SOCCER PROGRAM PHILOSOPHY

St. Pius X Catholic School – Men’s Soccer Program

Head Coach/Director of Soccer – Killebrew Bailey

Here are some ideas I believe in as a coach and that I have found worked well for my teams and me the past few years. These are things I stress over and over again to my players, coaches, and parents. If everyone is on the same page, it makes the season that much more of a success.

#1. Respect Earns Respect:

  This is the main rule I live by and ask my players and their parents to live by. If there is mutual respect, all the other rules become much more clear and common sense. Players must respect their coaches, teammates, their school, parents, and themselves. In turn, coaches must respect each other, the players, fans, player’s parents, and the school that has hired them to coach. Without complete and total respect, we will fail as a team and as individuals.

#2.Discipline and Sportsmanship:

  As a coach, I am very big on players acting with discipline on and off the field. They represent us as coaches, their parents, and the school for which they play. It isn’t enough for players to show sportsmanship only during a match. Their actions outside the lines of play will often speak more about the type of young men we have playing for us, than just the game itself. Understand too, that I expect this level of discipline throughout the year, not just in season. My teams will act as professionals during the school year, at practice, during warm-ups, during the match, and after the match; win, lose, or draw. As the head coach it is my responsibility to lead in the appropriate manner that I would expect of my players. Parents must also set an example to their kids by behaving with discipline before, during, and after games.

#3 No Regrets:

I have preached this concept to my players at all levels in every sport that I have coached the past eight years. Simply stated, if players can rest their head on their pillow at night after a game and have absolutely no regrets about their play, that is all I can ever ask of them and that they should ask of themselves. I can accept the win or loss if all members of the team can honestly say they have no regrets about their level of play. No regrets go beyond the game, however. If they don’t prepare to excel in preseason, during practices, or in the classroom, how can they possibly expect themselves to turn it on during a game? This concept is very simple to use in judgment of a player’s performance and one that is a very powerful teaching tool for me as a coach.

#4. Soccer is Just a Game:

  My main focus as a coach and what I expect of my assistants as well is winning. This is predominantly for those players at the varsity level. The main point of summer camps, club soccer, preseason conditioning, weight room time, daily practices, and a tough game schedule is to prepare the players in every possible way to give them an opportunity to win games. However, please don’t ever lose sight of the fact that this is just a game and should be played above all else for the love and enjoyment of the game itself. As coaches, players, and fans, we too often forget this simple notion. When the game ceases to be fun for the players, we have lost our focus somewhere along the way. I hope that everyone will keep this in mind throughout the season.