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Aug, 2017

So you thinking about being a coach? ...Maybe?....Why not?

Well let me tell you how I became a coach. I started off helping Coach Oilar with Saturday mornings Mount Pleasant Rec League. It didn't take me long to realize that kids love to kick a ball and chase it (like us golfers). It also didn't take me long to realize that his teams always had success. Why? Well, he taught his kids skills such as dribbling and passing. The typical play I observed from opponent teams was "Bee Hiving" (one large glob of kids chasing a ball around the field where only the fastest and strongest had success was painful for me to watch). Coach Oilar would simply control the bee hive by passing and wearing the ball chasers out for easy wins. Coach Oilar had advantage over many of the parent volunteers for he played soccer. I did not, I grew up in Pennsylvania where baseball, football, basketball and wrestling were "THE" sport to be involved in. My son Logan wanted to play more so I sought out looking for a "traveling" team. Well, there was one team in town that did play other regional teams. I volunteered with Coach Warner to coach a U12 team in the 641 League. It was a rather large learning curve for not only Coach Warner and I, but for the faithful parents that hung with us through our trials and tribulations. We had a rough first season but Coach Warner and I are not the kind of people to sit along the sidelines and think "it is okay as long as the kids have fun"...Don't get me wrong, FUN is important, but it was not fun losing all the time. We decided we wanted to provide the best coaching we could for our team. Coach Warner and I then started a long ongoing process of studying, observing, and practicing the skill sets that successful soccer coaches exhibit. We enrolled in the national "E" level coaching course which further opened our eyes as to best practices for youth soccer. We then immersed ourselves in Coerver Coaching techniques as well as the endless supply of quality and some not so good videos, books, podcasts and professional soccer games. You might want to say at this point we were hooked. In fact, we still continuously seek out the best possible instruction for our teams, utilizing the same drills and techniques used by the finest soccer academies in the world. We then fought for a club endorsement from the state and last year we were officially granted club status. Thus Mount Pleasant Soccer Association was formed.

Now what does this all have to do with you becoming a coach. Well let me talk about the benefits:
1) You are a community volunteer, helping others in the community makes for a strong community.
2) You are keeping kids involved in a wonderful sport that involves a balanced whole body devevelopment (balance, strength, and agility).
3) You have an opportunity to become involved in an aspect of your child's life that you may be missing out on.
4) You have an opportunity to learn a game that you may be unfamiliar with now but trust me, you will find yourself playing, watching and wanting to coach more.
5) You do not have to start from ground zero, we WILL provide you with personal training and assistance. MPSA recognizes that in order to have a successful club and continue providing a service for our children we need to help each other by pass coaching skills along.
6) You will enjoy coaching this sport, soccer has been growing in popularity nationwide and you will discover why.
7) I am sure you can continue this list but the important thing is to try it out!...even if you start out as a team manager or chasing balls become involved, your kids and ours will appreciated it.

Okay, I am willing to give it a shot what do I do now?

Simple, select 'volunteer as a coach' on the registration form or see one of the other coaches. To be a coach you must be willing to complete and pass a criminal background check. You will most likely start out as an assistant coach unless you have previous experience. We do want our coaches to become certified and after a season or two of learning, the club will pay for the registration costs of obtaining a coaching license. We feel it is important that all the coaches follow the same philosophy of coaching and uphold the standards set forth by the director of coaching. We encourage coaches to share material and drills with each other and I will be expanding our coaching section on the website to accommodate this. We do not accept or tolerate "rogue" coaches. We follow the guidelines set forth by US Youth Soccer. Coaches are expected to uphold these values to keep the integrity of the club intact. Please contact me if you have any questions.

In conclusion, don't be afraid of what you don't know, we all started off life not knowing anything. We never stop learning and being a soccer coach is no different. I never would have guessed my wife would be a coach but due to my work schedule she obtained her level "E" license and now coaches on those days I am working. We will help you succeed. I would like to extend a big THANK YOU! to all those who do coach as well as those who volunteered in other aspects of the club. Together we can continually build our club proudly and leave an impact on generations to come.

~Coach Rob White

Website Manager

MOUNT PLEASANT

SOCCER ASSOCIATION

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Aug, 2017

So you thinking about being a coach? ...Maybe?....Why not?

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