Cougars Team Dialogue

This entry was posted on 9/25/2008 12:11 PM and is filed under Cougars.

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• 9/25/2008 12:19 PM Don wrote:
  All,
  
  I’m not sure where to begin to address this issue. Foremost, I think we need to have a parent meeting and openly discuss any issue on the table. I don’t know why some of these didn’t come up a few weeks ago when we had our first parent meeting. My only guess is that the games seem to have generated some new reactions. However, discussing things in small groups and making plans without involving everyone is very divisive for the team and most importantly could hurt a little girl’s feelings when they find out they have been left out. Isn’t this obvious? I ask that you please stop this and either come to the coaches or send a (positively worded) email to the whole team.
  
  Margaret, Chip, and I are trying to create a team environment. Not practicing with a full team flies right in the face of this effort. Also, as an example, individually going out and buying bags/warm-ups before the whole team buys them contradicts the team approach, not to mention having several other negative aspects as well. Be patient. Let’s do it as a group. All these things can come in due time – we just got started. The team practices together. They run together. Do drills together. We don’t let them get a drink on their own, they go as a group. We don’t allow them to skip out of boring drills or demanding drills – they all must do them. Think of the team foremost. It’s by no means the military, but it promotes the group over the individual. They push each other. Please help us in this effort. I must say, team attendance has been EXCELLENT!
  
  Many suggestions have been made by parents. I can’t think of one suggestion that we hadn’t already considered and will get to at the right opportunity. Please trust that I know what I’m doing. I’ve played soccer since 1971, refereed, and coached since 1978. I’ve coached 4 year olds to 22 year olds whenI was the asst women’s coach at UW-Madison. I’ve been a park district coach for umpteen times with 4 of my 5 children. I’ve been a trainer like Chip is for us. I have coached 4 traveling teams of my children, and helped start many others. Don’t get me wrong, I make many mistakes too, and want to hear your input, but I need some of your trust as well. We can address all these at the parent meeting. As coaches, we set priorities. If you don't agree with them, we’ll listen. Maybe we’ll change if that is the right move.
  
  One consistent issue is scheduling. Scheduling practices, scheduling games, rescheduling games or practices, scheduling scrimmages. These all take a lot of work, a lot of coordination, and some of it is out of our control. Please consider that in order to make changes, we need to coordinate with another team, with a trainer, obtain referees and field. Some parents seem to think that we should make changes to fit their schedule. Fitting one persons schedule doesn’t mean it fits another persons schedule, and I’m not referring to coaches. Please be considerate of
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• 9/29/2008 2:20 PM Arnette Schultz wrote:
  First of 2 Comments -
  >I'm not sure where to begin to address this issue.
  > I don't know why some of these didn't come up a few weeks ago when we
  >had our first parent meeting.
  
  I believe the BIGGEST issues are ones that no one understood at the time of the parent meeting –
  a miss-alignment of expectations between coaches and parents over the role of the coaches versus that of the “trainer”, and over team logistics. The MAJOR item being that I, and others, were upset that the head coach (Don) did not seem to be present at the majority of practices. The practices until last THURSDAY seem to be ENTIRELY run by Chip and focused ONLY on foot skills and ball handling. Though looking back at a June 16th e-mail where Don stated that coaching would consist of running the sidelines on game day, and communicating with the trainer – I did not take it to mean that ONLY the trainer would be at practices. Also, I think the girls would feel better about themselves, the team, and the prospect of continuing as a member of the Cougars IF they had more “bonding” with the coaches, AND a better overall sense of game strategy and dynamics. I saw one girl in tears on Sunday this week because she is confused about “off sides” and also where she is supposed to be position wise as the game moves back and forth on the field. It seems that some balance should occur between the foot-skills and game simulation during practice. Perhaps dedicate MORE of Thursday practice to game strategy and scrimmage.
  >Margaret, Chip, and I are trying to create a team environment.
  And it seems to be working ok. Yet repeated offers from several moms to organize social events such as pot-luck or pizza party (so PARENTS can begin to bond as well) or to find “one item” that the girls can have with the team logo (auto window sticker, back pack, practice T-shirt, etc) have been brushed off as “too soon”.
  Reply to this
  1. 10/1/2008 3:46 AM Don wrote:
     Thank you Arnette for these comments. I want to encourage everyone to provide feedback. It will help us all work together better.
     
