Ayup.
Has anyone had any experience of managing a children football team. My son has been playing with his team for the last 3 / 4 years and the current manager doesn’t have time and has approached me to manage the team at the request of some of the other parents.
What do you reckon? I’m very tempted as some of them need some extra discipline and bringing down to earth.
Tips and advice please.

I’m very tempted as some of them need some extra discipline and bringing down to earth.

Dream on. You may improve their football. You won’t make a bunch of kids playing football disciplined. Go and get a part time job in a prison if that’s what you’re after 😉

There’s a good documentary to watch that might help.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IqznlB1GhI[/video]

Surely an hours worth of Burpees at training and then being dropped for the weekend will sort them out?

Its not the kids that will be the hassle – it’s the parents. Would you be able to take on the coaching and have someone else do the “political/organising” roles ?

That’s the plan. Stay fully away from collecting the money, sorting out the fixtures and solely focus on the actual training and and game play.

It’s hard work! Currently looking after a group of under 9s, and got into it for my son also.

Getting them to listen is the hardest part, so establish ground rules early.

extra discipline and bringing down to earth….

how old are these kids?

Are they not playing for, y’know, fun?

Just remember that fun is the absolute goal here, not winning, not discipline, fun. You’ve got a bunch of kids who want to play football because it’s fun, don’t take that away from them. Don’t be, as I see far too much of, parents trying to live their sporting dream through their kids.

My dad did 10 years of it, he said the toughest thing was keeping everyone happy and making sure everyone got a game. It’s easy to pick the strongest 11 each week, it’s much tougher to keep those who don’t form part of that coming back every week.

And get the parents on your side whilst also keeping a healthy distance. You need their support, yet you also need to be able to step away from their shouting.

But yes, fun, that’s what it’s all about.

I’m very tempted as some of them need some extra discipline and bringing down to earth. I think it’ll be very rewarding to see them enjoy themselves and grow up as better people due to my nurturing influence and support

FTFY Dude! (You are a dude, aintcha?)

The Kids are playing in an under 12 league so are aged 11 and 12.
They won the league last season and now think they can just rock up and are going to easily roll over the opposition and are subsequently getting found out.
This attitude has apparently crept into training where they don’t listen to the coach and muck about. Hence discipline and burpees.

This attitude has apparently crept into training where they don’t listen to the coach and muck about. Hence discipline and burpees.

Reading this thread is making me smile as I used to coach three adult teams and that was difficult enough (all the crap one had to cope with). I wish you luck instilling the fitness and discipline into this group of youngsters, but reckon you’ll struggle. Some will enjoy it and some most definitely won’t….so you’ll be walking a tightrope.

I think if you take it on, you have to tread carefully and slowly, firstly getting to know what makes each one tick and working out how to get the best out of them. The Sgt Major routine on day one will just create waves.

I’ve done it, for under 14’s and 15’s. It’s tricky to get a good balance between fielding the best team and having options to punish people for misbehaving. You can find yourself in a position of not being able to back it up. The best thing I found was working on dead ball plays was good for building defensive and attacking unity, which made the attitudes better. Sadly I found this out only shortly before I stopped running the team.

I’d suggest that if you can get them to understand that paying attention will help them win then they might do it (and even then…)

Trying to instill/force discipline is likely to just turn them off.

Just remember that fun is the absolute goal here, not winning, not discipline, fun. You’ve got a bunch of kids who want to play football because it’s fun, don’t take that away from them.

This kind of thing is an example of why, personally, I wouldn’t do it for all tea in China. The above is, to be fair, a completely valid point, it’s logical, it’s reasonable and some of the parents will subscribe to it.

Equally, though, there is, imo, an equally valid, reasonable and logical argument the other way – that sport is fundamentally about competition. In fact, that’s pretty much the definition of the word – if you’re no trying to beat someone then it loses all meaning and purpose. And other kids / teams will be playing to win. If you’re just there for a laugh, then the people that want to win will beat you, and when you lose all the time, it stops being a laugh pretty quickly anyhow.

Some of the parents will subscribe to this view. So which way you go with it will determine which set of parents you piss off.

And all the other parents know better than you, and every decision you make is wrong, and if you have more than enough kids there to make up a team then the parents of the ones ‘on the bench’ will hate you regardless.

Seriously, burpees and discipline for a group of 11 year olds? They’re 12 year old lads, they’ll muck about, it’s what they do.

At that age winning, whilst important is not the end goal, Sargent Major style management will just end up with kids not wanting to play or go training. You can get people on your side in other ways, burpees and press-ups are not the right way.

