Smoke Signals May/June - Oklahoma Soccer Association

More documents

Recommendations

Info

2 OKLAHOMA SOCCER ASSOCIATION KOHL’S SOCCER TOURNAMENT Photos of some of the matches will be posted on the OSA web site (www.oksoccer.com) soon and can be downloaded for free. A professional photographer was present at the site to take photos of the Governor’s Cup champions and finalists. Plaques containing the team’s photo and copy of the medal distributed to the teams will be presented to the championship and finalist coaches within a few weeks. (Then you'll need to concentrate--AVOID your friends and go to a camp with coaches who can demonstrate skills and take the time to correct problems. Remedial training can be very time consuming. So get an understanding up front that the camp and its staffto-camper ratio is committed to it. You may be better off hiring a tutor.) Do you want to improve your tactical sense- -that is, to make better decisions about when For the Kohl’s players, all the participants received medals and the excitement of being given a medal was evident Sunday afternoon as young U6, U8, and U10 players proudly displayed their gifts to parents, family members and anyone wishing to see. While the Saturday games played under a warm April sun and windy conditions, the Sunday matches began with a misting rain and a threat of severe Soccer Camps, continued from page 1 weather. Fortunately, the afternoon became cloudy and the temperatures remained comfortable for both players and viewers. Thanks to the many volunteers at Lawton Soccer Club for the hours of work and preparation. The complex was easy to access and the large parking lot provided ample space for vehicles of all shapes and sizes. and where to dribble, pass, shoot, and move? (This is tough to get out of a camp, because tactics are learned over time and from mistakes. Therefore, go to a longer, tactical-oriented camp with lots of coaches per camper.) Do you want your team to be more competitive? (Then your coach probably has ideas about attending a "team camp.") Do you want to get in better physical condition? (This should only be a concern of players over 12 years, who will benefit by cultivating their growing muscle mass and lung capacity. Check out camps that offer this emphasis- -but be sure you have a medical exam to verify your basic physical condition.) Do you need your mental batteries recharged because you're beginning to get bored with soccer? (Then go to a camp with a soccer star you admire or in a neat locale--all of which may cost some bucks.) OSA www.oksoccer.com Tulsa Office 9410 E. 51st St. Ste. B Tulsa, OK 74145-8169 1-918-627-2663 P.O. Box 35174 Tulsa, OK 74153-0174 1-800-347-3590 OSA office in Oklahoma City 4520 Old Farm Road Oklahoma City, OK 73162 405-286-0488 Executive Board Chairman Brandon Story Vice-Chairman Gail Wettstein Secretary/Treasurer Larry Faulkner SRA Ron Poulsen Adviser Scott Hughes Youth Board President Tom Wedding 1st Vice-President Daryn Story 2nd Vice-President Marianne Ballard 3rd Vice-President Paul Scott 4th Vice-President Risk Management Michael Naumann Secretary/Registrar Russ Lissuzzo SYRA David Ooten Adult Board The Smoke Signals is the official publication of the Oklahoma Soccer Association and is published bi-monthly. Editorial offices are at the OSA office, 9410-B East 51st Street, Tulsa, OK 74145-8168. Telephone is 918-627-2663 and FAX is 918-627-2693. E-mail at oksoccer@oksoccer.com. The Smoke Signals is mailed to all registered coaches, referees, association officers, subscribers, and players six times a year. Advertisers assume all liability for content of advertisements printed and therefore assume all claims against the Smoke Signals. The Smoke Signals does not publish articles or letters from anonymous contributors. Contributors must provide a daytime phone number to confirm authorship of submitted articles or letters. Opinions expressed in this publication are exclusively those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication. Errors, corrections and changes are inevitable. Please accept our apologies for any inconveniences. Smoke Signals Story Submissions Smoke Signals welcomes story submissions from teams, clubs, leagues and associations via e-mail or FAX. If you have a story or a story idea, please e-mail or FAX us at the following addresses: oksoccer@oksoccer.com -or- FAX: 1-918-627-2693 to the attention: Dale Watts President Reza Namavar 1st Vice-President Sonny Dalesondro 2nd Vice-President Tekleab Tsegay Secretary/Registrar Jalal Daneshfar SRA Ron Poulsen Editor- Dale Watts Layout & Design- Sandy Bent National Ad Director Varsity Sports Communications 1340 Lake City Way Seattle, WA 98125-3665 206-367-2420
