Macte Virtute

Any links provided in this post are for your convenience only. I receive no compensation from any of the companies if you navigate to their site from my blog.

As I mentioned previously, I am an alum of Youngstown State University (Go Guins!). In my last semester there, I had the opportunity to take a sports management course taught in part by the University President, Jim Tressel.

Now, any thoughts you have on what happened when he left Ohio State don’t change the fact that he was a brilliant football coach. (No, I’m not getting any free tattoos or memorabilia for writing that.) But what was most interesting about that class was how much he craved feedback from others. As coaches, we are used to providing feedback to players, but have you taken time to get feedback from them? What about your assistant coaches or other support staff?

One of the phrases he liked to use is “Macte virtute” which translates roughly to “increase your excellence.” One of the things that he stressed was surrounding yourself with individuals who make you better and seizing any opportunities you have to better yourself. He spoke about how he would bring in experts to talk to his teams about various topics, and even in this class he invited other coaches and administrators from the area to speak to the class about their experience and area of expertise. It was one of my favorite classes I took at YSU and really enhanced my desire to get into coaching as a career (I apologize to my KSS profs if you’re reading this).

As coaches, we have so many opportunities to learn. For instance, the United Soccer Coaches recently revamped their membership and included a lot of their eLearning courses in the membership fee. This includes their Level 1 Goalkeeping course which is normally around $80 if you take it without being a member. On top of all the other benefits you get from the $95 membership, these courses are a great way to learn some interesting facts or ideas that you may be able to incorporate into your coaching.

Outside of formal learning through the United Soccer Coaches or U.S. Soccer, take time to learn from other coaches you work with. If you work at a college with a men’s and a women’s team, bounce ideas off members of the other staff from time to time. Or if you have some local clubs, reach out to them and share ideas. Also, if you have the benefit of working with a certified strength and conditioning specialist, talk to them about new research going on regarding training athletes. You may be surprised what you can learn and take with you as you plan your own training sessions.

No matter what you focus on, be sure to keep learning and remain up to date on what is going on in soccer. Find ways to learn from every one around you and always look to increase your excellence!