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A
soccer coach is entrusted with passing on his knowledge
of the sport. He must teach not only soccer, but
sportsmanship and work ethics. He must monitor the
behavior of all of his players on the sidelines as well
as watching the action on the field. He must remain calm
in the face of angry parents, and wailing children. He
will be forced to bench his best players because they
will not follow simple instructions. He will want to
quit a million times, sometimes more, all in the same
game. But what makes drives him back to that field for
the next practice, for the next game is what makes him a
good soccer coach in the first place: he loves the game.
I don't think that the amount of awards and
championships makes someone the best soccer coach, only
the one with the most wins. What does constant winning
teach a child or even an adult player about
sportsmanship, or about determination? When things
always come easily, and there is never a struggle, then
there is nothing to appreciate. The sweetest victories
are not the blow outs, but the ones that are the hardest
fought. When I was younger, I got a pair of the
prettiest roller skates I had ever seen. I swore that I
would learn to make that hair pin turn in my driveway
with the grace of a roller derby queen. Day after day,
that summer, I would tie those skates on and work on
that turn. One day, I set my shoulders and off I went-I
breezed through that hair pin turn with all of the
aplomb of a bomber. That was the sweetest roller-moment
that I had ever had. It was hard work to accomplish, I
bled, I cried, and yes, I vowed never to skate again.
But the next day I would be out there trying again. How
long would I have worked if I would have made that turn
on my first trip out?
The best soccer coaches want their players to be the
best that they can be, not only on the field, but in
life as well. Most coaches know that the lessons that
you learn in sports can carry you through everything
else. Sports teach you how to deal with other people
effectively, to work with a team and to deal
realistically with problems as they arise. They can
temper an over inflated ego, or bolster the confidence
of the shy and the meek. The best soccer coaches know
what it is to win, to lose and to truly play the game.
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