Talent

When ever I watch soccer games I tend to notice who has the greater skills then others. This past weekend I went to a soccer game that my mentor was coaching and he tasked me with noticing who has greater talent then others and why I think that. Once the game was over I told him my thoughts and he agreed with me but he then asked me why I thought that way. I told him that it all steamed from their past coaching experiences. We both agreed and he told me that he agreed and we began discussing that it was all about how the coaches taught their teams. A team is only as good as their coach and if the coach is not doing his job properly his teams performance will reflect poorly.

Blog 20: Exit Interview

Content
(1) My Essential Question is how can a U-16 Soccer best help his team have a winning season? My answer 1 is, A U-16 soccer coach can best help his team have a winning season by having a vision that is consistently reinforced and applied. My second answer is, A U-16 soccer coach can best help his team have a winning season by identifying each players strengths and weaknesses through the use of drills. My third answer is, A U-16 Soccer coach can best help his team have a winning season by having an assistant coach on whom they can rely on to run practices, make team decisions, and provide useful input on how to better the team. My best answer is my first answer which is having a vision that is consistently reinforced and applied. The first answer that I have is better than the other answers because it provides a wide range of discussion, while the other two answers are very specific and do not have as much information to discuss on as the first answer. My first answer is worthy of being the best answer because it clearly demonstrates what a coach should want in his team, and it could not only apply to soccer but to all sports, and a persons life.

(2) When I came to my first answer I was reading Coaching the Mental Game by H.A. Dorfman for my research checks. It talked about having goals and how a team should follow goals set by the coach. I felt that having a goal wasn't enough so I looked up different types of goals and what it meant to have a goal. I then found an article that was an excerpt from Phil Jackson's book on coaching. It talked about how having a team vision can lead a team to success. As I started my independent component 1 I wanted to understand what a coach is thinking of during games and how to run practices. This is when I realized that it would be a good time to use my first answer in a real life situation. I asked my mentor Ron Martinez what he thought about a team having a vision and he agreed that it is very important to having a successful team because it provides teams with a focus and a principle to follow. I then came up with a vision for the team to use, the vision was the team needs to make the 2nd round of the playoffs. Throughout my independent component and beyond that leading into mentorship I reminded the team of the vision and they followed it. They were able to make it to the playoffs but loss in the first round. After seeing my answer in action I was able to determine that it was my best answer. In order to further my belief that it was my best answer I focused my ESA on my first answer and I found that in a study done by the Auburn sports Psychology department 54.55% of athletes agreed withe the expectations and goals set forth by the coach. This led me to believe that it was my best answer because I had enough evidence and information tio show that having a vision can help a team be successful.

(3) One of the problems that I have faced during my senior project has been finding quality research. From the start of the year I was unable to find quality research and I was worried I would be unable to find the sources I needed to create answers. I then asked my mentor Ron Martinez what I should do, and he suggested that I look for a book that focused on coaching. That is when i found Coaching the Mental Game by H.A. Dorfman. The book was able to help me find answers and give me great background info on the answers. Another problem that I faced during my senior project was finding something to do my second independent component on. In order to complete 30 hours I wanted to make sure that I was doing something that could help me solidify my answers. I then thought about taking a coaching class but I did not meet the age requirement so I was able to sit in on a class that new coaches were taking. After taking the class I was unable to find background info on my answers so I then talked to my interviewer for my 3rd interview Robin Cruz. He suggested since I couldn't take a class in person that I should take an online class. This helped me out very much because it provided me with alot of background info and I was able to learn info that coaches learn when they first begin.

(4) The first significant source that I used to answer my essential question was the book Coaching the Mental Game by H.A. Dorfman. This was a significant source because it not only provided me with my best answer but it gave me background info on other answers. It also provided me with examples on how professional coaches have handled situations and what we can do to be better coaches. Another significant source is my mentorship with Ron Martinez. My mentor has been coaching at AYSO for over 12 years and has won multiple championships. This was an important source because I was able to use my answers in a real life situation. i was able to coach a team during practices, and scrimmages. this was important because I got to see a great coach do what he knows and I was able to get hands on experience.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

Literal
(a) I Ronnie Martinez affirm that I have completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.

(b) The source that I used often throughout my independent component was my 3rd and 4th interviews, my mentor, and I was taking two online courses with the United States Youth Soccer Organization.

(d) I completed my 30 hours of work of by helping to coach my mentors U16 girls team during scrimmages and practices. I then completed two online courses for the United States Youth Soccer organization. The courses were about coaching soccer and how to handle soccer teams.

