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Time keeping

This week I wanted to discuss the importance of time keeping. As a youth soccer coach I’m always conscious of time. I make sure I’m the first to practice and games and always the last to leave. I make sure I’m at the field at least 10-15 minutes early for practice. I leave my house early to account for the Long Island traffic. Anyone who travels on the NY parkways and expressways knows what I’m talking about. I like to get to practice early so I can set up goals and cones for the planned practice. On game day I will be there early to inspect the pitch and be ready to warm up the players. On game day I like to be at the field 30-45minutes before kickoff.

I make sure my practices start on time. It doesn’t matter how many kids are present we start. I now set up arrival actives. Juggling, short passing 1v1 or small sided games. The introduction of USSF play practice play model now encourages coaches of young players to start practice with a SSG. It encourages kids to be on time or even early to practice. They feel like they are missing out on the fun.

There can be unforeseen circumstances when you are late to practice or a game. Coaches who coach multiple teams or for different clubs will have been through this and understand. There is also the matter for school, family or car problems that we inevitably run into. Plan ahead. A simple phone call or text can save you a lot of headaches in this situation. If you know a fellow coach is running late and you share a field or work for the same club, help them out and make sure the warm up starts on time. Do it for the kids. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve seen teams fooling around, wasting time because their session didn’t start on time. This shouldn’t happen on a regular basis but and, remember if you are late, UN prepared, this kids suffer.

One part of time keeping I feel gets overlooked is finishing on time. The kids and families we coach have busy lives and are on a schedule. I personally don’t like when a coach goes over time. It usually means they don’t have a watch, are unaware of time keeping. It’s also unfair to the coach waiting to get on the field or the player who has to run to another activity or family event. Going “over-time is not a good thing” If your session is planned with progression & flow you can cover all coaching points within the allotted time.

I always end my sessions a couple of minutes early to de-brief the kids and recap the session. I also like to say goodbye with a pound, high five or handshake and individual feedback to players or parents.

As a DOC I always get asked questions on the field, before, after or ever during practice. This can end up taking 5-10 minutes away from training and affect your time keeping schedule. This is something I’m working on but I’m now trying to adder to the 24 hour rule. My aim now is to respond “put that in an email” or Call me after practice or direct to the website. This might come across cold but will also save you the possibility of any conflicts after practice.

You also need to be aware of the “time killers” The coach who starts 5 minutes late, ends 5 minutes early, send the team on a lap or long water or bathroom break. Red flag time fillers and a sign of poor time keeping/planning.

It used to frustrate when kids were late to practice. Now with arrival activities or SSG it relieves some of that frustration. I am typically dealing with young kids, some who have no concept of time or punctuality (or the consequences of being late). It is on the parents to make sure they are at practice on time. With the increase of multi-sport athletes, home work and school/religious activates it’s inevitable that kids will be late or absent from practice on occasion. This is something I’ve learnt to understand and realize I can’t control only potentially influence. I do feel it’s unacceptable if a child is late or absent without first letting the coach know. I am surprised the amounts of parents who sign up their child for activates or teams and don’t show up or notoriously late. If you are going to miss a practice or game, please let the coach know via email, text or through the popular sport scheduling apps. It helps the coach plan accordingly rather than having to go to plan B or even C. If you are late to practice or a game, run, don’t just stroll up to the practice. Nothing affects team moral more than seeing players thinking it’s appropriate to stroll in 20 minutes late while the rest of the team are working hard. I can’t stand when a late comer, come up to me and says “I just got here, what are we doing?” This is a pet peeve of mine. If running late, encourage your children to run to practice, approach the coach and just reply, “Coach, I’m sorry I’m late”.

 

 

• Wear a watch or stop watch. It looks a lot more professional than checking your phone

• Be the first to arrive and last to leave

• Start and finish on time

• Set up arrival activates

• Plan your sessions

• Don’t be a time waster