# Coach is a no-show at games



## GKDad65 (Aug 11, 2016)

What do you do if your assigned "Coach" has been a no-show at more games than he has attended?  The club tells us that it doesn't matter and that they will assign a "capable" coach to fill in.
I may understand at the older ages but for 2004's ?
Does it matter for a young team to have a regular coach for the season or should we just settle for what ever coach the club decides to send ?


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## Mystery Train (Aug 11, 2016)

When you say, "no-show," do you mean that the coach didn't call or notify anyone and simply didn't show up?  Or do you mean that the coach was just absent but had made arrangements with the club for a substitute?  All club coaches my kid has ever had were coaching more than one team and very often had to miss games because ofscheduling conflicts and the club generally coordinated a capable substitute, so this is normal.  Sometimes the sub is terrible, sometimes they're great.  Just like a substitute teacher in school.  However, I also had a coach once who was a 'no-show' several times and that resulted in many upset parents and the club firing the coach and replacing them with a new coach.  You should go to the club Director for clarification if you have any questions about the consistency of the regular coach or the quality of the substitutes.  I would be pretty upset if my kid's regular coach was not at the majority of her games, and probably complain to the DoC.  The reason being that the regular coach needs to see in the games how/when the kids are applying what is being taught in practice so they can help develop the kids.  Missing more than half the games is definitely worrisome.  Depending on how many other jobs the regular coach is holding down, expect that they will be missing games here and there and don't worry too much about it if that is all it is.


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## Mystery Train (Aug 11, 2016)

I should also add that, yes, it does matter a bit more the younger they are.  The little kids definitely perform better and are happier with consistency on the sidelines.  My daughter's team was usually unhappy when their regular coach wasn't there.  They get a bit more independent later.


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## timbuck (Aug 11, 2016)

Put this in the bucket of "What's wrong with US Soccer?".  We have coaches with 15:1 ratio of players to coaches during practices.  No assistant coach at practices, because you gotta pay them.  But you have a coach with 3+ teams getting a full cut of $ for each team  (Coaches aren't getting rich, but they do get paid)   And then you have a guy show up for a game that they'v never met before who may or may not have the same philosophy (for better or worse) as your head coach.
Or - you have a parent that has his/her "E" license run the team.
It's better than cancelling a game or practice, but if I was shelling out $2,500 for a coach, I'd be upset.


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## Multi Sport (Aug 11, 2016)

At a big tournament I had to step in and coach my DDs team. Problem is I dont haveva coaching license. I made myself scarce after the game..


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## Surfref (Aug 12, 2016)

I would be pissed especially if it was a coach that really did not know the players.  At U14 and above the players should be able to play a game and coach themselves, but at the younger ages they need some guidance.  Don't just address the problem alone.  Go as a united group of parents to talk with the coach first and if he blows you off or does not change than address it with the DOC or club president.


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## Round (Aug 12, 2016)

GKDad65 said:


> What do you do if your assigned "Coach" has been a no-show at more games than he has attended?  The club tells us that it doesn't matter and that they will assign a "capable" coach to fill in.
> I may understand at the older ages but for 2004's ?
> Does it matter for a young team to have a regular coach for the season or should we just settle for what ever coach the club decides to send ?


From my experience, this happens a lot with the larger clubs that have coaches with 3 or more teams, 1)usually the younger team gets the substitute coach before the older team, 2) the B-team will  almost always get the substitute coach 3) Rules 1 and 2 are ignored if the coach holds one team in higher esteem 4) It always sucks and does matter.

The club is telling you what they think about your kids team.


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## timbuck (Aug 12, 2016)

timbuck said:


> Put this in the bucket of "What's wrong with US Soccer?".  We have coaches with 15:1 ratio of players to coaches during practices.  No assistant coach at practices, because you gotta pay them.  But you have a coach with 3+ teams getting a full cut of $ for each team  (Coaches aren't getting rich, but they do get paid)   And then you have a guy show up for a game that they'v never met before who may or may not have the same philosophy (for better or worse) as your head coach.
> Or - you have a parent that has his/her "E" license run the team.
> It's better than cancelling a game or practice, but if I was shelling out $2,500 for a coach, I'd be upset.


