HOUSE Parent Coaching Guide
Please read thoroughly
Thank you for coaching! This guide will hopefully answer some questions you may have as a coach this season. Some of you are new to coaching and some have had multiple years coaching with HOUSE players. Either way there are some helpful tips to make this season run well.
Firstly, please be aware that your players will all be of different abilities and will develop at different speeds. Our primary goal is for the kids to have fun, learn and want to play more soccer. HOUSE is developmental.
HOUSE Coaching responsibilities
1) Communicate with your team. Coaches will receive regular updates from the AGE GROUP commissioners. Commissioners will give information on a timely basis that should get you started and keep you on track during the season.
2) Please emphasize to your teams to be at the games ON TIME. This means 5-10 minutes early for HOUSE. This will give you time to warm up and work on a weekly Drill/Instruction (more on this below).
3) Please emphasize Preparation with parents. This means having shin guards, water and proper size ball (inflated). I would also emphasize double knots on their laces!
4) Subbing- All players should be given equal time. Generally 2 or 3 substitutions per half with different rotations depending on how many subs you have.
5) Respect for the Referee. REMEMBER most of the refs are kids too. Just because they have a yellow shirt on doesn’t mean you can yell at them or treat them any differently than if they were your neighbors’ child. There is no tolerance for those that make a referee feel uncomfortable. Please shake hands with referee.
6) Mercy rule. Generally there is no keeping score but if you see there is an unbalanced game PLEASE split up your better players on different shifts. Also play 3 passes before you can score the next goal (it is amazing how much they can learn by NOT always going to the goal). Some common sense goes a long way. We don’t want players discouraged.
7) JA Elite professionals are at Saturday games to set up fields, post games on whiteboard, get games started on time and generally be present if needed. Please welcome them and ask soccer questions if you have them. They are NOT there to police every game. Any significant problems or questions can be escalated to a DSA commissioner or board member.
8) Code of Conduct. Please hand out Code of Conduct at first game and have players bring back the following week. We are not collecting these but want parents and players to read, sign and bring back to coaches.
