Player Motivation - from Sigi Schmid - coach of Seattle Sounders FC

Hello Brian,
I was recently reading a feature article in my local newspaper about a soccer coach.

The quotes gave great insight into the nut and bolts of player motivation so I thought I would share them with you.

They seemed to fall into the following 3 categories:

Player Centered

"The beauty of coaching, to me, is in the interpersonal relationships with the players ... seeing them grow and develop," he said. "You work together and you work hard, and then you see your results (in the game). It's like studying and having a test every week."

"I always thought the measure of a good coach was how many players you prepared for the next level."

"It's not always finding good players, but finding players to complement them, then you try to make a style fit the talent you have. It all has to allow for the individuality of the player. Soccer lets you have that creativity in the game, and you can't take that away from the player because then that might take away the joy of the game."

"Soccer... needs to be serious fun."

Earns Respect

"Nobody works harder, ... He's always breaking down tapes ... He wants to make sure there's no stones unturned so that when the team gets in a situation in the match, they'll be ready. When you see your coach working that hard, you never want to let him down."

Demanding AND Caring

"You know he's demanding of people, but he's not a dictator," ..."You can talk tohim; he's not a guy running around screaming at people. You can tell it all comes from a good place."

... with my players, it's not necessarily what you would call 'tough love' but I care an awful lot for them. They're very important to me."

The coach is Sigi Schmid, NCAA National Champion and MLS Champion.

Is seems coach Schmid has found a winning formula: hard work, a demanding yet caring approach and a clear appreciation for why players play soccer ... for the love of the game.

All the Best,

Randy
www.soundsoccer.com Sound Soccer, LLC502 8th Ave NWPuyallup, WA 98371 USA