I taught high school mathematics for 15 years. Enjoyed it, mostly; I loved the kids and coworkers. The paperwork almost killed me. Really it was my own fault. I kept coming up with these creative assignments that allowed the kids to dig deep into the topics. Of course, the projects didn't grade themselves. Still, other than grading, I enjoyed interacting with the students and getting to know them. I liked challenging them to think and solve problems in new ways. Sounds like what a good coach is supposed to do, isn't it? My wife sent me a text recently from a futsal game. All was going pretty well for our daighter's team, but the boys team they were playing didn't seem too happy about losing to girls. The coach, apparently, was less pleased. From my wife's updates, it seems this coach was losing it. This is not a new story. We have all seen it on the sidelines during games: indoor, outdoor, anywhere. Yet her last update struck me: "Parents, why tolerate youth coaches who berate. I'd yank my kid from team if she was talked to the way this guy is talking to his team." Tolerate and berate. My wife is an author of considerable skill, so I know she chooses her words carefully. Tolerate: (v) to allow VIEWS FROM THE TECHNICAL BOX By Kurt Luitwieler, OSA’s Director of Coaching Read Kurt’s blog by visiting this link: http://osadoc.blogspot.com to be or to be done without prohibition, hindrance, or contradiction. Berate: (v) to scold or condemn vehemently and at length. Think about it: this is the climate youth soccer (and youth sports in general) offers. As parents, we are allowing our children to be vehemently scolded at length without contradiction. Our failure to speak up is passive agreement with the coach’s actions. Our silence speaks loudly. Our silence says, "You go right ahead calling my daughter an idiot. I have no problem with that." "What?!?!?! Steve!! How many times have we found the standard deviation? Come ON! You call that a square root? My grandmother does roots better than that. Seriously, if you EVER want to be a statistician for real, you are just going to have to work harder. Are you even listening? You just don't want it bad enough. Why do I bother?" We've all heard rants like that on the sideline. If I had behaved toward a student in class this way, I would have lost my job in a matter of days. This brings up the central issue: Why do parents feel like we have to tolerate this behavior with our kids' coaches? It is NOT “part of the game”. For some of us, we grew up in sports that way. Doesn't mean it was right then, or, by default, NOW. Parents must set as high a level of expectation in "classroom behavior" for our youth coaches as we do our school teachers. Make no mistake, if we profess that youth soccer is about development of the whole athlete, then we continue to hinder that process each week when we hear our child's coach yell and scream at our kid while we sit in our chairs. So, what can you do as a parent when you find a coach is berating children? Be an adult. Go to the coach and express your concerns, CALMLY. Often, they do not even know they are doing it! Often they are reasonable, caring people caught in the moment. A gentle reminder may refocus the coach on the kids, nipping a potential problem in the bud. Obviously, approaching the coach yelling and screaming about his constant yelling and screaming will not prove the point. Go Higher. If that does not help, and the coach continues his/her ways, seek support from someone in charge of coaches at that club. Ask this person to watch the next game/practice. The important thing is to let those making decisions for the club know that a coach in their club (volunteer or paid) is not meeting expectations in the most basic and most important ways. (If you don't like their tactics, or something like that, that's another story...) SMOKE SIGNALS 3 Vote with your feet. Just like buying a used car, you must be willing to walk away from the deal. If the problem persists and you get no support from the club administration, you must be willing to leave. Review the options. Either stay and watch a child get beat down week after week or walk away. One choice will provide some possible short term blow back from the child, perhaps other parents, or even the coach. The other option is simply unacceptable. Which is worth it? Now what? That could be the hardest one. Of course, there is not one answer. Every child and community is different. But the most important thing is to make sure the child understands WHY. When they accept that and internalize it, they are now better equipped to recognize it and talk to you about it next time. Second, they need to get back to playing. Not necessarily with a team right away, but go play with them in backyard or with some friends. They need to associate that round ball with positive experiences again. Quickly. Of course, I am not advocating yanking a kid at the first sign of distress. We don’t want the coach to yank our child from a game after the first mistake. There will be times when a human adult messes up in dealing see Technical Box, page 5
Page 1: SMOKE SIGNALS 1 MAY/JUNE 2012 THE O
Page 5 and 6: Technical Box, continued from page
Page 7 and 8: OSA Visits Durant and Atoka Soccer
Page 9 and 10: Soccer Summer Camps SMOKE SIGNALS 9
Page 11 and 12: SMOKE SIGNALS 11 Watt’s What, con
Page 13 and 14: The USASA is excited to announce a
Page 15 and 16: Venue: Toyota Park in Chicago, IL.
Page 17 and 18: Tournament Scores SMOKE SIGNALS 17
Page 19 and 20: KIDS’ PAGE SMOKE SIGNALS 19 JOKES

Smoke Signals May/June - Oklahoma Soccer Association

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?