Jill Ellis, coach of the United States Women’s National Team, has teamed up with U.S. Soccer to help find new coaches.
In advance of U.S. Soccer’s coaching convention, players from each U.S. team — men’s, women’s and youth — and seven youth club teams (Northern California, New England, Seattle, Philadelphia, Central Florida, East Conference and Southeast Regional) will participate in the “Achieving Success Coaching Development Program,” an online program that will pair potential coaches with adult mentors.
Families can enroll in the program, which has been designed to evaluate, select and train qualified candidates to be coaches in the United States, either in a college sport or in a youth organization.
“I never envisioned being an educator,” Ellis said, “but coaching is a noble profession and I’m happy to do my part to help bring in the next wave of coaches.”
The program will use peer-mentorship methodologies developed by U.S. Soccer to evaluate and assist aspiring coaches. The program will run on a 12-week pilot program, and an expanded one will be offered next year if successful.
“The new Achieving Success Coaching Development Program will not only help identify the next generation of coaches, it will also serve as a unique opportunity for teams to gather and share training with their peers,” Jill Ellis said. “This program has been developed with an eye toward minimizing red tape, while being as inclusive as possible in helping the next generation of coaches in our country to excel.”
Attendees will also be encouraged to participate in a sports-related skills-training program that will include instruction in sports psychology and coaching skills.
Each candidate will complete an online registration process and an assessment process that will identify a potential candidate and assign a mentor. In April of next year, those chosen will attend a week-long on-site camp at the USSF National Headquarters in New Jersey to participate in an executive retreat and coaching exercises. At the end of the week, the selected candidates will take part in a coaching/mentoring camp that will further assess their abilities and ability to positively influence and coach players.
U.S. Soccer launched the program in 1996, one year after the U.S. Women’s National Team won the 1999 World Cup in the first round.
Article originally appeared on World Soccer Talk.
