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My wife and I were at this U-15G R3PL match. We were seated up on a hill, behind the goal, closest to the bench occupied by the South Carolina team. We were there to watch my daughter's high school teammate, who plays (and scored the second goal) for the North Carolina team.

My daughter is not in this age group, but she has attended multiple training sessions run by both the North Carolina coach and the South Carolina coach.

Observations:

1. The North Carolina coach gave constant instructions to his players throughout the match. He probably "yelled" three times more than the South Carolina coach. None of his comments were demeaning, mostly inspirational and instructional, and he certainly possessed the loudest coaching voice on the sideline. Did he over-coach? I would prefer to see the girls do a little more "problem solving" by themselves on the field but, hey......the stakes are high in Region III play, he got his result. I consider him a very good coach and my daughter always looked forward to his training sessions.

2. The South Carolina coach was also standing on the sideline giving encouragement and instruction. I can honestly say that I couldn't hear half of what he was saying over the shouts of the North Carolina coach. Although I was closer to the SC coach than the NC coach, the NC coach's voice was louder. The only two things that I heard from the South Carolina coach that could possibly be interpreted as "negative" (and boy, this is a stretch) were "watch your body language" and "they're running while you are walking". None of these comments appeared to be directly aimed at a specific player. My daughter also has great respect for the South Carolina coach and finds his training sessions both challenging and positive.

I have to agree with some of the comments above. In the heat of the battle, some people have to develop a little thicker skin. History seems to indicate that the coach being called out does a very good job with his players.

"Heat of battle" is a good way to put it...I always try to be positive, but I've had to remind my players in the past that sometimes a coach doesn't have time to put sweetness in his voice when making a crucial correction at game speed. You can point out flaws in a player's actions without being personally demeaning to the player herself...while the intent for correction is the same, "they're running while you're walking" is not the same thing as "you are so slow it's ridiculous."

It is interesting to note that an individual is stating his observations about a coach that he believes is or could be acting in an inappropriate manner towards his players on a public forum. I suppose his solution is to smear he coach on a public forum thereby, essentially, engaging in the same behavior as the coach that he disagrees with! Here is the question for the original poster. What is your agenda and beef with this coach? Hiding under the guise of a coach mistreating his players so that you can attack and smear this coach publically sure gives the appearance that your real concerns are not what you claim them to be. If this was not the case you probably would not have gone on what appears to be a vendetta and attempt to assasinate this Coach's character and credibility. Whether you like him or not, agree with his methods or not, you should have kept this to yourself or shown enough cajones to address it with the coach.

relax, i think this has been an insightful debate about coaching styles with some good player/coach/fan perspectives.

My actual perception of the OP was that he was opening a dialogue regarding coaching conduct in general, using a somewhat specific example. He made a poor effort in putting forth an effective one as it wasn't actually specific and a team name was used, however, I did not sense any real vitriol in the post.

I believe that the topic is one that is worthy of discussion given the many coaching styles and considering what is and isn't appropriate with children

I agree with adidaskitten; I believe there has been some decent discussion on the subject.

Although I imagine it wouldn't take too much effort to find out, I still don't know who this coach is and, personally, don't really care. The descriptions I have gathered from the thread so far could describe dozens of coaches I've come across over the years.

And compared to other threads I've seen on this board (just in the past several months) I think the terms attack, smear, vendetta and assassinate are rather extreme in this case. The suggestion to address it with the coach made me smile, though. I can only imagine how that would go over with the guy.

Personally, if the OP is truly concerned about the coach's actions, I think they should address it with the DOC. However, I do not recommend this, as my personal experience with the DOC(s) of another club (on more than one occasion) would show that beating your head against a wall would produce a more positive result.

My intentions were not to belittle anyone in particular. I was stating what I had observed in the game I attended. Why would I approach the coach to discuss his game behavior? I dont know the man and I am sure that he would be wide open to my critisms!!????? I do know his reputation and was wondering if this was what was common or something new? If it had been one of my childrens coaches, yes, I would have asked to speak to him in an more appropriate setting. Are you satisfied with that answer WINGT? By your answer to me you obviously are in some way a child on his team and I have what you think attacked your coach.. I simply stated what I observed and put it up for conversation......

There is nothing holding these kids to this coach or club. The parents will weigh his positives and negitives, and they will decide. This is not however the case for the kids and a high school coach. Different story all together, read "View from the Rock".

Somebody in this blog, said he is the best coach in SC. That is a way to simply diffuse this situation. I have seen some very good coaches all over the state. James Island, Columbia, Spartanburg, even Greenville.

Discussing this will have little outcome, if any. If the kids leave the DOCs and the club will know. If the coach offends you, leave. Vote with your money, or absence of same. Not every coaching style works for every child. Not every coach can reach every kid.

I do doubt demeaning, and those type tactics will last long or persist with "the best coach" in the state. Maybe he had a bad day, lost a loved one, was getting a divorce, you never know.

What I don't like about this thread is that Play the Game impugned a coach basically by name although he/she remains anon. You could have run this same question without identifying a coach or a team. And then after one other comment he's gone.

On top of it, Hurst then claims to have seen the same game and the report from him is completely different. So great, he's smeared the reputation of a coach (I personally have no idea who it is and have no girl players in my family) and he's gone.

As to the loyalty of ex-players, I don't thnk any basketball players love their ex-coach more than Bobby Knight's and you might think he is a little over the edge. And I've heard that the more you beat a dog, the more loyal he becomes. (Not trying to equate these female athletes with dogs).

Just my $0.02