help. If I don't know the answer, I'll find someone who does.

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