"I think parenting and coaching/teaching are the same thing. And they are the two most important professions in the world." – John Wooden
John Wooden was the most successful college basketball's coach in the game's history. During his tenure at UCLA, his team won seven consecutive national titles, winning 88 games in a row in the process.[1]
Wooden was a great coach and a spiritual man. He was quiet during games, placed great emphasis on treating his players with respect and was more like a father figure than a coach to many of them.
He said there are four laws of learning: explanation, demonstration, imitation and repetition, and his overall coaching objective was one that any youth soccer coach could usefully adopt: to create correct habits that can be produced instinctively under pressure.[2]
Clearly, there is much to admire about John Wooden's coaching philosophy and his approach to life in general.
But it's not just famous professional coaches who have a distinctive coaching style. We all have one – whether we realise it or not – and your coaching style will have a big impact on how successful you're going to be.
There is no one best style; the one you choose will be determined by your experience, the age of your players and the particular situation you find yourself in during training sessions.
Soccer coaching styles
The four main youth soccer coaching styles are:
1. Tell
This style of coaching could best be described as "old school".
The "tell" coach makes all the decisions and doesn't allow his players any involvement in decision making. His players are told what to do and how to do it.
2. Sell
A "sell" coach decides what his players need to do in much the same way as a "tell" coach.
However, unlike a "tell" coach, he will explain his decisions, attempt to persuade his players that it is in their best interests to do what he says and he'll also encourage questions.
3. Share
This coaching style is more of a "this is the problem, what shall we do about it?" style than the previous two, although the coach will still make the final decision based on the feedback from his players.
4. Allow
This is the most open style of coaching.
An "allow" coach talks about how the team plays and asks his players what they think they could do better.
He is open to suggestions and usually allows his players to make their own decisions regarding what to do at training sessions.[3]
Which is the right style?
There is no one best way to coach – each style of coaching has advantages and disadvantages.
Some coaches are comfortable with the "telling" style of coaching, for example, as it allows them to plan, set the pace and control their coaching sessions.
"Telling" may also be the only way to manage a large group or if it is important that your players act immediately without thinking, i.e. in an emergency.
However, "telling" is not a motivating style of coaching. In fact, it could easily demotivate young soccer players who like to take an active part in their learning.
At the other end of the spectrum, adopting an "allow" style of coaching can build a team that has strong, intelligent players but it could also result in disorganised and chaotic coaching sessions.
How do I decide which style is best for me?
Your choice of style will depend to a certain extent on your experience and ability to coach. It will also be influenced by the age of your players and their maturity.
Less experienced coaches might feel more comfortable telling their players what to do or trying to sell their opinions but they are ignoring the fact that coaches don't have all the answers.
More experienced coaches are more likely to be able to make a success of the "sharing" or "allow" styles but it would be a mistake to adopt either of these styles with very young players who lack the emotional maturity to analyse their own ability.
With U4s to U6s, for example, "telling" – providing you don't do it in a military fashion – is probably an appropriate style whereas older, more mature players – say from U12s upwards – are likely to respond well to sharing or allowing.
Whichever style you adopt – and there's nothing wrong with adopting a range of styles during the course of a single coaching session – the important thing is to reflect on the way you coach your players and if you are coaching them in a style that meets their needs.
References
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wooden
[2] J Wooden, They Call Me Coach, quoted in the Boston Globe, June 5 2010.
[3] P Crisfield et al, The Successful Coach: Guidelines for Coaching Practice, The National Coaching Foundation, 1996, pp.43/44