Ian Barker, NSCAA Director of Coaching Education, was interviewed by SoccerAmerica recently to discuss his thoughts on youth soccer and coaching education in the United States. Parts 1 and 2 are below; look for Part 3 in Tuesday's YouthSoccerInsider in which Barker address tournament play and the U.S. Soccer Development Academy's impact on the youth game.

Pt. 1: 'Relate to the kids'

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SOCCER AMERICA: What advice would you give to someone about to start coaching youth soccer for the first time – whether it’s a parent without soccer experience or someone with an extensive soccer background who has never coached children?

IAN BARKER: Do not force it. Instead feed off your strengths as a parent and communicator and relate to the kids. That is not to say you should not try to acquire some knowledge of content and method. To get started see if you can effectively copy someone who keeps things flowing and keeps the kids engaged. The less, despite reasonable angst, you can make it about you and more about being with kids in a sport environment the better. Do not be afraid of your "ignorance."

SA: What is a common trait of youth coaches that you would like to see less of?

IAN BARKER: I really think many youth coaches would do better with less formal structure and that includes lengthy verbal explanation or revision of the obvious. If the youth coach can manage a safe environment and find activity that reflects the "organic" nature and flow of the game I think kids can learn and enjoy.

SA: When you observe youth soccer practices at the younger ages what would make you think the coach is doing a good job?

IAN BARKER: A good job would see the kids moving, that the activity is soccer relevant and that frequency touching the ball and making decisions is very high. Certainly the coach must be engaged, but that does not mean they have to be moving or talking a great deal. Kids moving, experiencing the game with minimal, but pointed interjections from the coach is a session I would look for.

SA: Besides the NSCAA, other organizations such as U.S. Soccer and U.S. Youth Soccer, offer coaching education courses. How should youth coaches decide where to take their coaching courses?

IAN BARKER: As many of our youth coaches are parents then I think look for role models among your peer group and find out how they got to a level of proficiency you respect. Perhaps consulting a paid, experienced club director is less helpful than seeking to emulate someone "like you."

For the younger coaches, high school and college players, the same applies, observe what you like and do not like and understand how these behaviors were trained. Very often the things that impact us most as effective coaches are acquired in formal coaching schools through the presentations and the interactions with other candidates, and also outside of schools by observing good practices.

SA: How much of a problem is an emphasis on winning games in American youth soccer?

IAN BARKER: It is a real problem, but one I feel is much easier to fix than we understand. Rather than wholesale changes in the structures of competition, coach training, rules and regulations etc., I think it comes down to how adults act and how you can impact a culture by continual examples of good practice.

I believe the more coaches and parents who make the effort to keep things in a context, the more that others will see that and will follow the example. Wanting to win is not the problem; it is the overemphasis that is placed on winning and losing relative to kids playing, learning to love the sport and learning to play it effectively. The problem is placing value in winning so far ahead of a long-term development of the child, the player and the sport.

Part 2: U.S. coaching education must be unique

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SOCCER AMERICA: Is NSCAA coaching education designed to create an American style of soccer that is entertaining and successful?

IAN BARKER: Overall I would answer yes. The NSCAA, and other U.S. coaching programs, offer very solid practical ideas to teach both entertaining and attractive soccer. I also think they allow for different approaches and consider how to be effective in different environments where one’s advantages are greater or lesser.

I think the U.S. coaching education community is forward thinking and relevant. I think a good U.S. youth coach would stand out in many cases in another country.

When you consider the size of the U.S. and the diversity of our playing and coaching groups many of our challenges and successes are things many foreign associations try to learn from.

SA: Coaching education in the USA has historically been heavily northern-Eurocentric. Have you seen it evolve as significantly as should – considering the diversity of the U.S. population (eg: the huge pool of Latino players) and the fact that the most successful soccer has been coming from southern Europe and South America?

IAN BARKER: If the language skills of our leaders in coach education are/were primarily English then it is somewhat understandable the influences have been English, German and Dutch. That is not a situation that is good enough to rely on.

In the case of Spanish soccer the numbers of coaches taking education courses is the envy of much of Europe so not only do we need to understand the content of a Spanish UEFA award, but also how they were able to suggest value in education to coaches.

Confronting an ignorance of the practices of Latin America is something that improves all the time as exchanges of ideas and content take place. In the end the U.S. coaching education structure needs to be unique to the truly unique challenges facing the U.S. coaching population. Embracing our real positives, including facilities, sport science, growing media interest and developing a blended approach to education that is not exclusive in nature is something I think is happening.

SA: What advice would you give to parents navigating the youth soccer landscape for their children?

IAN BARKER: Sometimes less is best. Seek advice from a number of sources, but always make your decision based on what is right for you and your child. If your child has a passion for soccer that they are allowed to develop at an early age then the quality of the formal programming is not as important because enthusiasm and talent will likely get the player where they want to be. Of course stronger teammates and stronger opponents aid development, as well as better coaching etc., but if the child is not committed then I think parents can waste time and money where it could be better spent.

SA: How much of a problem is the cost of youth soccer in the USA and do you see it becoming less or more of a problem?

IAN BARKER: I believe the quality of youth soccer in the country would be greatly and positively impacted if more children had access to the programming available. There can be little doubt we need more effort in making grassroots-level programming accessible and managing the expense of time and money of the next developmental opportunity. We will be inevitably limited if we get more kids playing and then make it impossible for all but a few who can afford it or are sponsored to carry on.

Look for Part 3 in Tuesday's YouthSoccerInsider in which Barker address tournament play and the U.S. Soccer Development Academy's impact on the youth game.

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