Here's the other piece.  You've got a 15:1 ratio. And there are good coaches.  But they can't give as much attention to each kid as they should.  So instead of adding an assistant coach, they recommend small group/private training.  At $30 a week.


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## SageMajor (Aug 12, 2016)

My dd has been at many clubs over the years.
At Strikers FC there were 2 assistants at the practices that the girls knew and would fill in if Abner was missing, however he missed very few games.
At Albion OC there was always atleast 1 assistant to help train and covered the game any time Boggy was out.
At Infinity the Camargos brothers plus an active parent worked with the practices and one of the brothers was at every game.
At Tustin United Cruz and 1 other coach did our team and a boys team 1 year younger.  I think there was only 1 game where either of them was not there, and his substitute was George Sipa.
At Legends our coach was at almost every game but there were also other coaches from the club both at practices and at our games.

First I would ask why are you at a club where you did not pick the coach, as in you selected that team for you child because of the training and how your daughter works out with the coach.  Playing for a coach who works well with your child is much more important than the name of the club.  My son just started and we found a coach we liked,  his training is positive and the kids on the team look up to him are learning and having fun.  He provided a workout packet to the players for the off month and I showed it to an A licensed coach who was impressed with what he wrote up.  He has been at all 3 of our games this year.


Sage


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## Eusebio (Aug 12, 2016)

What's ironic is that when my kids played at a local club, there was a better coach/player ratio than when were at the big clubs. At the local clubs, one of our teams had a volunteer assistant and the other team had a paid assistant (who coached another team as well). These assistants weren't just "fill-in" coaches when the head coach was absent. The assistants actually were involved with the training sessions and allowed certain players to get personal attention when needed.

Contrast that with the big clubs we've been at, most of them only had one coach who had 3-4 other teams.  Most of them didn't have assistant coaches and the teams that did have an assistant coach, it was more like having two parallel coaches. The coaches traded practices and games and almost never coached/trained the team simultaneously. Instead of it being a "2-for-1" deal, the coaches often weren't on the same page, which created it's on set of problems.

Though I will say when we had one coach with 3-4 teams, the coaching conflicts were pretty minimal during the summer and league play. It was usually during State/National Cup and major tournaments where it reared its ugly head. I remember one year my son's U-Little team had 4 different coaches in 4 different games. None of them were the head coach and non of them had coached the team prior. Needlessly to say there were some unhappy parents and confused kids.

I agree with the above post, I think the drill-down of coach's priority goes like this when there's a conflict:

Flight 1/Gold team
|
\/
Coaches son/daughter's team
|
\/
Team with the highest Winning Record
|
\/
Olders
|
\/
Youngers
|
\/
Existing "B" team
|
\/
New "B", "C", or "D" team

If you're joining a newly formed "B" or "C" U-Little team at a big club you're pretty much screwed.


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## jrcaesar (Aug 12, 2016)

timbuck said:


> At $30 a week.


Yep. Or their club's "unofficial" specialty training sessions at the nearby indoor facility. More club revenue.


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## timbuck (Aug 14, 2016)

Eusebio said:


> What's ironic is that when my kids played at a local club, there was a better coach/player ratio than when were at the big clubs. At the local clubs, one of our teams had a volunteer assistant and the other team had a paid assistant (who coached another team as well). These assistants weren't just "fill-in" coaches when the head coach was absent. The assistants actually were involved with the training sessions and allowed certain players to get personal attention when needed.
> 
> Contrast that with the big clubs we've been at, most of them only had one coach who had 3-4 other teams.  Most of them didn't have assistant coaches and the teams that did have an assistant coach, it was more like having two parallel coaches. The coaches traded practices and games and almost never coached/trained the team simultaneously. Instead of it being a "2-for-1" deal, the coaches often weren't on the same page, which created it's on set of problems.
> 
> ...


