October 13, 2008

The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) held its’ Director of Coaching and Club Development Diploma this past weekend at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. The course has been an instrumental part of the youth curriculum of the NSCAA since 2004 certifying over 350 coaches since that time. Richard Butler, the Boy’s Director of Coaching (DOC) for U13 through U18 boys players at SCSA was the architect of the course in conjunction with a number of qualified DOC’s from around the country four years ago. The course is a 25-hour course taught on Friday afternoon, all day Saturday and for most of the day on Sunday. Topics include the following:

Developing the Club Culture
Defining the Club
Defining the Position of DOC
Great Characteristics of Great Coaches
Hiring, Developing and Evaluating Coaches Player Development Long Term Athletic Development Developing Positive Relationships with Parents Business Aspect of the Club Management of Personnel and Facilities Ethical and Legal Issues

Richard Butler commented, “I was fortunate enough to be asked several years ago to develop the Director of Coaching and Club Development Diploma for the NSCAA. I had the help of some of the best DOC’s around the county and the US Club Soccer (USCS) Organization. The course is an evolving piece of work as the American youth soccer scene changes so quickly here. It has been a great experience over the past four years to see so many coaches pass through and use this knowledge garnered from a number of very good instructors. As the years pass the DOC’s seem to be more and more in tune with the youth game and this past course was no exception.”

Candidates who attended were from Virginia, Louisiana, Texas, Indiana, South Dakota, Minnesota, Idaho, Arkansas, Hawaii, Colorado, California, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Utah, Missouri, Nebraska, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Canada. There was also a discussion element to the course where candidates were broken into 5 groups and asked to solve five potential scenarios that could likely arise at a youth soccer club. They were then asked to present their findings to the whole group. The questions posed were:

“What are the five greatest challenges facing American soccer? Develop strategies for solving them”.
“Design components for the perfect club, including facilities, board, coaching staff and IT department’’.
‘What can DOC’s do to develop a soccer culture in their club”.
“Develop an advanced DOC Diploma”.
“What can DOC’s do to make soccer a more appealing game to the American public”.

Other presenters at the course included, Jeff Tipping, NSCAA Director of Coaching Education, Phil Wright, USCS Chairman, Matt Robinson, Professor of Sports Management at University of Delaware and Bill Steffen and Doug Williamson both of the NSCAA National Staff.

“The NSCAA DOC Diploma has three purposes. Firstly, it helps DOC’s in developing the skills needed for their positions. Secondly, it creates synergy which naturally happens when people with similar interests and experiences come together. Lastly, it enables DOC’s to begin developing a network of colleagues who will support each other and contribute to their own long term growth and development”, said Jeff Tipping, the NSCAA Director of Coaching Development.

The NSCAA Director of Coaching and Club Development Diploma is offered twice a year, usually once in the fall and once in the spring. The next course will be held in Cupertino California in March at De Anza Community College. For more information go to www.nscaa.com.

Phil Wright, Chairman of US Club Soccer, teaches at the DOC course

Course Participants