What I Learned About 'Nurturing People' in 20 Years of Coaching Soccer

More than results, life's treasures. The victory seized together with the bench players, and the 'I'm home' from my former students"

For 20 years, I stood on the front lines of soccer coaching.
Looking back, it went by in a flash, and I can still remember it like it was yesterday.
That is how intense, fulfilling, and treasure-like those 20 years were.

■ Why I started coaching

Graduating from a soccer vocational school and getting a job as a coach was the start of my career as a mentor.
I love interacting with children, and just watching them chase a ball makes me feel energized.
"This job is my calling."
I stood on the soccer field thinking exactly that.

■ Values I have cherished in coaching

What I valued most was **"enjoying it"** rather than winning or losing.

Enjoying soccer.
Enjoying moving your body.
Making sports something that can be continued for a long time in life.

And, parts outside of soccer—
"Greetings," "lining up bags," "the basics as a human being"
I have taught those obvious things just as carefully.

Of course, results are important, but more than that,
I wanted the children to experience the process of effort.

"I practiced this much."
"That's why I can have confidence."

I believed that the accumulation of that is what nurtures a child's heart and skills.

■ The unforgettable growth of a team

There was a team that didn't improve much even after practicing, and a period of not winning continued.
The children themselves suffered, and I struggled a lot myself.

Even so, each individual accumulated effort,
and when they became a team that "fought as one," including the bench players,
we were finally able to grasp a victory.

The emotion of that moment still remains in my heart.
"We fought as one and won."
With just that fact, I felt that all the effort was rewarded.

■ Days of struggling as a coach

Although invisible to the public, coaches are constantly questioning themselves.

Is the practice menu correct?
Isn't there a better way to teach?

The periods when results didn't come were painful, and there were nights I couldn't sleep.
But I think it was precisely because of those struggles that I was able to grow.

■ The difference between children who grow and those who don't

Having coached for 20 years, I have noticed a clear commonality among children who show growth.

✔️ They can listen with an open mind
✔️ They can immediately incorporate what they see into their play
✔️ They are skilled at using their heads

Conversely, children who do not listen and only act as they please struggle to improve.

I have strongly felt throughout my long coaching career that soccer is a sport that nurtures not only technique, but also the 'ears' and the 'mind'.

■ The 'trigger' for a child's growth

You never really know where the trigger for a child's growth will come from.
A casual word.
The sight of a teammate.
A small success experience.
Sometimes, they even learn from failure.

That is why I have always practiced
coaching by praising to encourage growth.

Did they try and fail?
Even so, I praise that 'courage to take on a challenge'.

Children are bundles of potential.
I believe it is the coach's role to nurture those buds rather than break them.

■ The moment I was happiest as a coach

There is one event from the past 20 years that made me the happiest.

It was when a former student returned as a part-time coach.

The boy who was once an elementary student now stands on the pitch in the position of teaching children.
I felt that the values and attitude I had shown through my own actions
had been properly passed on to him.

More than him becoming better at soccer,
I was happier than anything that he had grown as a person and moved to the 'nurturing side'.

That 'I'm home' he said that day
felt like a reward for myself for having continued for 20 years.

■ Thoughts after 20 years

Soccer is a place to teach technique,
and it is also a place to learn about life.

Greetings.
Effort.
Teammates.
Honesty.
Challenge.

The pitch is packed with everything about life.

What I learned in my 20 years of coaching life is that
'people become stronger from the moment they are praised by someone'
.

I want to continue being there for the moments when people grow,
just like those children back then.

"Why I decided to quit coaching soccer"

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