Welcome to the Wright County Soccer Coach’s page! We take our coaching seriously and are determined to provide our players with the best coaching available. First and foremost, we want to thank our existing coaches! Our club could not exist without the hard work of our dedicated coaches. We realize this is a huge time commitment on your part. The time you are investing now will impact our kids as players and people for years to come. If you are interested in coaching for us, please read on. You will find out more about who we are and what we are looking for.

WRC COACHING PHILOSOPHY

WRC is a “travelling” soccer club, intended to provide a competitive soccer experience for its participants. We distinguish ourselves from recreational programs by attempting to provide a higher level of competition and commitment. WRC plays within the MYSA competitive league structure and generally plays against teams from the north and west metro areas. MYSA has four levels of competitive play for U14 to U19, from C3 (beginner) to Premier (advanced). U11 to U13 have three levels, C3 to C1, and U9 & U10 play at 2 levels, Maroon (higher) and Gold (lower). At the younger age levels, we attempt to place our teams at the appropriate level to provide them with an adequate degree of challenge where they can most effectively improve their soccer playing ability and still have fun. After the U13 level, the teams are promoted and relegated between levels automatically, depending on how they do.

Some clubs place all the emphasis on winning. Success is measured by the win-loss record only. At WRC, winning is important too. After all, the object of soccer is to win the game. WRC, however, is not about winning at any cost. It’s about the kids. A truly successful season is one in which your players improve their soccer skills and they enjoy themselves, regardless of how many games you win. You’ll find most kids have short memories when it comes to wins and losses, but they are pretty good at remembering a season that wasn’t any fun at all. At the end of the season, our measuring stick for success will be how many of our players are excited to come back and play again next year. We want to turn them into lifelong soccer players. MYSA’s slogan is that “soccer is a game for ALL kids”. Let’s keep that in mind as we approach this season. So here is the WRC challenge: have fun, win as many games as you can and use your entire team to do it.

WRIGHT COUNTY SOCCER FOCAL POINTS

As a club, we want to foster safety, teamwork, good sportsmanship, commitment to the team and a strong work ethic. All five of these should be key focal points while coaching your team:

SAFETY: Safety of the players must be of prime concern in all events. Never jeopardize the safety of your players for any reason. Always play it safe and HAVE AN EMERGENCY PLAN should the need arise.

TEAMWORK: One team is better than 11 individuals. Teach your team to work together and you will have a more successful season both on and off the field. Resist the urge to always rely too heavily on your “best” players. This will hurt them and your team in the long run.

GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP: It all starts with the coach. Remember, you are the role model. How you treat your players, the officials, the fans and the opponents is on display for all to see. Treat everyone with respect and demand your players do too. We take our “Code of Conduct” very seriously.

COMMITMENT: We want our players to be committed to coming to practice and games. We want them to work hard. We cannot expect commitment unless we are committed ourselves. We expect our coaches to be at all practices and games, and coaches should expect the players to be at all practices and games.

WORK ETHIC: if you have been coaching for any period of time, you know the value of a high work ethic. Technique and tactics are not very effective without a strong work ethic to back it up. Foster a team of hard working players and they will win more games than they lose. Soccer can be very rewarding when everyone is working hard.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

Team management is a critical part of coaching. Life is a lot easier for a coach when there is help. Delegate team management responsibilities and you can concentrate on the coaching! We recommend a coaching staff comprised of a Head Coach, and Assistant Coach and a Team Manager. The Coaches coach the players and the Team Manager takes care of the communication, match reports, and the paperwork involved with running a team. Select a Team Manager as soon as possible! A willing parent usually is an ideal candidate. A good Team Manager is an invaluable asset!

Good team management starts with a properly planned team meeting. We recommend you start your season with a team meeting. The best time is usually before your first practice when everyone is going to be there anyway. Team meetings allow you to share your coaching philosophy, set team goals, discuss schedules and communicate your expectations for the players and parents:

COACHING PHILOSOPHY: Players and parents need to know how you coach. If you are a yeller, let them know up front. If you are quiet during games, preferring to talk to the team at halftime, or while a player is on the sideline, they need to know that too. Let them know what kind of coach you are. This will help avoid misunderstandings during the season.

GOALS FOR THE SEASON: Set some realistic goals for the team to achieve during the season. This will give your team something to shoot for. Promotion to the next level, or participating in the State Tournament would be good examples of goals to achieve.

PLAYER EXPECTATIONS: Let the players know what is expected of them. Make sure they know how important coming to practice is – or arriving at games at least 30 min before kickoff. Set ground rules and consequences for breaking those rules. Be clear and specific. Make sure they are aware of the WRC Code of Conduct.

PARENT EXPECTATIONS: Let parents know what is expected of them. Sideline behavior, “coaching” the players, getting the players to practice and games on time, are all things that should be covered. Make sure they are aware of the WRC Code of Conduct.

SCHEDULES: Make sure your practice and game schedules work for your team. Before the season starts, games can be changed to accommodate conflicts, but it is generally a hassle. Get your schedule organized early. Ask each family for a list of “black out” dates (vacations, school events etc.) and formulate your schedule for the season accordingly. Don’t be stuck playing a critical game short players because of poor planning.

TOURNAMENTS: Tournaments can be a lot of fun. WRC highly recommends each team enters at least one tournament during the season. It is WRC policy to pay the entry fee for one tournament of each team’s choice per season. For additional tournaments, the entry fees must be divided up between the team members. Tournament fees are generally very reasonable. Tournaments can be great bonding events for your team, especially if you travel and hang out together. Plus you’ll usually get to play teams you normally don’t see during the season.

If you are interested in coaching, please do not hesitate to contact our Director of Coaching: Andrew@LurePartsOnline.com