By Daily Sports on March 30, 2017

The National FA Cup is about to kick off in all the states of Nigeria and the excitement amongst grassroots clubs, as they look forward to locking horns with professional sides, is high.

One demographic that would be in focus during the FA Cup are the coaches of grassroots clubs who will cherish, as always, the opportunity of hugging the limelight at the stadia during their teams matches. As their players do battle in the field, they would be at the centre stage to receive criticisms or praises from fans depending on the performance of their clubs.

Grassroots coaches in Nigeria no doubt deserve general commendation for their roles in galvanising young lads to pursue a legal and exciting dream in the game. In every Victor Moses, Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi, there are thousands of youth coaches who sacrifice their life, including their usually meagre resources and a large chunk of their private and social lives, to help the young lads in their care to excel.

The sight of grassroots coaches sleeping on rough mats in a classroom floor alongside players during a competition and scratching heads on how to provide players two not-so-square meals a day because of lack of adequate resources to prosecute a particular tournament can be touching. This is the reality in this country where grassroots football funding is very low.

But the dreams of the coaches are big. Nurture and sell one good talent to a European club and all the suffering would be over and a new chapter of riches would open. The FA Cup offers the coaches the opportunity to showcase their best legs for those well connected in the players transfer circles to see. As well though, the FA Cup presents the coaches the chance of selling themselves to the spectators at the stadium. Many hardworking coaches could see their careers reach a new positive height if they show the overall qualities of discipline, tactical know-how, and a motivational spirit to not only make their players win, but to arm them with the psychological tools of meeting life’s challenges on and off the field of play.

However, I’ve sadly noticed in the course of my young coaching experience at the grassroots level that some coaches and their touchline behaviours are simply not good enough to be regarded as good models to be copied by decent people. Here are some of the things I find uncool in some grassroots coaches during games or soon after.

1. PUBLICLY INSULTING THEIR PLAYERS

Many coaches at the grassroots level tend to see themselves as football geniuses and when a player is struggling to understand their tactical roles or when they struggle with a particular application of technique during a match it is common to hear coaches barking insults on the player and calling him derogatory names. This has the effect of weighing down the player even more and he would always struggle to be better in that kind of environment.

Coaches should remember that as teachers, they are responsible for the success or failure of their players. If you can’t find a way of getting a player to understand and apply something, then you’ve failed in a sense and you should have the humility of not heaping the blames on a hapless player.

I would like to quote here the words of former Spain striker David Villa who won the world cup with his country in South Africa in 2010: “Any kid wanting to be a footballer needs to feel valued in terms of his or her effort. Coaches can stop your desire to learn and make you fail . . . I

have always been lucky because my coaches have always tried to help me out with things that I wasn’t good at. As you move forward toward the future, this makes you improve.”

2. MAKING DEROGATORY COMMENTS AGAINST OPPONENTS’ PLAYERS

I have witnessed on many occasions some coaches doing this and it’s just self-disrespectful. You would a coach shout to his player to press an opponent during a particular passage of play and adds this about the opponent: “He doesn’t know how to trap the ball,” or “he’s not good”, or “he’s confused.”

A coach should just focus on his team and pass instructions to his players and not be disrespectful to an opponent.

3. SHOWING TOO MUCH EMOTION IN TIMES OF SUCCESS

Some grassroots coaches tend to be too carried away after a win and forget, or simply do not feel the need, to be polite when their team has just emerged victorious and they engage in the kind of celebrations that could embarrass the loser.

In football you win and lose sometimes and it’s cool to be humble in victory. That’s not to say that a coach should act like he’s on sedatives when he wins, but a quick and measured celebration should be enough.

On this issue, I would like to end with the quote of one of football’s most respected coaches, Arsene Wenger of English premier league side Arsenal.

“One of the things I discovered in Japan was from watching sumo wrestling. At the end you can never tell who has won the fight, and who has lost, because they do not show their emotion because it could embarrass the loser. It is unbelievable. That is why I try to teach my team politeness.”

Source Daily Sports

Posted March 30, 2017

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