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Get to Know Your NSCAA High School Reps & Have Your Voice Heard

The NSCAA is dedicated to serving its members and providing them opportunities to help grow the organization.

Two individuals are members of the NSCAA Board are dedicated to helping bring issues to the Association's attention and speak on behalf of the high school membership:

Girls HS Rep: Kevin Sims (simskm@yahoo.com)
Boys HS Rep: Greg Winkler (gregwinkler10@gmail.com)

You are encouraged to reach out to them to bring up ideas and ways to engage the high school membership within the organization.

Here's more from your high school board representatives:

Are we respected as high school coaches?

As a high school coach, have you wondered where you sit on the hierarchy of coaches? Are we, as a group of high school coaches, respected in the soccer coaching community? Depending on where you are located across the United States, your players and parents may hold you in high regard, or maybe the local club coach has more clout. Does a young college coach have more credibility than the veteran high school coach?

There are exceptions to every rule, however as high school coaches, we often do ourselves a disservice. Many coaches are hired for high school soccer positions because they can breathe. Our schools, our state associations, our coaching groups do not have “standards” for or minimum requirements in order to coach at the high school level. The youth coach needs a license, the college coach usually isn’t hired unless they have impeccable credentials, yet high school jobs are given to anyone.

If we want to improve our perception with our parents, our communities, and even within our own coaching ranks, we, as high school coaches, have to start to demand some level of coaching certification to coach high school kids. Education is the key to improved coaching methods, improved team performance, and improved player development.

Maybe it is time for you to get active within your state and start asking for minimum diploma requirements for high school coaches. We ask our players to be responsible for their off-season development. It is time to be responsible for ourselves as well. You can start by going to NSCAA.com and check out course offerings and webinars. Request a course to come to your state or your area, get active in changing the culture of the high school game and help bring more significance to the game.

Let’s stop feeling sorry for ourselves and get active!

Greg Winkler
NSCAA Board – High School Boys Representative

A Letter from Kevin Sims

Here's a question for high school coaches to ponder: do you wish to coach soccer for a season or do you wish to coach young people for a lifetime? I am confident we are high school coaches because we wish most to serve the development of young people's lives.

Famed soccer coach, administrator and NSCAA Honor Award recipient Hank Steinbrecher shared at the NSCAA Summer Symposium a lesson learned from his son, a Navy SEAL: you are what you tolerate. The character education of our high school soccer players perhaps lies most in our approach to sportsmanship.

We must refuse to tolerate unsporting attitudes and behavior. As we strive to be vigilant in our efforts as high school coaches, consideration and confrontation of the following questions is advised:

 Is your team humble in victory and gracious in defeat?
 Does your team respect the letter, intent and spirit of the rules of play and embrace fundamental fairness?
 Does your team exhibit respect for all players, coaches, officials and spectators?
 Do you, the coach, model these attitudes and behaviors?
 Do you openly expect your parents to model these attitudes and behaviors?

The best advertisement for high school soccer is the quality of the environment and experience. Let's celebrate the best we have to offer through a firm commitment to great sportsmanship!

Thanks,

Kevin Sims
NSCAA Board – High School Girls Representative