Chapter 16: CHOOSE YOUR COACH – ROOKIE: Surviving Your Freshman Year of College Soccer

Your college coach doesn’t want to compete with other coaches for your undivided attention. The day you leave for college is the day you need to jettison your other coaches, and that may include your parents. Now I’m not suggesting that you completely eradicate them from your life, but you do need to eradicate them as your soccer advisors.

You’re graduating into a whole new soccer life. To get on the field in this new life, there is only one person you need to please and that person is your head coach. He wants you to play a certain way. He’ll explain his expectations to you and then it is up to you to rise up and meet them. It really is that simple.

Your former coaches may not agree with your new coach’s philosophies or how he utilizes you or how much playing time he gives you, but none of that matters anymore because they don’t run your new team. And any advice they offer that contradicts your new coach is detrimental to your chances of playing and developing as an important part of your new team.

Imagine you had to run a 50-yard dash against seven other competitors, but you had to wear a 40-pound backpack and the other runners didn’t. That’s what happens when you hang on to your previous coaches: They weigh you down and the other competitors pass you by. Now, imagine how much faster you would run if you got rid of that backpack. That’s what happens when you release your- self from your former coaches.

You can only have one head coach. When you listen to voices that conflict with his, you are hurting your own chances to get on the field. You need to choose your head coach and say goodbye to the others.

If you’re one of those players who can’t let go of your previous coaches, you’re going to struggle. Do yourself a favor and make a clean break.

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