     I feel like I cannot address the many aspects of coaching in this blog, so I would like to save that for a parent meeting. I would like to say these comments are very good and insightful and are not being dismissed. We need to discuss the role of the trainer versus our role. Let me just comment on a few things. First, Margaret and I were at the first 4-6 practices using the trainer. In my opinion, Chip was/is doing a good job and the players were/are reacting well. Chip does far more than just ball handling, he instructs the girls on positioning and tactics, and he often finishes practice with a scrimmage reinforcing topics of the day.
     
     Again, please be patient. I think some of you are underestimating the difficulty of player movement on the field. They are learning. Be patiet. This is not something that they will just "get" upon one of two lessons. They make mistakes. Our girls make mistakes. Is that bad? No, that is how they learn. Whose fault is it? No one, they are learning. It takes time, lots of it. I think Margaret put if very well in her email. They are learning rules, movement strategy, and learning to be aware of what's going on around them. When we teach them something, it is based on a set of condition such as where the ball is, where the defense is, what part of the field they are on. For some perspective, I suggest you go to some games of older kids, and some games of u10s that have played longer to see where they are at.
     
     I would like to draw a line between social events and getting a $100/player goodie bag. I certainly promote team bonding at social events and would hope these girls become not just teammates but playmates off the field. I would like to see someone, not a coach, step forward and become social chairman/woman.
     
     On the otherhand, let's distinguish this from team-ware. Sure, we can get auto stickers anytime, just let me know that you want it. However, I don't like the idea of forcing everyone to go out and buy all these things ($40 backpack, $80 warmup, etc) when they may not be able to afford it or just based on principle don't want to give their kids something until they have proved they are dedicated to the sport. And, if a handful of girls get it, and some don't, that will cause a bad situation for kids and parents. Again, I suggest we do it moderately and when the time is right, and most importantly - together. Realize that we could have put this in the fees right up front, but I doubt most of us would have liked to been forced to buy everything before we knew what we were gettng into and before the girls confirmed they liked it.
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• 9/29/2008 2:21 PM Arnette Schultz wrote:
  2nd of 2 comments -
  
  >One consistent issue is scheduling. Scheduling practices, scheduling
  >games, rescheduling games or practices, scheduling scrimmages.
  
  In my opinion the scheduling became a “problem” when I got my daughter to practice last Tuesday at 5:30 pm only to discover that NEITHER coach was present, and that the trainer had NOT been informed that the U-10 girls practices had been moved up to 5:30pm. He still had ANOTHER team scheduled until 6:00 pm. I was not comfortable leaving the girls until at least ONE of the coaches made it. This was upsetting, and left the perception of massive disorganization, AND that the coaches are too busy to make the U-10 girls a priority in their schedule (coming on top of the previous Sunday where only one coach and 8 girls were present).
  This event was followed less than 48 hours later by the “cancellation” of the Thursday practice for “no apparent reason” (none was given and those of us who do not have a child on the Scott School Park District team had no CLUE about that game!). This was what “set me off” on trying to organize something for the girls, especially those who had not been able to play on Sunday.
  By the way, I was given a full explanation to all the above – BUT after the fact AND after too many misunderstandings and false conclusions were drawn. In the future it would be best to immediately communicate to all parents for example: “why the trainer was unaware of the practice time change” or “WHY a practice was cancelled for reasons other than WEATHER” or “why no request for a change of game date/time could even be made to the opposing team”. …
  
  >That said, we need to move forward positively.
  
  I think everyone agrees with this. And I think that having a face to face parent meeting ASAP will go a long way toward clearing up any remaining concerns or miss understandings.
  The girls are really starting to “gel” as a team, and the NUMBER ONE thing for Olivia is that she gets to play with her FRIENDS. Whatever it takes to make this enjoyable for her and the other girls, I will do and help with to seek this continues to be a positive experience for her and all.
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  1. 10/1/2008 3:51 AM Don wrote:
     Ok, I think enough has been said about last week. Moving forward....
     
     When can we have a parent meeting?
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• 10/1/2008 9:06 AM Tracey O'Connor wrote:
  My suggestion is to have it after the game either this Sunday or next Sunday. The girls can go play in the park together while it takes place. I cannot imagine that we would need to spend much more time on this subject at this point.
  Reply to this
• 10/2/2008 6:23 PM Meri White wrote:
  I think the parent meeting needs to be ASAP. This Sunday after the game is a good idea. I think it is important that Chip attend the meeting as well. I am sure we will have questions for him that he should answer for himself. He plays an important role in this soccer team and should be available for this meeting.
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  1. 10/4/2008 12:16 PM Don wrote:
     If the parents want to speak to Chip, let's meet with him after a practice. I think a separate meeting with him is better anyway.
     Reply to this

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