Soccer coaching tips to draw up a code of conduct for young players

I came away from a match recently with the behaviour of one of the opposition players bothering me. It bothered me because I know the manager of the team and he has put a lot of hard work into his coaching, but he allowed one player to ruin the game.

Putting aside the player's wild tackles, his moaning about my players and the tantrum he had when he was taken off, what was upsetting me as I drove away from the game was the boy's verbal tirade because one of my players chested the ball down and he was adamant it was a handball.

And the annoying thing is, it was a good game, a close match with some good skills shown by both teams… but that one player spoilt it.

Managers, parents and players have to realise it degrades the game if decisions are argued over. No one wants to hear it and most parents just want to see their children enjoy the game. They won’t do so if bad behaviour and lack of respect is allowed to go unchecked.

A timely reminder then that a code of conduct for players is vital to your club.

What to base a code of conduct on:

A code of conduct is written to reflect the responsibilities players have to the game.
Young players should be made aware of this and be made aware of what is expected of them.
They should know that no one wins all the time. You win some, you lose some and when they lose, they should do so graciously.
They should congratulate the winners, not blame the referee or anyone else, and be determined to do better next time.
Good losers earn more respect than bad winners.

Obligations towards the game – a player should:

Develop their sporting abilities in terms of soccer skill, technique, tactics and stamina.
Give maximum effort, even when the game is lost.
Set a positive example to younger players and supporters.
Never use inappropriate language.
Always keep within the laws of the sport and use fair play.

Obligations towards the team – a player should:

Know the laws, rules and spirit of the game and the competition rules.
Accept success and failure, victory and defeat, equally.

Respect towards opponents – a player should:

Treat opponents with due respect at all times.
Avoid violence, rough play and help injured players.

Respect towards officials – a player should:

Accept the decision of the match officials without protest. If a decision needs explaining, the team captain should ask.

The following soccer coaching video clip from the English FA demonstrates how damaging and destructive players' bad-sportsmanship can be.

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