Coaching Guidelines

All coaches are expected to adhere to the guidelines below.

Motivation

• Morningside Soccer's most important goal is to provide a safe space for kids of all backgrounds to have fun and learn to play soccer.
• The focus should always be on meeting this goal. Other motivations - in particular, winning - are secondary.
• Our league has grown significantly in the past few years because it has earned a reputation for being a positive, friendly, family-like atmosphere. Please help us keep that going!
• Being competitive is fine, but keep in mind that we're all working together to create a great experience for the kids. Teams mirror their coaches' behavior, and parents react to their kids' experiences, so everything that happens on and around the field flows from how the coaches manage their games.

Playing Time

• All players should play at least half of every game.
• All players should play all positions at some point.
• During the regular season, coaches should arrange rotations so that all players play roughly the same amount of minutes.
  
• During the playoffs, rotations can be skewed slightly, but not to the point that anyone is playing less than half the game.

Sportsmanship

• Coaches should never undermine officials during games. Issues with particular officials can be addressed with league leadership after the game.
• Likewise, players are required to treat officials with respect. Coaches are responsible for ensuring this respect and subbing players out if problems are becoming clear.
• All players and coaches should line up after every game to shake the other team's hands.
• Aside from friendly banter (many of our players have known each other for years), players generally should not talk to the opposing team.
• Cynical tactics (such as placing defenders directly in front of the goal) and time wasting are strongly discouraged.

Feedback

• All feedback should be constructive. "Next time, steer that ball toward the sideline!" is a much more effective framing than "Why would you kick that ball in the middle of the field?"
• Focus on encouragement and suggesting solutions if the player faces the same situation again, not on criticizing mistakes.
• In addition to obvious accomplishments like goals and saves, verbally celebrate moments like nice passes, correct positioning, and helping a teammate defensively.