When Coach tells you "I have too many teams".

BananaKick

SILVER ELITE
My DD plays on a team a team that underperforms with expectatons and promises from club before season that they will be much stronger this year, but that has been the opposite. We have a very good Coach and this year we play 11v11 for first time, so everybody's play will be a little off, getting used to big field. The parents and players have complained about losing last 6 out of 7 games and in-fighting has occurred with parents talking about players who should'nt have made team and other B.S. We talked to Coach first as a group about fustrations and he just says " I have to many teams". Has anybody else have had this problem in the past, or are going through it now? Next step will be meeting with DOC........any info will help.
 
Everyone’s situation is different.

We’ve been with coaches that have anywhere from 1 to 3 teams and I’ve heard of a particular coach that had 5 (sounds like BS)

1 team per coach in my opinion. Coach has focus and dedication and no conflicts (outside normal life).

2 teams is doable. We did have some issues. Though they were different ages and genders, the coach would unintentionally belittle our team in comparing to the other (definitely) better team. It was a confidence breaker for the kids and parents were understandably upset.
Other than that, the coach was very good at making practices for both teams and if a scheduling conflict arose, took the game for the team in a more pressing game (only happened a few times).

3 teams is a no go for me. There is no way a coach can dedicate the time and effort to 50+ kids over multiple practices and games. One team will always be first, one team will be the “money team” and the kids will lose out in the end.

Again, my opinion and personal experience. Loved the coach in scenario 2 & 3 but didn’t like the laissez faire approach to practices at times. Parent and kids would watch as the “other” team finished practice, rondos, drills, stamina, etc, then we get out and it’s “pick teams and scrimmage for 2 hours while I shoot the shit with another coach”. Exaggerating but it’s what it felt like towards the end.
 
My DD plays on a team a team that underperforms with expectatons and promises from club before season that they will be much stronger this year, but that has been the opposite. We have a very good Coach and this year we play 11v11 for first time, so everybody's play will be a little off, getting used to big field. The parents and players have complained about losing last 6 out of 7 games and in-fighting has occurred with parents talking about players who should'nt have made team and other B.S. We talked to Coach first as a group about fustrations and he just says " I have to many teams". Has anybody else have had this problem in the past, or are going through it now? Next step will be meeting with DOC........any info will help.
keep in mind, it's everyone's expectations to be "better next year", I'm guessing from your post it's a younger team and they're still learning. It sounds like the biggest problem will be the parents, if the kids are happy, developing as players on and off the field & your kid is happy, the only concern will be the other crazy parents causing problems. If they start moving their kids to other teams or clubs, will you have numbers for this team to continue? It also sounds like the coach may be giving the parents a "heads up" - "keep this craziness up and I'm dropping this team", most coaches don't like all the parent drama and if this team is on the weaker side of his 3, it makes it much easier to just drop the team, sounds like the DOC will make that call shortly. If your kid loves the game, wants to keep playing, you need to keep an eye on what's happening, worst case, you'll need to find another team....sorry to be so blunt but, you need to do what's best for your kid as things start to unfold
 
My DD plays on a team a team that underperforms with expectatons and promises from club before season that they will be much stronger this year, but that has been the opposite. We have a very good Coach and this year we play 11v11 for first time, so everybody's play will be a little off, getting used to big field. The parents and players have complained about losing last 6 out of 7 games and in-fighting has occurred with parents talking about players who should'nt have made team and other B.S. We talked to Coach first as a group about fustrations and he just says " I have to many teams". Has anybody else have had this problem in the past, or are going through it now? Next step will be meeting with DOC........any info will help.

Curious what makes you feel like he's a VERY GOOD coach?
To me it's easy. Find a new team/ coach. You pay too much $$ to be on a team where parents are fighting especially before a new season. Not to mention a coach that has too many teams
Only exception would be if your kid gets a ton of play time and is growing exponentially.
 
keep in mind, it's everyone's expectations to be "better next year", I'm guessing from your post it's a younger team and they're still learning. It sounds like the biggest problem will be the parents, if the kids are happy, developing as players on and off the field & your kid is happy, the only concern will be the other crazy parents causing problems. If they start moving their kids to other teams or clubs, will you have numbers for this team to continue? It also sounds like the coach may be giving the parents a "heads up" - "keep this craziness up and I'm dropping this team", most coaches don't like all the parent drama and if this team is on the weaker side of his 3, it makes it much easier to just drop the team, sounds like the DOC will make that call shortly. If your kid loves the game, wants to keep playing, you need to keep an eye on what's happening, worst case, you'll need to find another team....sorry to be so blunt but, you need to do what's best for your kid as things start to unfold


This. ^

The big question is whether the team isn't advancing because the players aren't improving or if it's the players themselves. A coach is only going to be able to make incremental improvements in players over time, given the limited time they have to work with individual players. For example, if the goalkeeper can't catch, to make substantial improvements that goalkeeper would have to be working at it at least 20 minutes a day over a period of months. The coach can't do that given his concern is the team, not the players. It doesn't seem like this is the case of bad coaching because the OP starts off by saying "we have a very good Coach".