Slightly different shift with this story I heard over the weekend. Club has 2 teams in Flight 1. One team is the "a" team.
A team has 15 on the roster.  B team has 19. 
The "a" team has all 15 kids that will play any day of the week.  The b team has a handful of kids who won't play on Sunday for religious reasons.
"A" team coach is also the DOC.  B team has a different coach.


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## gauchosean (Aug 15, 2016)

In the how to choose a team, coach, club handbook I could write, a whole chapter on Game Day Expectations. Parents before committing to a team should always ask:

How many teams will the coach have?
When the teams have a conflict in game times how do you decide which to attend?
What percentage games should we expect you to be at?
Who will cover games when you are not there?
Is there an assigned assistant coach or just whoever is available? 

Managing expectations upfront is crucial to avoid the above situation.


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## Multi Sport (Aug 15, 2016)

SageMajor said:


> My dd has been at many clubs over the years.
> At Strikers FC there were 2 assistants at the practices that the girls knew and would fill in if Abner was missing, however he missed very few games.
> At Albion OC there was always atleast 1 assistant to help train and covered the game any time Boggy was out.
> At Infinity the Camargos brothers plus an active parent worked with the practices and one of the brothers was at every game.
> ...


It happens at all clubs. Big and small. Even if you picked the coach,the club and the team...


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## Eagle33 (Aug 16, 2016)

I have not seen or know any club agreement where it's says who your coach will be. As far as I know, you are signing for the club and certain team, but not the coach. As many mentioned, in big clubs coaches have 3-4 teams - that's how they make their living. Coaches that have 1 team most likely have full time job besides coaching, or they wouldn't be able to afford living in Cali.
Coach with 2 or more teams will always have conflicts and if many tournaments will accommodate teams with same coach, leagues will not.


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## C.A.M. (Aug 22, 2016)

Eagle33 said:


> I have not seen or know any club agreement where it's says who your coach will be. As far as I know, you are signing for the club and certain team, but not the coach. As many mentioned, in big clubs coaches have 3-4 teams - that's how they make their living. Coaches that have 1 team most likely have full time job besides coaching, or they wouldn't be able to afford living in Cali.
> Coach with 2 or more teams will always have conflicts and if many tournaments will accommodate teams with same coach, leagues will not.


We have always looked at the who the coach was before we signed the girl or boy. We made mistakes at first when learning what truly mattered. Now the kids even understand what we are looking for and have the majority of input. We are making sign off decisions depending on costs vs quality, travel, etc...


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## Overlap (Aug 24, 2016)

GKDad65 said:


> What do you do if your assigned "Coach" has been a no-show at more games than he has attended?  The club tells us that it doesn't matter and that they will assign a "capable" coach to fill in.
> I may understand at the older ages but for 2004's ?
> Does it matter for a young team to have a regular coach for the season or should we just settle for what ever coach the club decides to send ?


I can't imagine this happening, it sounds more like the club has a problem.... My DD's club has asst. coaches for each team and rarely has an issue. The only time we've had any issue is when we have all of the head coaches and asst coaches teams in the same tourney.


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## softwaretest (Aug 24, 2016)

Why not nicely ask the coach about it and see if there is anything you can do to make it easier? I can tell you after helping organize schedules and being more involved this year I'm much more understanding of what these guys are going through.  Our coach only coaches two teams, but last weekend he had one team playing CRL at Silverlakes while my DD's was at a tournament in OC.  We almost backed out of the tournament because they weren't getting the schedule worked out and he doesn't want the team playing without him if at all possible.  After going back and forth with the tournament scheduler the best we were able to do is get him there for 2 games and showing up at half time of a third.  His assistant was driving back and forth all weekend warming teams up teams and often leaving at halftime to get to the next game.  They started in the morning and finished in the late afternoon without time to stop walking into each game with a few minutes to talk through a few things before the game started.  Perhaps your dealing with a lazy coach, but if not perhaps on a busy weekend like that your parents could have a sandwich and a Gatorade waiting for the coaches when they finally do get there.


