Coaches' Conversation with Florida's Becky Burleigh and Illinois's Janet Rayfield
The NSCAA is hosting a series of live video chats called "Coaches' Conversation," featuring a small panel of veteran coaches sharing their knowledge about the profession and the game of soccer.
This third installment features two veteran women's coaches who have made a name for themselves in the sport: Becky Burleigh, head women's coach at the University of Florida, and Janet Rayfield, head women's coach at the University of Illinois.
The following are questions submitted during this live chat left unanswered due to time constraints. Here are our panelists' responses to those questions.
As a coach, do you also play the role of psychologist? Do you make a conscious effort to focus on the mental aspects of training? (Rick Hadwick, ESL Academy Director)
BB: As a coach, you are definitely part psychologist! Anson Dorrance once said that your strength in coaching is having the courage to constantly deal with the athletes that unconsciously try to take things a bit easier! So you have to be part motivator, part understanding of what outside of soccer is affecting soccer and also deal with the biggest challenge in many athletes, keeping confidence up. I make a conscious effort to keep communication high with the athlete so I know when they are ebbing and flowing in confidence.
I know you can still play (you ran circles around Frank, Randy, Geoff, myself, and a few boys in the pick up game we played); my question is, how does your playing experience influence your coaching? (Peter Malakoane, Rangers Technical Director)
JR: Thank you for the compliments although I have to be honest and admit that my glory days are long gone -- but that doesn't mean that we can't still enjoy playing!!!! I do think that having been a player allows you to understand the decisions that you make from a players perspective and how they might be perceived. It also gives me common ground for speaking with athletes who encounter the same struggles that any player trying to be their best (and to be THE best) encounter. However, one of the hardest part for young coaches to understand is that a coaches role is to see the game, the decisions and a players potential from a different place than you would as a player. I can understand their perspective and their perception and I must manage that -- but thinking too much like a player can keep you from making good, fair and honest coaching decisions.
What do we do to get more girls to play soccer? We are losing many of them to basketball, lacrosse and gymnastics. (Jose Mota)
BB: Getting more girls to play soccer is making it an attractive sport to want to be involved in: good coaching, good facilities, exciting training, etc. Expose them to the US WNT, the pro league (NWSL) so that they have role models to follow.
JR: I think we are getting young girls exposed to the game. I see lots of programs offered for girls as young as three years of age. The most important thing is to make sure that they ENJOY their first experiences with the game. Our coaches of the youngest ages are the most important element. Their ability to give them a passion and a love for the game is more important than any skill or tactic that they can teach them. With enjoyment comes the commitment of time that it takes to develop those skills. Make it fun, make it exciting, let them learn, let them PLAY and they will stay with it.
The number of women coaching girls and women’s soccer continues to be relatively small. What factors and/or barriers do you continue to see and how can players be encouraged to pursue coaching when their playing careers are over? (Steve Veal, NSCAA)
BB: Getting women into coaching requires someone to suggest it to players as a career path and then help facilitate that with mentorship, training, coaching school, etc. The Alliance of Women Coaches is a great resource to direct females interested in coaching also.
JR: I agree that we continue to see smaller percentages of females in the college ranks but even more disturbing to me is the absence of female coaches in the high-level club programs across the country. I think that there are many factors that contribute to the smaller number of female coaches and addressing it involves creating a shift in attitudes as well as providing resources and methods to address the realistic day-to-day challenges of the profession. We must continue to recruit women into our profession by acknowledging the contribution that women provide to the community and recruiting them into the profession.
One of the largest reason people talk about women leaving the profession is the challenge of balancing family life and the demands of the profession. The traditional female roles within the family (which many female coaches embrace and want to fulfill) are difficult to balance with the non-structured time demands as well as the emotional investment of the coaching profession. I also believe that because we are fewer in number, women coaches are often more visible and experience a larger number of nay-sayers as they make their way in the profession. Becky and I both spoke of needing a thick skin to succeed in this profession and I often think women need an even thicker skin because their critics tend to be louder and bolder. I think he best way to increase the number of women WHO STAY in the profession is to provide the support and resources necessary for them to have the family life that they desire alongside their coaching profession and to enable them to gain the confidence they need to ignore the naysayers.
What percentage of your trainings are on scoring tactics? (Edward Stroop, Riverview High School)
BB: We often divide up into groups in training and one group may be focused on finishing while another might be defending or keeping possession. Once we get to big group or team training, we try to end every possession with an attack on goal.
How do you balance your personal life and professional life? (Christine Gayoso, Kickit365)
JR: I think that this is something I am still learning to do! However, I think the challenge is two-fold and I alluded to that in the answer about recruiting and retaining female coaches. The balance from a time perspective is about choices as it is with any profession. We choose the number of hours we spend "on the job", the number of trips, etc. that take us away from family and friends and I think it is important to understand that. The difference I think with coaching is that we also must make sure that we save emotional energy for the things that are important away from the team and the job. Coaching is a huge emotional investment--you are investing in young people, in their development, and in their future and with that comes an emotional price. I have learned that you must acknowledge that and make sure that it is not at the expense of the emotional energy needed for your own health and for a balanced life.
What's the fastest/best way to get into collegiate coaching as an older person? (Cephas Thomas)
BB: Fastest/best way to get into college coaching may be to sacrifice and be a volunteer coach first which will help get your foot in the door. Otherwise, I would network through coaching school, camps, NSCAA convention, etc.
Related Links
Coaches' Conversation with John Curtis (MYSA) and John Madding (OYSA) | April 2013
Social Media 101 | March 2013
Coaches' Conversations with Todd Yeagley and Brian Tompkins | March 2013
Next Generation Coach: A Video Chat presented by NSCAA | December 2012
