SW Q&A: Going deep on coaching ed with USSF’s Tschan, Russell
Carrying a broad range of questions on the topic of coaching education, last week I spoke to two of the top officials in that department of the U.S. Soccer Federation, Frank Tschan and Dan Russell.
Tschan is Director of Coaching Education Programs and Russell is Manager of Coaching Education at USSF. Both have been centrally involved in a fairly dramatic makeover of U.S. Soccer’s coaching curriculum, licensing structure and the “road map” it seeks to provide coaches of all levels with pathways for personal and professional development in the field.
Having heard rumors of rondos being discouraged by instructors and scarcity of access to spots in USSF coaching courses, I sought to learn more about the current state of soccer coaching education in the United States, and what lies ahead. The following is a selection of notable excerpts from the conversation.
SoccerWire.com: Let’s start with an overview of what you’ve been working on since your respective arrivals to U.S. Soccer.
FRANK TSCHAN: I’ve been on board for just under two years, and in that time my primary task was to drive the next steps in grassroots coaching education.But that was a continuation of the already-developed pathway which started with the introduction of our [then-]new pro license. For the first time in our history we [now] have a one-year pro license that serves the needs of a professional coach.
Following that we developed an A youth and an A senior license, which are geared towards the elite youth and elite senior coaching environments. And then [with] our B and C licenses, this first phase of the pathway was [complete], to create this Pro, Youth, A senior, B and C, and that was the starting point to begin to impact the level of coaching across the entire country, always based on the environment in which these coaches are working.
Build the grassroots, and the rest will follow. Learn about the impact of our new pathway initiative » https://t.co/MEXpf9Qy1J pic.twitter.com/PThzhiHB1r
— U.S. Soccer Coaching (@ussoccer_coach) February 28, 2018
We took what were formerly the D, E and F licenses and reshaped into a new D, and the E and F were removed and replaced with four online and four in-person licenses geared towards our player development initiatives – the game models 4v4, 7v7, 9v9 and 11v11, which of course are connected to the specific ages of the youth landscape for those particular playing environments. So we have for the first time, the [new] pathway complete in its new form, new look, from pro through grassroots.
Our objective is to improve the quality of coaching at all levels. In a country like this, that means that we need to be certain that we have the means in terms of [number] and quality [of] instructors to lead courses, and that we have our members of the federation able to organize courses as close to the candidates’ own environment as possible. It’s a big part of our philosophy of trying to bring education in an acceptable form as close to the candidates’ environment as possible, to then meet them where they are and base the experience on their own needs.
SW: I’m told there’s high demand for your programming, and at least in some cases, not enough space for all who apply.
DAN RUSSELL: A characteristic of the American coach is they want to learn, they want more education and they are seeking that out, which is extremely positive. What we wish to do is create a culture of minimum standards and best practices related to the licensing opportunities. And also begin to cultivate the idea of this wishing to learn and applying that into a practical environment: practical application…
It’s need-based, based on your reality. If I just want to coach because my son or daughter is playing in the 9vv9 environment, now I can go directly to that licensed course to learn more information and best practices based on the reality that I’m operating in. And that moves all the way up to the top level …
Starting with the Pro license, which was introduced in December 2015, right now the idea is that … the U.S. Soccer A license will be the prerequisite, you apply for that course but part of the additional standards are, we believe you should be working in a domestic professional environment. [It’s about] practical application, based on the education that’s being offered.
SW: Is it fair to say that there are bottlenecks along that pathway, where there’s more demand for your programming than there are spots for coaches?
RUSSELL: In 2015 we introduced a digital coaching center, the online F course. We had a centralized place and location for our coaches. So we started to gauge how many coaches were out there beyond just the ones that were registering for the events … I would say at every level we have shown based on coaches registering for the courses, that people want to take part and they want to get in.
So in 2016 we put a halt on our A, B and C courses to undergo this reformation and revamp those courses. From that time it’s been a staggered approach to get back to where we were in our offerings. We have now made it back to that point and have actually started to surpass, or increase the number of opportunities … We hope to cope with the demand by offering more opportunities while simultaneously not diluting the quality of the learning environment.
Investing in the future of our game.
30 coaches gathered at the NDC for the A-Senior Course & were blown away by the cutting-edge facility » https://t.co/uoro2TtRV2 pic.twitter.com/8irOxbMvRx
— U.S. Soccer Coaching (@ussoccer_coach) April 19, 2018
In our opinion this is a progression from where we were previously, where it was a first-come, first-served basis. So we’ve departed from that, where coaches or others were critical of, once the event was open, whoever was able to click a button the fastest got in, and that was independent of where they may be coaching, how long they’ve coached or their practical learning environment.
SW: It’s my understanding that your higher-level courses are becoming lengthier and more immersive, moving closer to UEFA’s format, which can span over the course of a year or more compared to a pass/fail situation based on a week or two-week course.
TSCHAN: Yes. When you look at the philosophy of how coaches are developed, it’s about changing behavior and sustaining those changes in their behavior. And to do that, we need time. We need more than what was historically an eight-day license experience. Ideally a coach develops in his or her own environment, at their own club, with their own team, with a coach mentor or somebody that can support them in their development.
