It’s All About Team Building

When do you think about the people who are a part of your soccer team, who do you think of?  Probably your players. Maybe you have an assistant coach or team manager.

 

What about parents?  Are they a part of your team?

Just think of it.  Who makes up the biggest part of your cheering section?  Who gets your players too and from practice?  Parents! Without soccer moms and dads you don’t have players.

 

As a soccer coach, you know to have a ‘winning’ soccer team you need to build a relationship with your players. The same applies to parents because they are an integral part of your team.

To help parents feel like a member of your team you need to build a long-lasting relationship.
You know how to build a team on the field!  You can learn how to use that as your winning tactic to create relationships with your team’s parents in today’s post.

 

Vital Resource or Major Pain

When I started my coaching journey I kept everything close to my chest. I would take on the role to make all the decisions with little or no consultation with the team manager, parents or players. It was an ‘I say, you do’ culture.

Over the years, I coached some great players who went on to have careers in college. During that journey, I learned they had great parents. It took a while to realize that it was important to connect to my soccer parents because they helped me coach my players on the home front.  

Your soccer moms and dads are other avenues to talk to their kids about sportsmanship away from the field. They can rally their child after a tough loss and provide that needed boost of confidence.

Your soccer parents will put their trust in you to teach their kids how to play soccer.  They will share personal information about their kids, like if they were having a rough day.

Being close to your parents can help with your team’s soccer operations, it really helped me get parents involved to help out, which you can learn more about here  (https://malcolmbrown.me/5-effective-ways-to-get-parents-involved-with-their-childs-soccer-team/)

Being connected to both your soccer players and their parents also enriched my coaching experience. All of this could only happen by building relationships with parents. In fact, I’m attending the wedding of one of my former players next week (March 19).

My goal for you is to have the best soccer coaching experience possible.  I hope by the time you finish reading this post you are one step closer to reaching that goal.

With that in mind, you will learn about winning ways to build relationships with your soccer parents.  It’s all about using team-building tactics!  You know how you build a great soccer team.  Now you will learn how to make it better by building a team of great soccer parents.

 

Winning Tactics For Building A Team With Soccer Parents

So how do you go about forging relationships with soccer parents?  Let’s take a look at the fundamentals of team-building to get some winning tactics to create long-lasting relationships.

 

There are 4 basic team-building strategies that we will explore.  They are team kick-off, communication, problem-solving, team bonding.

 

Team Kick-Off

A team kick-off is a great meet and greets event to have at the beginning of each soccer season.  Sometimes the kick-off is a casual affair that involves basic introductions, going over the schedule, and sharing expectations.  

 

Take the team kick-off one step further that includes both players and parents by doing the following:

• Add an ice breaker along with the introductions to get to know everyone better from the start.
• Involve the parents!  Share your goals for the soccer team but ask the parents to share their hopes for their player or for the season.
• Talk about how parents can be a help to the team from the start like modeling sportsmanship to their kids, giving pep talks at home, and keeping you informed of any issues.
• Add an element of fun to naturally build rapport.  Turn the kick-off into a pizza party, cook-out, or ice cream social.  

 

Communication

Communication is key to building relationships.  Layout how communication will work between you and soccer moms and dads throughout the season so parents can connect with you.

• Be approachable and available to parents which mean responding to parents in a timely manner. 
• Have a communication system in place.  Whether it’s through an app like TeamSnap or a team email thread, create a way to get a hold of parents easily.
• Send out weekly updates about practices and games. Share a nugget of coaching wisdom or give a team accolade.  This connects the parents to the team dynamic regularly.
• If issues arise on the soccer team, share them with parents so they are aware and can have 1:1 conversations with their child.

 

Problem-Solving

It wouldn’t be a soccer season without a few bumps in the road.  Issues can range from getting along as a team to dealing with a big loss. Even simple logistics might be a challenge.  Connect with the parents about these issues to get things solved as a team.

• Be on the up and up with any issues.
• Call on parents for ideas to solve the problem.
• Encourage everyone to work together for the common good of the team.
• Ask parents to address issues on the home front to keep things positive on the field.

 

Team Bonding

Your players spend a lot of time on the field, don’t forget time together off the field.  A soccer team only grows when given opportunities to bond.  That includes parents.

• The season kick-off as described above is a great way to bond from the get-go.
• Take advantage of tournaments!  Book a block of hotel rooms for families to stay at.  The hotel pool or game room is an excellent way to bond during downtime between games.
• Organize a team dinner before a big game.
• Hold a parent’s night out with the team.

Remember you want to have a great soccer season with your team.  Parents play a big part in the success of your team too.

Forge relationships with your soccer moms and dads!  All it takes is a little team building.  You will be on your way to a winning soccer season.

 

How are you going to build long-lasting relationships with your team’s parents?