Posted on October 30, 2009: Coaching Levels
A Responsible Sports Fan suggested the following Scenario Question:
There's a pretty good coach that's coaching 8-10 year-olds in football, but the organization wants him to coach the 13-14 year-olds. Do you as the responsible coaching nation think that is selfish on the part of the coach to remain adamant on being more of a foundation builder than being a part of the end results?
Dear Adam,
Your question is an interesting one. Each organization has their own rules for how coaches are assigned to different teams/age divisions. Some organizations may let the coaches choose which age level they want to coach, while others may retain the right to assign coaches wherever they see the best fit. Based on your question, it might be the case that this football organization was not clear with the coaches about who gets the final call on coaching assignments.
Looking at this from the coach's point of view, I have certainly known coaches who pride themselves on working well with beginners. In your question you refer to this as being a "foundation builder."
When I used to assign coaches to work with different age groups, I would often assign my best coaches to the younger kids. I wanted the beginners to be learning correct technique from the start, and I figured that if I had my best coaches with the newest players, we were most likely to keep them wanting to come back to play the next year.
So, to answer your question directly, I do not think the coach in question is being selfish by wanting to keep working at the 8-10-yr-old level. He feels comfortable at this level; he's doing a good job, and having good coaches willing to work at the youngest age levels is wonderful. Perhaps he can be asked to take on an additional coaching assignment and assist at the 13-14-yr-old level as well?
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