SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP Coaching Licenses

I recently went back to school. After sitting for my "C" over 22 years ago, I decided it was time to go back to school. I participated in a wonderful learning experience that I believe was truly worthwhile, but I left with several concerns.

1. Brazil recently hired a wonderful former player with no coaching experience to coach one of the most storied teams in the world. Sadly, he would not be able to coach a U16 team in South Carolina.

2. Over the years I have encountered a few coaches who gloriously report that they are "A" licensed coaches who could not coach their way thru a "Soccer Nuts" match, but they have that coveted license. We praise the license and the "fool".

3. Some our "best coaches" are even better "recruiters". It is not hard winning if you start with the best players.

I say all of this to remind everyone that there should be no problem with asking coaches to continue to get better, but our barriers to entry into coaching will only weaken our efforts to become stronger and encourage the elitism that keeps us stuck in mediocrity.

It is always interesting when people confuse quality and licensing.

The best teacher in the world might not be able to teach because she/he isn't licensed.

Licensing doesn't make anyone great at anything; it simply attempts to define the absolute minimum competency of a person. And like everything that humans create, all licensing in every profession is no doubt flawed to some degree.

What "license" does Steve Spurrier and Tommy Bowden have for coaching at USC and Clemson, respectively, for college football? I think soccer is the only sport with licenses.

>>[The Hammer] What "license" does Steve Spurrier and Tommy Bowden have for coaching at USC and Clemson, respectively, for college football?<<

The "license" to print money?

Coaching licenses are a joke and indicate nothing except you can spit back jargon and ideas from other coaches who supposedly know the game.

I've done both USSF and NSCAA at the highest levels and some of the people that pass, which is most, is a joke! Remember, the more that pass spend $900 bones again for the next course. It's a money-making fraud for the most part!

From a young age, watch the game, share ideas for the game in discussion and at the field and travel around the world to clubs and competitons. That's education.

Maybe it is just part of a game that must be played. When I went for my license, they were not just handing them out like candy. Torme was one of the evaluators and that guy will rip you a new one if you try to hoodwink him into thinking that you know the game. What kills me is not licenses but these camps that people swear by and the coach's "tough camp" doesn't match his success in their program. Whose camp would you rather go to as a player or a coach: Bruce Arena or Anson Dorrance?

I believe that the soccer coaching license was designed to help bridge the gap between seasoned coaches and newcomers (mom/dad coaching peewee)and not necessarily to take anything away from "seasoned coaches" I have attended several of these courses and to my surprise I have learnt a lot just from listening to the other coaches thoughts on different things and visa versa so please dont take the courses for granted if u feel that as a coach these licenses mean nothing then simply just dont go to these sessions.