Culture Change.

One of the challenges that I've faced as a coach is recognizing when to change a culture, and when I have to let my ego aside and adjust to the existing culture. Let me explain.

A number of years ago, I was involved in a recreational soccer program where I was more a less a trainer for a u9 boys team that practiced twice a week and played their games on the weekend. The team had a parent volunteer coach who would assist me when/if needed throughout the sessions. When I joined the group, they clearly had an existing culture in place. At the end of every session, the boys would play against the other u9 group practicing next to us. What surprised me was that there was no coaching, no constraints, just free play for fifteen to twenty minutes. In my coaching education, I was taught that the reward of playing soccer is playing the game on the weekends; in practices, there are constraints, there is coaching, there is an overall objective or objectives. In my head, I thought, "No, you may have done that in the past, but I'm here now and we are doing things differently. I have these objectives, I have this plan." But with that, it's all about me, not about them. And so, this was my first experience as a coach that I needed to pause and put my ego aside. I had to recognize that this was a part of their culture and it was not my place to try and come in and change it.

Fast forward to present time. This year I am the assistant coach for both the men's and women's soccer team at a college in the U.S. The head coach of the men's team runs their program a certain way. The beginning of the sessions can be nonchalant. The players lead the warm ups and break off into their rondo groups until the coach comes outside to set up or waits until a few rounds of rondos have gone by before starting the session. I have a very different approach as a coach. In my vision, the coach leads the movement preparation, as I will call it, because it is preparing them for certain movements that they will experience throughout the session that the coach organized. I don't think that should be the player's responsibility. Additionally, I would have eliminated rondos, not because there is anything inherently wrong with them, but because I would want to start them in the activity right away, again working towards the objective(s) of the session. For the second time in my coaching career, I needed to stop. Rondos and player led warm ups were a part of their culture. This was not my place to change that.

For me, I think I need to continue to ask why I have this desire to change existing cultures. Additionally, I need to understand the difference between when I need to change a culture and when I need to let it be. There are clearly some toxic cultures that need someone to come in and change it. For me in this last example, I do think it comes down to recognizing my place within the program as well. It isn't my program and it is my job to simply support my head coaches to execute their vision to the best of my ability.