#coerverkids

I have been reaching out to many of my players as I have been getting involved more and more with Coerver Coaching. Notice that I do not say ex-players. The coach-player relationship is one that for me, is a commitment to always be there for players, as they proceed along their journey of life. I have been impacted by how successful and focused my players have continued to be. It doesn’t surprise me, but it has impacted me. My own son is not playing soccer in college (though he could have) but is successful in his relationships, in his career and in his studies as an architect. Another player has joined the Air Force and is going to get married soon. I spoke to another player yesterday who is enlisting in the military as well. These guys and girls may not be learning Cruyff turns from me anymore and they may not need me at all for a while, but it is so gratifying to see them taking the Coerver Kid qualities and using them in other areas of life. Spirit helps you as a friend, as a spouse, as an entrepreneur, as a student. The creativity that Coerver Coaching encourages fuels passion in players to become the best version of themselves. The confidence that Coerver Coaching inspires by allowing kids time to Master the Ball lets them take the ball on their own and go at players 1v1, or gives them the authority to make a choice to bring a partner in on the passing combination. As they go out there and start businesses, start relationships and become coaches themselves in whatever area of life. I carry with me such a great reward from having been (however small) a part of their lives.

I watch players who are in the middle of important soccer games and their team is down a goal. They get fouled, or sworn at, or bumped, or something goes wrong. The next thing you know, they retaliate verbally or physically and now they are thrown out of the game. Being one of the #coerverkids involves “sense”. Sense has to do with wisdom and it has to do with knowing what to do in any situation. Funneling emotions into more intense effort is a good thing. If you don’t play by the rules though, those emotions can work against you and now your team is playing a man down. As a coach, I will sometimes (in training sessions) make a bad call on purpose as a referee or change the score on the players in a game that has a consequence for losing (say it is 10 pushups to the losing team), then I will tell the players what I am doing because I want them to learn how to react and practice getting out of unfair situations. At the end of the session, maybe I do the pushups instead, not every time, so that they take the challenge seriously, but maybe sometimes. Maybe I let the game go a little bit longer until it is tied so no-one has the consequence. Practicing the “unfair” and practicing showing mercy to players are powerful forces that will prepare them for life and soccer situations.