The quickest way a coach has to improve a team over seasons is to drop weak players and recruit better players, particularly in the anchor roles of GK, CB, 10, and striker. Another quick way a coach has to improve a team's performance is by playing only the strongest players and benching everyone else. If the coach isn't taking these steps, then you may have a coach that is concerned with development more than winning, and then that means you have a parent (not a coach) problem. My son's first team was like that....pretty much everyone left unsatisfied with the coaching and went en mass to another team (my GK son also took a lot of the blame and didn't go with them)....that team still didn't perform when it got a new club, new coach, and new GK.

That said 3 teams is very hard for anyone to a manage. But it doesn't seem like that's really the problem.
 
Multiple teams per coach can be fine or can be tricky...I have multiple kids who have played at multiple clubs at multiple levels :) so I've seen the spectrum. Various kids have been on the only team for a coach, the "better" team of 2 or more for a coach, the "worse," etc.

Only team per coach is nice for scheduling. Sometimes the coach is not as dedicated to soccer (it's more of a sideline) so in general I've found these teams less serious on development, but a pleasant experience.

Two teams per coach has generally been fine. If the coach is a reasonable human who likes kids (don't take that for granted!) he/she is good about not showing a "favorite" team whether my kid's team is older/younger, higher/lower flight etc. Practice on alternate days (M/W for one team, T/Th for another) is always helpful. Plus, if my kid has to miss a practice for some reason, going to a make up practice with the same coach (although a different team) is a nice option.

Three teams per coach could start to get dicey but I have seen it work. One coach in particular (not my kid's coach but same age group so we saw coach a lot around) was a consummate professional, had 3 teams, all the teams loved that coach, kids developed and parents happy. The poor coach must have been constantly on the road with tournaments all summer, plus during league play constant driving & I'm sure the occasional unavoidable coaching conflict. It would take a dedicated and focused coach to make it work though.

I've never seen 4+ teams! That seems crazy.
 
My DD plays on a team a team that underperforms with expectatons and promises from club before season that they will be much stronger this year, but that has been the opposite. We have a very good Coach and this year we play 11v11 for first time, so everybody's play will be a little off, getting used to big field. The parents and players have complained about losing last 6 out of 7 games and in-fighting has occurred with parents talking about players who should'nt have made team and other B.S. We talked to Coach first as a group about fustrations and he just says " I have to many teams". Has anybody else have had this problem in the past, or are going through it now? Next step will be meeting with DOC........any info will help.
Please clarify. You did not know that your coach had to many teams only when he spoke to the parents? Or did you know prior?
 
My DD plays on a team a team that underperforms with expectatons and promises from club before season that they will be much stronger this year, but that has been the opposite. We have a very good Coach and this year we play 11v11 for first time, so everybody's play will be a little off, getting used to big field. The parents and players have complained about losing last 6 out of 7 games and in-fighting has occurred with parents talking about players who should'nt have made team and other B.S. We talked to Coach first as a group about fustrations and he just says " I have to many teams". Has anybody else have had this problem in the past, or are going through it now? Next step will be meeting with DOC........any info will help.

First year of 11v11 can take a bit of an adjustment.
What level are you planning to play this year? What level did you play last year? Of the 7 recent games you have played, what level were those teams?
Did you barely lose or get crushed? Did your team try to play good soccer and made a few mistakes?
First year if 11v11 is 2007 birth year. 5th and 6th grade kids.

The comment of “I have too many teams” seems like a strange response to an angry mob of parents that want to see more wins.

What are the players doing outside of practice to improve? A coach can make improvements to a team. But if players are putting in outside work, those improvements will happen much faster.
 
First year of 11v11 can take a bit of an adjustment.
What level are you planning to play this year? What level did you play last year? Of the 7 recent games you have played, what level were those teams?
Did you barely lose or get crushed? Did your team try to play good soccer and made a few mistakes?
First year if 11v11 is 2007 birth year. 5th and 6th grade kids.

The comment of “I have too many teams” seems like a strange response to an angry mob of parents that want to see more wins.

What are the players doing outside of practice to improve? A coach can make improvements to a team. But if players are putting in outside work, those improvements will happen much faster.


All of these are excellent questions.

Unless you’re playing high level soccer, wins and losses are really unimportant. Johnny can have tons of medals and trophies and not develop.

The number of teams a coach has really impacts a few areas; is he missing games? Is he combining team trainings to accommodate his workload, and the quality of practice is suffering?

Losing and lack of control of stupid parents may not have to do with his amount of teams.

If this coach is a great coach, and your child is growing at a rate that is reasonable, stick with him and ignore the drama.

Clubs (and coaches) are manure-spreaders. That’s putting it kind. It’s pretty easy to decipher whether the club is making the false promises, or the coach is.

Figure that out, and the decision becomes easy.
 
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