Club coaches making the switch to high school sports must understand the unique challenges that come with it.
Moving From Club To High School Coaching Is Not An Easy Transition
The coach must understand the group dynamic within scholastic teams
By Dan Minutillo, Head Boys Soccer Coach, Leland High School, San Jose, Calif.
I
magine an individual with more than 20 years of club coaching experience wanting to take over a high school program. It seems like a perfect fi t, which is what I thought. But after spending more than two de- cades on the club-sport side of soc- cer, I found the transition to coaching a high school team much more chal- lenging than expected. There are les- sons I learned, which apply to club coaches of all sports. While skills, player vision and general decision-making can be dif- ferent between a club and high school athlete, it’s the team culture, spirit, personality and program reputation that come into play in the scholastic setting. A high school team functions differently from a group sociologi-
32 March/April 2013
cal perspective, which means if you consider hiring a club coach for your program or if you are a coach mak- ing the transition, there are key dif- ferences to take into account.
Group Sociological Differences Matter The phrase “group sociological perspective” is used to describe a viewpoint developed by analyzing a high school team through observa- tion of conduct and interaction as a group, disregarding individual analy- sis of players. This requires a coach to view the interaction of players on the team, as opposed to analyzing team performance based on the per- formance of its individual players. The purpose of this analysis is to
allow a coach to infl uence individual player performance and attitude by using the group as a tool. The group
ATHLETIC DIRECTOR TAKEAWAYS
• If you are hiring a coach with only club-sport experience, ensure he or she understands the group dynamic within club sports differs from high school teams and has a plan to deal with this difference.
• When taking over a high school program, the coach must use con- sistency, repetition and patience when imprinting the culture on each member of the team.
• It takes time to establish a team culture. Provide coaches with enough time to instill their phi- losophies even if players don’t immediately respond.
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