Edit, edlong, I’m not saying that you should ignore winning, far from it but you have to keep some perspective, you can win without taking away the fun, that is the key. I played football from under 8’s to semi-pro and saw so many people drop out due to bad management.

Best mate does it. He’ll have phone calls at all hours off parents asking why little Timmy wasn’t picked, or was so and so was subbed – “little Johnny is in tears, how dare you do that. He’s the best player in the team” blah, blah blah.

He’s had stand up rows with parents who take it too seriously, had to stop fights between spectating parents.

Only took it on because the previous manager was too ill to carry on, all the other parents who said they’d help and support don’t bother any longer so he’s up to his eyes in it all.

Don’t underestimate the amount of work you’ll need to do.

edlong – please don’t overlook the fun side of it! Youngsters play sports for a number of reasons, most of which are to do with enjoying running around with their mates. Add to that the outdoor exercise and fresh air, and you’ve got loads of reasons for playing, not necessarily to do with winning

I’m in my third season of coaching a junior team (now U10s), it’s really hard work but very rewarding. We’ve had some tough times, and some good times. It’s great when you can see it start to come together with the players working as a team, rather than trying to show off their individual skills.

OP – if you want to start coaching, I can recommend the FA Level 1 coaching course (if you haven’t already done this) – I was very impressed with the ethos for junior coaching that the FA are now trying to promote

+1 for all the comments about not wanting to be Sergeant Major, it just won’t work!

My son plays in an under 12 side. The manager takes training, fitness and results way too seriously. We have training sessions on Tuesday and Saturday, with match day on Sunday. The trouble is, that with four hours of training a week they play absolutely NO football. Then come match day, any given kid might play only 10 minutes in the game.
My view is that they should play as much football as possible. That’s why they’re there and that’s what they really enjoy doing. If they’re playing mini matches in training, discipline won’t be a problem.
Spend two hours doing training drills and they will look for fun where they can find it.

It’s true… I’ve done it for 8 years U7-U15.. kids great… parents nightmares!

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2qNJ7IzzqE[/video]

gkeeffe – Member
kids great… parents nightmares!

Sums up my seven years of experience doing this. Gave up about three years ago and don’t miss it one bit.

Are you doing it for them or for you? Because it sounds like you’re doing it for you.

“at the request of some of the other parents.
What do you reckon? I’m very tempted as some of them need some extra discipline and bringing down to earth”

that will be the parents then

Done Managing rather than coaching – if you want to focus on coaching then need a Manager who will sort all the other stuff – medical/emergency contact forms, registration, match sheets, set up/take down rota’s, referee, assistant refs, line flags, the other team’s Manager, the other teams parents and hangers on, club strip, match balls, oranges, spare shin pads, venue problems and changes

If you don’t have a handful of reliable parents that you can bank on to always help out then it’s not so easy

my daughter and one her friends got dropped from the A team last season because they laughed too much at training, new coach – a very skilled player and very competitive but very insensitive to people playing for enjoyment

Adults have a horrible habit of trying to “adult” things and take away the real reason kids do something. They play football as they’re outside with their mates having fun. That has to form the basis if any training/coaching/managing that you do.

At that age, anything involving fitness work or burpess and the like is just plain wrong. You’re trying to develop skills at that age so any training has to involve a ball at their feet.

Sorry, I might not have been clear with my earlier post – I wasn’t advocating “win at all costs” over “it’s about having fun” I was just saying that both viewpoints exist, both have validity, it’s likely that in any given squad there will be a significant number of parents who subscribe to one or the other, and therefore whichever way the coach goes, they will be wrong.

My view is that they should play as much football as possible.

So they remain shit at playing football, just like most England players.

If they’re not going to learn skills as part of a junior team, then where?

By some of the posts on here you’d think discipline and fun were mutually exclusive. Some kids will thrive on some guidance, improving their skills and, yes, learning some personal discipline. Some won’t. Penny to a Pound it will be their parents that give you the most grief…

If they just want a kick around they can chuck some jumpers down for goalposts in the park.

Is there just one team or are there 2nd, 3rd teams etc?
It might be an idea to canvass other parents to gauge their expectations of the club.
Sounds like a poisoned chalice to be honest…

suburbanreuben +1

I would say with kids focus firstly on ‘carrot’ and only use the ‘stick’ when absolutely necessary.

[video]https://youtu.be/O02WseVFBw8[/video]

is this 11 on a side on a big pitch ?

Is there actually any point kids playing this type of footy would nt it be better to play 5/6/7 a side ?

