Short Story

I saw some brilliant coaching on the soccer pitch today, the kind that makes you realize that youth athletics can be a very powerful and positive boost to our kids’ development.

Our team (Quicksilver Green ’99) played Central Valley’s Crossfire White. The coach on the other team was beyond abrasive, calling his players "idiots" while they were on the field (one of our players on the bench heard it and asked me in disbelief if he actually did). It was one of the worst displays of negative coaching I have seen, and our team was really distracted and upset by his performance.

Our coach, Ryan Edwards, kept his cool through the first half, working with the players on the field to keep their minds on our tactics and hold the team together. At the half, he pulled the team over to the shade to chat. They were pretty shaken up by the situation.

He calmly described what was going on in terms that a 9 year old could easily comprehend. He acknowledged that the coach was a real distraction and gave them some reasons to understand why he might act that way. He did not bash the other coach or degrade him, just helped the kids understand.

Then he went on to describe what our team represents, both in standings in the league (leading to the other team’s fear), and in style of play. He reminded them why they want to play soccer, what it can mean to them. Ryan very eloquently brought in the life lesson that success takes a lot of hard work, practice, and discipline (in the sense of self control to follow the path), and gave them the opportunity to show us that they want success. He took what was a potential for disaster and turned it into an opportunity for each one of our girls to grow a strong belief in themselves.

They came out on the field for the second half more than fired up and confident, they knew that they were good people doing what they wanted to do. We didn’t win the game, but our team came home the winners. Ryan was the catalyst to make this happen.

I was proud to see it and wanted to share it with you.

Dave O’Neal - Quicksilver Green ’99 - asst. coach