This Article is Not For You

None of my articles are for you. None of the other articles you read are either. There is a lot of information out there about a lot of things. If you are reading this, you are probably looking for information about your child’s youth soccer experience, ways to help your team this season, or anything else I have written about in the past. All of the articles I have written, the information I have posted on Facebook and Instagram have all been about my opinions and views of youth soccer, but none of that information was written specifically for you.

When you read articles and information about youth soccer, you can find opinion after opinion about anything you are interested in reading about. It is important to remember that most of it is opinion and there are very few facts or indisputable positions. As such, there are very few absolute rights or absolute wrongs. I am not saying absolutes do not exist, but they are not as prevalent as we are led to believe.

So, when reading these articles and applying them to your child’s playing experience or how to approach coaching your team, it is important to not just accept it as fact and decide that it is the right way to guide your kid or your team. There is something to take away from each article, great information and philosophies to give you ideas and things to consider, but it is rare that any article, post, or blog perfectly fits or encompasses all the unique characteristics of your child and team.

It is not that one person’s opinion is right or one person’s opinion is wrong. It is just two different opinions. Based on personal experience, education, and their perspective on what is best. In reality, every opinion is right, and each one is wrong depending how, when, where, and why it is applied. I have found few absolute answers in anything in life, and soccer is no different.

I was listening to a cable news show the other night, and a guest was talking about how we all form opinions on incomplete information. We don’t know it all (although we like to think so). He went on to talk about how strong opinions are good, passionately defending what you believe in is important, but we have lost a sense of MODESTY in our discussions and debates. When we get to the point when anyone who disagrees with us is either stupid, uneducated, misguided, ignorant, unenlightened, or is demonized, than we have lost our own personal sense of modesty in our stances. That modesty is grounded in the fact that we do not have all the facts. Especially in regards to other people’s lives and experiences.

Many of us who write articles for coaches and parents are doing it to help improve the youth soccer experience for everyone. But, I know, and I think others do as well, that our opinions do not fit perfectly or directly relate to everyone. When you try to apply principles and practices where they do not work or apply, they fail. Not because the principles or practices are flawed, but the logic of implementing them is.

We see this across the board in all aspect of our lives. From politics, to our jobs, to schools, to money, to raising kids, and to the playing field, everyone has the “new” and “better” way to do….whatever. Granted, we are all beneficiaries of those who challenged the status quo and found sensible approaches to problems and needs, but with all the advancements and changes, we all personally find ways to incorporate them in our lives or stick to the old way. We all have our reasons, right or wrong in the eyes of others, but most of us do it because it works for us. It makes sense in our reality and in the life we desire to build.

So when I write articles, and others write articles, they are not specifically for you. I do not hope you go back and change they way you approach your child’s soccer experience or coach your team. My only hope is that you are able to take something from it that helps you with your child’s soccer experience or team. My articles have ideas you agree with or the information helps reaffirm your own opinions which are different. Either way, that is exactly what I am hoping for when writing each article.

In short, this article is not for you. None of my articles are. They do not specifically, or perfectly, apply to anyone or any situation. BUT, I hope each article spurs thought and consideration, forces you to ask hard questions of yourself and others, and helps guide you, your child, or team down the path that YOU decide is best.