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## Socal United (Aug 24, 2016)

Too be honest, I think it is more centered around laziness and a lack of planning.  I have 3 team, plus an older son at one club and an older daughter at our club.  In looking at the list, I think mine is actually the opposite.  If I happen to have a conflict, I look at who needs me the most and who I know that knows my boys that can take the other game.  I don't put any more than 2 of my teams in a tournament.  It doesn't take a lot to look and see that one team may have a semi at the same time another team is playing their last group game.  I have something lined up ahead of time in case that scenario comes to fruition.  I have more than one, maybe that last group game has no bearing, then I will do the semi.  If not the case, I will likely do the group game and get help with the semi.  I have missed 3 games this summer, all in this scenario.  I will have two conflicts in league, but not for a lack of trying to get it changed.  I have them both covered, doing a different team with cover and both done by someone who knows my kids.  I can't believe that is not usually the case, it is not rocket science.


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## timbuck (Aug 24, 2016)

You are the difference between someone that's just collecting a check and somoene who truly cares about the kids on the team and that the parents are getting value for what they are paying.


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## softwaretest (Aug 25, 2016)

Socal United said:


> Too be honest, I think it is more centered around laziness and a lack of planning.


While this could be true I think people forget how much time it actually takes. 35 min halves 10 min halftime = 1:20 plus warmup and team meeting after 2:30 now drive to next game 3:00. So two teams playing in two different tournaments at different fields with a perfect schedule is 12 hours.


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## espola (Aug 25, 2016)

softwaretest said:


> While this could be true I think people forget how much time it actually takes. 35 min halves 10 min halftime = 1:20 plus warmup and team meeting after 2:30 now drive to next game 3:00. So two teams playing in two different tournaments at different fields with a perfect schedule is 12 hours.


Coaches who schedule two teams in different tournaments the same weekend are being discourteous to both teams.  Conflicts during the league season are almost unavoidable, however, unless all of a coach's teams play at the same venue.


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## Socal United (Aug 25, 2016)

espola said:


> Coaches who schedule two teams in different tournaments the same weekend are being discourteous to both teams.  Conflicts during the league season are almost unavoidable, however, unless all of a coach's teams play at the same venue.


You are absolutely correct.  Even then, many will work with you.  I had one team in Albion, my other didn't get in.  They still wanted to play, so I got in touch with another tournament, explained my situation, and gave them my Albion schedule.  The TD Anthony was willing to work around my schedule, so no problem.  Just have to be proactive.  If he couldn't we would have played another time.  It is doing a disservice to the parents otherwise.


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## timbuck (Aug 25, 2016)

I'm sure it's a logistical nightmare, but for the fall season, could leagues try to schedule certain age groups at a specific time each week. That way a coach could plan in advance if they are coaching multiple age groups.


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## Penalty Kicks Stink (Aug 25, 2016)

GKDad65 said:


> What do you do if your assigned "Coach" has been a no-show at more games than he has attended?  The club tells us that it doesn't matter and that they will assign a "capable" coach to fill in.
> I may understand at the older ages but for 2004's ?
> Does it matter for a young team to have a regular coach for the season or should we just settle for what ever coach the club decides to send ?


Remember you are the customer paying their salary. You need to leverage that with other parents to voice concerns


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## Round (Aug 25, 2016)

Penalty Kicks Stink said:


> Remember you are the customer paying their salary. You need to leverage that with other parents to voice concerns


I wish it was that easy.  These coaches and clubs know what they are doing.  G they thrive of of our insecurity, lack of knowledge, and dreams of college scholarships.  They are players playing us against each other.  

When I write "these coaches and clubs" I mean  the ones that do this and some other things.  Seems like it is most of them these days.


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## Desert619 (Sep 5, 2016)

Last year my sons team had a coach like that. It was an Albion team playing in a Albion tournament and we had no coach and no sub coach. Luckily a coach standing by heard and filled in. The rest of the season he went missing at our games but we did have several fill in's. He was with his other team. It was the worst season ever and the reason why we left Albion. Btw they were bu15 what a waste of $2k


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## genesis (Sep 8, 2016)

If we emphasized fun in youth soccer, coaches at games would not be as necessary, other than to manage the team's positioning and substitutions. Who knows, the kids may play better.


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