Chapter 58: THE END-OF-YEAR MEETING – ROOKIE: Surviving Your Freshman Year of College Soccer

When your season ends, the coach is probably going to arrange for individual meetings with the players. This is an excellent opportunity for you to figure out exactly what you need to focus on in the spring, and where you fit into the plans for the following season.

Give this meeting the respect it deserves. First of all, don’t be late. Put a reminder in your phone or write a note on your hand; do whatever you have to do, but get there on time.

In this meeting your coach is going to ask you for your thoughts on the season. He’s going to ask you what you think you did well. And he’s going to ask you where you think you need to improve. Then he’ll tell you how he would answer all those questions.

This meeting won’t be horribly dramatic, but it’s a good idea to have some idea of how you’re going to answer those questions because it shows that you actually take the time to think about the game and evaluate your performances.

Additionally, I suggest that you bring along a pad and a pen. It will send the message that you’re taking this meeting seriously, and that will impress your coach. More importantly, when the coach tells you what he’d like you to work on, you won’t have to worry about forgetting those things if you write them down.

A lot of players just breeze through these meetings without giving them much thought, which is unfortunate because this meeting is your springboard into your second semester of college soccer. Use it to clarify your training objectives so you have the best possible chance of getting or staying on the field as a sophomore. Find out exactly what he needs from you. Again he’ll feed you the answers. And again you have to be smart enough to realize that.

Incidentally, if your plan is to transfer and you haven’t yet told your coach, tell him now. Politely express the reasons why you’d like to transfer and ask for his assistance in speaking with other universities. By that same token, if you feel that your performance warrants an increase in scholarship money, this would be the appropriate time to broach that topic.

Being a Teammate << Previous Chapter | Next Chapter >> The Alums