“It takes just as little time to see the positive side of life

 as it does the negative side” 

Jimmy Buffett

“Shout praise and whisper criticism” 

Don Meyer

The schedules are out and another soccer season is about to begin. There have been many new seasons for me coaching and sometimes that causes me to reflect back on my own days of playing sports.

I played a lot of games as a kid but I remember the specifics of very few of them. I know I won some of them and I lost some of them. But I remember Cal. He was one of my coaches as a kid. He took an interest in me. He caught me doing things right while playing and let me know it. He was a people builder and a milestone person in my life. 

We build people by catching them doing things right. Yes, there are times we also need to correct but if you want to build players make sure you catch them doing things right. It seems like it is so easy to primarily tell kids what they are doing wrong. We do it because we want them to get better but I believe if we really want to build them as players we need to catch them doing things right more often correcting. Try this, after your next practice take a moment to reflect and see if you were able to tell every kid during practice a few things you saw them doing well. Be a people builder. 

It may also be the encouragement a player needs to continue in soccer. The reality is that we don’t know when they are 10, 11, and 12 years old who the best players are going to be when they get older. Your encouragement to a weaker player may be what they need to continue playing soccer and they may become a great player. And most importantly building people will have a lasting impact beyond sports. 

As coaches you have an important role. You build players but more importantly you build people. Have a great season.