My BiL has just stopped his involvement with his sons team. The term “herding cats” was used quite often. And then you have the parents……….

And then you have the parents……….

Crossover relevant but my Daughter’s sport is basketball, and her club had this coach over last year to run coaching clinics for coaches as well as for the kids. He’s one of the best in the US, working with NBA stars 1-1 and is one of those speakers that just has it all.

As a result every parent has been asked to watch this short video with their child and commit to the points in it.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geufhfqUi5s[/video]

It’s not football but I think the message is perfect. Sport is a fantastic opportunity, not just for health and fitness but for the life skills that you learn from being in a team. Parents who commit to taking on team management and coaching…… I salute you for your efforts because I know it isn’t easy.

To the OP – give it a go but make sure the kids and parents understand what your rules are. If that means playing the lesser players because they have the best attitudes, so be it. The others will soon get the message.

trying to get kids fit at the age of 0-14 is pointless. This is exactly why England will never win any tournament in the near future.

Spain and likes are so good because the kids play with the football at all times. And all the players can play. Pique is a more talented footballer, and more skilful than any if not all England players, and he’s a central defender.

Do it as long as it’s the training. Send group emails to all parents on a weekly basis, updating and justifying points. Email them all beforehand setting the ground rules, and make it clear that you don’t expect complaints etc when some kids don’t play.

To the OP – give it a go but make sure the kids and parents understand what your rules are. If that means playing the lesser players because they have the best attitudes, so be it. The others will soon get the message.
This is what I`ve been getting at. Kids do learn pretty quickly as soon as they learn that by towing the line they will get more game time and better results surely it works in their favour. On another note – I have another son who played rugby and the difference in the coaching style was unbelievable and really opened my eyes. not only did they have utter respect for the coach but also for each other and the teams they were competing against.

Yep – absolutely agree that good behaviour and attitude gets rewards and playing time; and vice versa. But at that age you don’t brutalise them by punishing bad behaviour by punishment runs and burpees and the like. They just won’t enjoy it and you’ll lose them to the game.

Again from my experience with basketball, no-one punishment runs at my daughter’s club. They run plenty but it’s with the ball, and running during passing drills and the like. If someone truly oversteps the coach’s acceptable behaviour limits (and they do, they’re kids) – then they sit out so they don’t mess it up for others.

The issue you’ll have, and I accept your point

I have another son who played rugby ……..not only did they have utter respect for the coach but also for each other and the teams they were competing against.

– is that football particularly has a truculent attitude through the game at all levels. Hence why i say set your rules out early. It doesn’t have to be like that; be the change you want to see. Get the parents aligned with what your expectations are, and stick to them. If that means benching players because of parent’s attitudes and behaviours, so be it. If they **** off elsewhere because they have a bad attitude and can’t handle those expectations, so what?

As Alan Stein said in the video above; it’s highly unlikely any of them will ever go on to have a career as a professional. But they can learn lessons from their sport that’ll be valuable in all walks of life long after they’ve hung up their junior sized boots. I am evangelical on the benefits of sport, i learned more about managing difficult people leading sports teams at the age of 21/22 than I did from any dry classroom teaching.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8ind–QhGI[/video]

I’m surprised no one has mentioned that you’ll want to get the club to put you through coaching qualifications. Friend did that for his son’s club and loves it. Also remember you cannot jump on straight away and will need your background check done (PVG up here in Scotland). That will cost you, will the club be paying for this? £80 I think it costs and can take around s month to come through. If they don’t ask for this, I would have serious reservations about the organisation as a whole.

As above, really suggest get your coaching badges. My eldest lad has been playing league football for 4yrs now currently in u14s. From my experience all the kids who take the football serious want to win & I have never come across any bad parents in fact the worse behaviour I have seen is from a coach. I would really suggest doing it, I love football & kids football is ace I have seen some amazing goals amazing comebacks & amazing capitulations.

The best teams I have seen playing are when the coaches/mangers have done the badges, good luck.

Back again.
Just so you know I’m not coming at this from a completely leftfield angle – I have an FA level one and work in the sports industry as sports development manager.
What has been noticeable over the last 3 years of watching and refereeing the club, is that the team always plays better when they don’t rely on the better players, who are quite often the ones that cause the most problems and put in the least effort.

What has been noticeable over the last 3 years of watching and refereeing the club, is that the team always plays better when they don’t rely on the better players, who are quite often the ones that cause the most problems and put in the least effort.

How true is that! Son been playing with mainly the same group of lads for 7 years now, under 14s now. Teamwork is the way to go.