A license to coach: introduction to the ABC's and 123's of soccer coaching courses. (Soccer).

WHETHER YOU ARE A novice soccer coach who barely knows the difference between Mia Hamm and a ham sandwich, or an experienced coach who has worked with every age from 5 to 15-18, chances are you want to know more. Books, videos, and watching games can help. But they don't compare to the hands-on experience of a coaching course.

The U.S.'s two main coaching organizations -- the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF)--provide license courses for coaches of all age groups, varying in length from a few hours to several days and in intensity from casual to intensive.

Some coaching organizations will test candidates before awarding "certificates" or "diplomas." Others will simply expect the candidates to show up and listen.

As with other education courses, it is important for the aspirant to examine the various offerings, analyze his own experience, ability, and interest level, and select the most appropriate course for himself.

Though the NSCAA and USSF offerings differ in philosophy and intensity, both provide solid, well-developed curriculums.

The most basic level courses--called F, E, and D licenses--are provided by USSF-affiliated state soccer associations. The F course (the most basic) is aimed at novice coaches of players between 6 and 14, while E and D courses are more appropriate for coaches of U-14 on up. The USSF also offers national C, B, and A licenses for coaches of high-level players, from adolescence through professional.

Tailored for Youth

Several years ago, the USSF recognized the need to design courses specifically for coaches of players 12 and under, who comprise 70% of all U.S. Youth Soccer Association members. Under the direction of Dr. Tom Fleck, former director of coaching for the Florida Youth Soccer Association, and Ron Quinn, a former elementary school physical education teacher and now women's coach at Xavier University, the USSF designed a National Youth License course based on the principles of child development.

The idea, Quinn says, is to teach "age-appropriate coaching that will bring the game out of the child rather than impose structure on kids from the top." For example, instead of two-line passing drills or dribbling through cones, the course shows coaches how to create running, chasing, and dodging games that develop passing and dribbling skills.

The point is not to show coaches how to win games, but to provide age-appropriate development games and activities.

The five-day curriculum is broken down into U-6, U-8, U-10, and U-12 components. Lectures cover physical, cognitive, and pyscho-social development, while fieldwork includes videotaping candidates as they work with young players. These are residential courses, though states may also hold the course at their own sites.

Quinn emphasizes that the National Youth License course is not considered "below" the national C, B, and A courses.

"It's parallel," he says. "The point is to train individuals to work with kids who are 5 to 12 years old. It's like the difference between elementary and high school teachers. The elementary teachers are sometimes even more important because they lay the foundation for all the education that follows."

Quinn calls the state modules an undergraduate degree," and the National Youth License course a "graduate degree." It attracts committed youth coaches, state, and club directors of coaching, and college coaches with camps for young players.

Fleck and Quinn, who helped design the USSF National Youth License course, were also instrumental in developing the NSCAA Youth Diploma program. It builds on the NSCAA's five-hour state diploma course.

"Back in the early '90s, those courses were very technical," explains Mike Parsons, NSCAA director of coaching education. "There are 15 ways of teaching shooting, but we want to be even more age-specific. A U-5 or U-6 player is all about 'me and the ball.' At 7 or 8, the players start to work in pairs."

However, the NSCAA Youth Diploma Course is not broken down into two-year age groups, the way the USSF does it. It is only four days long, with two days on 5-8-year-olds and two more on 9-12's.

The NSCAA also differs from the USSF National Youth License course in that it does not test candidates or give grades. "The NSCAA course stresses low anxiety and low stress," says Parsons. "That makes it easier for coaches to get out and try things themselves."

Parsons notes that the NSCAA Youth Diploma is aimed at two groups: "The revolving door of youth coaches who come in because of their kids and the people who have coached a while, but don't necessarily know the difference between age groups."

It also attracts youth club directors hoping to learn more about player development.

"The major differences between the NSCAA and USSF national youth courses," states Parsons, "is that the USSF seems more theory-based. It talks less in the classroom about child development and child psychology And because ours is not broken down into two-year increments, it's a little broader in scope."

Many of the games taught in the two courses are similar. After all, Fleck and Quinn helped develop both!

Both courses have merit, Parsons added. "It depends on what a coach is looking for, his or her background, and their time commitment and constraints. We're not in competition. Even if we pooled all our resources, our two organizations couldn't reach every interested coach."

(Next month: resumes of the USSF and NSCAA Coaching Courses.)