What I learned from a 50 yard toe-bash!

One of my first big head coaching jobs was at Bella Vista High School in Fair Oaks. I was 23 years old and couldn't believe I was a high school head coach!

The team I had my first year was amazing! We had 12 seniors and some really fantastic players.

In our league was Grant High School. While they were a power in many sports girls soccer was not one of them. In fact they were terrible. Most of the players had never played soccer before. Many didn't even have soccer cleats. They played in tennis shoes. Some years they couldn't field a JV team. I remember their coach being exceptionally positive and the girls on the team trying as hard as they could.

The first time we played them on the season we won something like 10-0. The second game was on the road at Grant H.S. They had just lost a game 22-0 to another team in our league. I remember being quite disgusted that a team would score 22 goals on another team. Early in the match we were winning 2-0 when a Grant player toe-bashed a ball from about the center circle into the back of our net. It was amazing! The place went crazy!!

I was embarrassed! Our team was embarrassed! We went on to win by a wide margin of course. But Grant had scored on us. They had never scored a goal in league in the history of their program.

After the match I went to shake hands with their coach. He had tears in their eyes. He thanked me for "letting them score." Of course we had done no such thing. I told him we didn't let him score they earned it. He then shared with me that he had promised his team a pizza party if they ever scored a goal in league. That after the last game that they lost 22-0 a couple players had quit because they were humiliated. And even though they lost to us that goal had inspired his entire team.

Since that time I've always believed that you NEVER run up the score on an opponent. People who think that it is more humiliating if their team just keeps possession are delusional. If you know you are playing someone that there is a potential for this to happen against you plan accordingly.

It's soccer for goodness sake. Not scoring goals is what we are known for in the United States. You slow the game down. You keep the ball. And if you have to you ban your team from scoring. It is that simple.

It is our job as coaches to teach our players sportsmanship!