The [USSF] courses have evolved based on a philosophy and we articulate that as reality-based, holistic and experiential. This is across the whole pathway, from the entry-level volunteer mom or dad to our national-team and professional coaches … the game drives all our decisions. It drives our behavior. The game is the starting point … the game itself is what we base serving the needs of coaches on.
The #NDC Pitch Lab is up and running as the @ussoccer_coach A-Senior Course is putting theory into practice this afternoon. Full video and audio wired through the entire structure. #ussoccer pic.twitter.com/49R582jfP9
— Dan Russell (@FootyRuss) February 26, 2018
RUSSELL: Beginning with the C, the C is split into two group meetings, including a development period in between those meetings. The higher-level courses follow that as well, with the B consisting of three course meetings + two periods of development, the A course consisting of four course meetings – really three group meetings, three periods of development, then an individual visit where the instructor actually goes to the candidate’s environment to assess them with their own team in their own setting.
SW: OK, I have a question about a specific area of instruction – how does your curriculum view rondos? I’ve heard some coaches say there’s flexibility to lay out a session they see fit that works in their environment; in others, there’s a high level of direction and some coaches say they’ve been explicitly discouraged from using rondos because they don’t have directional play.
TSCHAN: All of our experiences in coaching education are based on the profile of the coach and based on the environment they’re working in. So this notion of going up the ladder of coaching licenses isn’t the basis on which we develop our programming, but actually looking at the coach in his or her own environment. So when you have a grassroots coach who comes into these early, open-entry, low-barrier, easily-accessible course experiences, there will be a little bit more direction shaping them and their ability to understand and lead young players based on our six paths of the coach.
Beyond Tschan and Russell graciously sharing their time (I’ll have more on the coaching ed topic soon), I heard from several coaches on this (thanks!), and was shown some of the course materials (albeit not the most up-to-date) that raise ?s about the fed’s approach to rondos: pic.twitter.com/tto0KlKJ0u
— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) May 18, 2018
As the pathway becomes something a coach navigates towards, ultimately, the professional level, there might be a more autonomous approach to them developing their ideas based on that particular professional environment. How much that coach is guided or left to be able to work according to their own principles and beliefs, it’s a bit of a scaleable thing that has a progression toward the Pro license.
Coming back to [rondos], you’re talking about a tool, so the ideas of specific activities, specific exercises, all the things connected to technique and tactics, the tools that we use to solve the problems of the game, we look at those within the context of our philosophy. So reality-based, starting with the game as the driver for our decision-making, is directional and is something that has opposition, then we would want to have that in the actual training environment.
We want to make our environment as reality-based as possible. We define that by some of those constants that are in the game of soccer when we see it being played. So whether a tool, a particular activity or idea, you mentioned rondos as an example, we just test that against our philosophy.
The other piece is environment. We have many environments in the US where kids train once a week or maybe twice a week, especially in the grassroots space. So there might be a difference in how to apply certain aspects of particular activities or exercises in the environment, it might be based on things like frequency of training. But ultimately everything that we bring into a training session, we want to be sound within our philosophy of reality-based, holistic learning for players.
[Editor’s note: After our interview, Tschan shared the following note of clarification via U.S. Soccer communications staff.]
In other words, to answer this question we would need to know how one defines a “rondo” (and does every coach across the country from grassroots moms and dads to the professional level understand them the same way?), what age group and developmental stage we’re working with, what the context of the training environment looks like (training every day vs. one or two per week) and what the abilities of the coach are.
RUSSELL: For us I think a big question is just, ‘why.’ Why are you using it and what’s your rationale? If you’re implementing rondos as a part of your training session, how it that helping the coach work towards his or her objectives and what they’re trying to accomplish that day. It’s less about U.S. Soccer stating what’s right or wrong but more about inspiring the coach to think about why they’re doing the things that they’re doing and is that effective for the player and their development?
SW: I’ve heard a certain phrase batted around by a few coaches; would you say there’s no “war on rondos,” then?
TSCHAN: No, I think that’s a rather bold statement. I don’t think there’s a war on anything. I think we here at U.S. Soccer have a particular philosophy, it’s not unknown, it’s a shared philosophy when you look at other areas of the world. It goes well beyond the context of soccer. It’s about creating effective and authentic learning environments for young people – holistic, reality-based environments and an experiential learning approach is common to good learning spaces at [many] schools and homes, and sports is part of that context.
Enjoyed being back in this building & having some Serious Fun #rondos #nutmeg #Philadelphia Come support the boys mañana #USAvBOL #USMNT pic.twitter.com/DFtCfhToy2
— John Hackworth (@hackworthsoccer) May 27, 2018
RUSSELL: At the end of the day we have these candidates on site, for the B course I think it’s 12 days, the A course it’s 15 days plus an in-person visit, so our goal is trying to impact them and what they’re doing in their informal learning environment, that being their normal daily environment, away from the course. Ultimately it will be the coaches’ decision on what is best for them and most effective … How they choose to use their tools to their benefit and hopefully what’s best for their players, that will be ultimately up to them.
