They Don’t Have to Do It

Somebody unlocked the gate this morning. Somebody carried the goals out, marked the pitch, answered the group chat at eleven last night, and will drive two players home afterwards. Almost every grassroots club runs on a handful of people doing exactly that, and almost none of them are ever asked why. Alfi Myers gives a whole chapter to the volunteer coach, and it ends on the plainest sentence in the book.

The best coaches don’t just create better players, they create better teammates.

They teach respect.

They teach effort.
They teach responsibility.
They show players that winning is important, but the way you play and the person you become matters too.
So if you have a coach who supports you, encourages you and gives their time every week, remember something simple.
They don’t have to do it. They choose to.

And sometimes, the biggest thing a coach gives a player isn’t a skill, a position or a tactic.
Sometimes... It’s just belief.

Alfi Myers, head of football development at Hoddesdon Town Youth FC

Read more in The Love of the Game: What Grassroots Football Really Gives Us.