Coaching licenses … a mom’s perspective

I’ve been involved with club soccer for a relatively short time now, compared to most, but I’ve learned a little bit about coaching licenses… here’s my view:

An “E” license is the lowest & easiest license to get and involves going to a coaching clinic/class over a weekend, submitting to a background check & fingerprints, and passing a relatively simple coaching test.  My son’s first coach (back in his U9 year) had his “E” license, and I remember him trying to make it sound like something very impressive.  At the time, I was impressed because I didn’t know any better.  There’s also a “rec” license, that’s even easier to get than an “E” license, but most clubs require a coach to at least have an “E” license.

The licenses get harder and harder to earn  and maintain, all the way up to an “A” license.  Professional and NCAA Div1 coaches will all have “A” licenses.   To keep these licenses, you need to rack up “points” as well, by attending continuing education like coaching clinics, soccer expo clinics, etc.  The tests for the higher licenses are also VERY tough.   I remember being at a photography tradeshow one year in Tampa, and the entire hotel was filled with “soccer people.” (You know how you can just tell when a crowd is a “soccer crowd?”  This was definitely a “soccer crowd”)  I asked one of the guys what was going on, and he told me that they were there from all over the country for the “B license” test.  It was 3 or 4 day event full of very difficult written tests and high-pressure tests on a field.  These guys all looked VERY nervous & serious!  I can only imagine how difficult the A-license tests are.

Granted, the level of a coach’s license does not give you an end-all-be-all guage of the quality of the coach!  The “E” license coach my son had was great with the boys, and Mat really enjoyed that year of soccer.  He learned a lot and improved over the course of the season.   There’s also a coach around my area with his “A” license, and that guy will NEVER EVER coach my son (that’s one of those “club soccer drama” stories… maybe I’ll post it one day).  So, you can’t judge a coach on the license alone.  But it is important.

The bottom line is this:  A club soccer coach should at LEAST have an “E” license.  A coach who really cares about his/her team should have a “D” license or be able to tell you EXACTLY when the “D” license class is that they’ve already signed up for.

Striving for a higher level of coaching license shows a commitment to education — evidence that the coach really cares about improving and knows that there is always more to learn about “The Beautiful Game.”