Interpretive

When I started my component I wanted to make sure that I was doing something that helped me to find answers, and apply those answers by actually coaching. To start off my component I began by coaching a U16 girls team. I was able to coach two scrimmage games the first one the score was 1-1 and the second game the score was 2-1. Being able to coach was a great experience because I was able to apply the teachings I have learned such as running drills to find athletes strengths and weaknesses, and motivating kids by having a team vision.I wanted to learn more about the ideas and principles of coaching so I decided to take two online courses on soccer coaching and running a team effectively. The first online course was one major part and it had two quizzes and a test at the end. The second course was made up of 6 chapters and each one had a quiz and then a final test at the end.

These are the two certificates I received for completing my two online courses for soccer coaching.

Applied

The component helped answer my EQ because I was able to apply the knowledge I have learned throughout the year by coaching a soccer team and by taking courses based on the knowledge I have learned. During my coaching experience I was able to apply my first answer of having a vision to what I was doing. I explained to the team of what having a vision meant and they took what I told them and applied it to their practices. During practices they were focused on reaching the goals that I had set for them and they were determined to help me answer my EQ.

Assistance

Last weekend I went to a tournament that my mentor was coaching his team at and I saw something that interested me. We were late to the tournament in the morning so he wasn't able to get there in time and warm up the girls the way he wanted to so he was hoping that his assistant would be able to pick up the work and warm the girls up without him having to be there. to his disappointment we arrived and saw that the girls were standing around and talking while the assistant was talking to one of the parents. During the game you could tell that the girls were not ready to play and it showed because they had not been warmed up on time and effectively.  This reminded me of two things, first from my independent component 1 I remember that my teams coach picked the right assistant because when he wasn't at practice his assistant was able to run practice just as if the coach had been there himself. The second was from my research when reading my book coaching the mental game by H.A. Dorfman, I read that having a good assistant can help your team build better chemistry and can help relieve some of the stress off of the coach.

                                                        Tournament in Rowland Heights

Blog 18

Content:
EQ: How can a U-16 Soccer Coach best help his team have a winning season?

Answer 3: A U-16 soccer coach can best help his team have a winning season by having an assistants coach whom they can rely on to run practices, make team decisions, and provide useful input on how to better the team.

Support: An important element to coaching is having an assistant who is able to run practices when you are not there. According to coaching the mental game assistant coaches are supposed to be able to keep practices productive even if it is something that you may have not taught to the team as long as it is useful then they are correctly doing the job that you brought them along to do.

Support:Coaches on certain occasions need to be able to decide who is going to play and or what needs to be done in order to help the team win. assistant coaches can provide assistance because they can have previous knowledge and or experience that can help you make a more well informed decision.

Support: assistant coaches bring knowledge, expertise and techniques that can help provide dpth, insight and even varity to a team that can use an extra boost.

Research source: Coaching the mental Game by H.A. Dorfman


Concluding Sentence: A U-16 soccer coach can best help his team have a winning season by having an assistant coach that provides expertise, consistency, diversity, and reliability.

Blog 17: Fourth Interview

Content:

1. How do you get an athlete to do more than they think they can when it comes to their skill level?
2. How do you keep the game in perspective and not focus on just one game?
3. How do you find each kids individual talent?
4. When it comes to kids losing interest how do you motivate them? 
5. How do you stop an athletes ego self worth from getting in the way?
6. In what ways is consistencey important in coaching your team?
7. When is keeping composure important?
8. How can a coach teach technique breakdown to struggling kids?
9. What can count as a reasonable goal for a coach to acheive?
10. What drills help a child learn to become a leader?
11. How does dedication bring a team together?
12. What does a coaches body language do to the way his team plays?
13. How does a coach handle pressure under stressful situations?
14. After losing a big game how do you handle the teams emotions?
15. What advantages does a coach have when the season starts?
16. How qualities should a coach make his team represent?
17. Why should coaches demand respect?
18. What life lessons help your kids learn?
19. How does positivism affect a team?
20. How tolerant should a coach be?

Blog 16 Advisory Meeting #2

Content:  
EQ: How can a U-16 Soccer Coach best help his team have a winning season?
Answer:  A coach can best help his team have a winning season by identifying each players strengths and weaknesses through the use of drills.
 Support:  

• Coaching the Mental Game ( Book) I found in this book that by giving each child a goal they are then able to work on that goal during practices and you can then see what else needs to be worked on. By  telling a child they need to work on shooting you can then have them strengthen that area and then you can move onto another goal.
• What Motivates Athletes ( Article ) If a kid is struggling have them lower their goals to match their efforts or raise their efforts to match their goals. If a kid can not dribble correctly have them focus on one aspect of dribbling then have them work their way up.
• What makes a good coach ( Article ) Coaches should have a basic understanding that each athlete is different, these coaches take the time to get to know the individual player. A coach should ask their players how they feel about the way they play and what they think they should work on. 

Conclusion: 
In order to successfully lead a team a coach must get to know his players and the way they play in order to better understand how to coach the team.