Asking The Couches

A Continuation from Asking the Parents

Finally, I decided to ask my fellow coaches that work in the same academy as I do. I wanted to get a professional perspective on the question that I had been analyzing. Most of the couches that work at this academy are European born and therefore have experienced first-hand what having a passion for soccer really means. One of the couches I spoke to has more than 20 years of experience coaching and explained to me that kids in the United States really play soccer as a hobby and don’t really have a passion for the sport. The couches believe that training sessions should be done to entertain the kids rather than to teach them to be soccer players. This is because kids don’t really have a passion for the sport and therefore, if the practice sessions are not entertaining the will not focus and simply not participate. On the other hand, in Europe kids that play soccer are treated like professionals and practice sessions are taking very seriously because kids want to learn how to become better players. All of the couches I spoke to agreed that the volume of players that are currently playing soccer in the United States Is very high however, it is only a few of these players that have a real passion for the sport. Most couches that I spoke to gave me the example of the world cup viewing stats which perfectly explains why kids don’t really have a passion for the sport. Most people that play soccer in the United States because the USA did not qualify for the world cup, they simply didn’t watch the competition. People that are really passionate about the sport like me watch the world cup no matter what the teams that play are, simply because we love this sport.