Each year we send a coach or group of coaches along to the United Soccer Coaches Convention. This year, the United Soccer Coaches Convention was held in Baltimore, and Inter CT FC sent Eimear Redding along to check out the workshops, field sessions, and all other soccer-related activities. These are her notes.
What Drives Winning?
My biggest takeaway from the convention was Becky Burleigh and Brett Ledbetter's seminar on "What drives winning." Their philosophy is the idea that character drives the process, which ultimately leads to results. This got me thinking about my college playing days and how we had specific strategies and rituals in place that helped us 'drive winning.' For example, on away trips 15 minutes before we would get to the field, we had a pre-planned playlist that we listened to. It always helped people wake up, focus, and prepare for the game.
Dare to Lead
Based on Brene Brown's book, dare to lead. Covering topics such as living our values, vulnerability, and empathy. Sticking to your 2-3 values and pairing them up to team values. This can be helpful if you have a team that wants different outcomes for the season. This can help them come together and realize that they have common goals. Such as every player wanting to grow and get better throughout there season.
Small-Sided Games to Improve Goal Scoring
Field sessions lead by Ian Barker, adding stipulations to the game to improve goal scoring opportunities. I found these particularly interesting because although Ian was mostly concentrating on goal scoring, he also had them playing in a small area, influencing them to possess the ball and switching the point of attack. I found this particularly helpful as scoring is the most critical moment of the game, but there is usually a possession phase that leads to the scoring chances. It was the session design that stood out to me.
A Roadmap to Becoming a Competent and Confident Coach
Discussing the qualities and skill sets that are the foundational aspects of a great coach. Celia Slater, CEO of True North Sports, talked about what makes a competent coach. She highlighted communication, soccer IQ, organization management, leadership, professionalism, moral and character skills, building relationships, and self-awareness as the most important.
ACL Injury Prevention in Female High School Athletes
In this session, Wendy LeBolt discussed what puts female athletes at an increased risk for ACL injuries. Two ways that may help reducing an ACL injury is FIFA 11+
http://www.f-marc.com/files/downloads/posters_generic/english.pdf and the PEP Program. https://www.aclstudygroup.com/pdf/pep-program.pdf
That information was particularly helpful, and as a club, we have already started to incorporate this within our pre-game and practice warm-ups.