TSCHAN: What we’re talking about here is a really specific piece of a larger context of how coaches are supported in their ability to ultimately impact player development in a positive way. There’s a whole wealth of knowledge and experience in areas that we look at, including, for example, the qualities of a player. If you look at the key qualities of a player, this idea of technique is one of them. But there are numerous other ones, and we believe the most important one is reading and understanding the game and making autonomous decisions…
There’s a large palette of experiences that we’re trying to help coaches gain in order to develop themselves, in order to develop their players.
SW: How would you say that your work has been affected or influenced by the Men’s National Team’s qualifying failure for this year’s World Cup, if at all?
RUSSELL: A lot of what we’re doing right now is an extension of things that we were doing previously. It’s a disappointment for the organization, our fanbase. But this further emphasizes why coach development is so important. Because we rely on the coaches that are in the everyday environments, that are coaching on the weekends, to be developing the next generation of players.
So when we miss the World Cup, the question is what’s going on and who’s on deck, more or less. For us as an organization, we’re doubling down on coaching education. We believe that we need to have a bigger impact on coaches, and how they’re developing and how they are bettering our next generation of players.
So we have a strategic framework that has been in place, and if anything it’s only been further emphasized since that game in October. And we are pursuing to expand the number of opportunities for our coaches … to increase our instructor base, which in turn would help us supply more opportunities and impact more coaches, improve our courses and try to stimulate both in and out of the environment U.S. Soccer provides.
TSCHAN: 2014 was when we started the process of planning the initiatives that you see today coming full circle. So while this [USMNT] setback gives us a certain sense of urgency, it should be known that these pieces of the puzzle have been in place well before the men’s challenges [during World Cup qualifying].
RUSSELL: Positively, I think it stimulates conversations, that people are putting coaching education, what’s best for the player and player development, at the forefront. So you’re having serious conversations about how do we press forward together. It’s not just the people within these walls, it’s everyone across the landscape that plays a part.
SW: Are we spending enough on coaching ed? Are we investing enough considering how influential it is? Not asking you to complain about your budget on the record, but I wanted to get your perspective.
RUSSELL: That certainly goes to a conversation higher than me or perhaps those in this room and goes to the [federation’s] board. But what I can say from the organization is, the support has never been higher. We are investing in every one of our coaches that go through a course, and we are investing in all of membership to be a part of this process.
It’s not just U.S. Soccer, it’s not just those within these walls, it’s coaching education reaching out to our state associations, reaching out to US Club, US Youth, United Soccer Coaches, to be a part of this program, this movement as we like to refer to it, to offer more grassroots education opportunities, get more people into the pathway and offer them opportunities to progress within the pathway.
In big-picture financials, the number is increasing and the commitment from the organization is increasing. Just in the past year we’ve budgeted to lose $2 million and we’re losing closer to $3 million. But again, that’s not a loss for us, it’s an investment into our future and the future of our coaches.
SW: I’m sure you’ve seen the comparisons made to big soccer nations like Spain, Germany and France, the number of coaches per capita they have, the cost of rising through their pathway compared to the U.S. How can you close those gaps?
RUSSELL: Generally speaking, we want to reduce the barriers that our coaches have, and the rationale for them to take a course or not take a course … U.S. Soccer is specifically organizing courses at B and above, and our membership is organizing courses on our behalf at C and below. We allow our members to organize and set prices for those courses, as they all have different situations and require different pricing models. More specifically, it costs one thing to rent a field in New York and it costs a different amount to rent a field in Alabama.
But for B and above, we are incurring all those costs. We are subsidizing anywhere from 30 to 50 percent of the course fee per candidate. So that’s an investment in each individual that takes the course and that’s not to minimize what they are investing in the actual course fee itself, time away from their work settings or potential travel expenses. There’s an idea that U.S. Soccer is making money on these courses and these coaches, which is not a reality, I would say. In regards to other environments, say Germany, Belgium etc. I will let Frank comment on that.
TSCHAN: I joined U.S. Soccer after nearly 20 years in Germany and I’ve seen comments and what I believe people think are accurate prices on course. I always want to check on peoples’ sources for these things … There seems to be a misunderstanding to what some of those prices are. If you look across at the numerical value, we’re very comparable with those. But there’s still an apple-to-orange environment here, because you have to look at the number of days candidates spend in a course meeting, the number of hours in a course…
[Editor’s note: After our interview, Tschan shared the following note of clarification via U.S. Soccer communications staff.]
Also, the extent to which technology might be involved, if any aspect of a federation’s coaching education program might be federally funded, if the development period includes individualized mentorship, meals & lodging, and so on. And even when these prices are somewhat comparable, the complaints are still high overseas since the majority of A, B and C license coaches in many countries still work on a volunteer basis and yet have to fund their own education.
The coaching education department is currently sitting at a very significant deficit based on budget … our leaders recognize as a huge investment back into the game, specifically in coaching. And the other piece … why do I pursue certain license? Historically, perhaps it was this idea that everybody had an A license. Growing up here and being around the game in the US in so many areas, it seemed like the A license was the sort of thing to do, the designer goal for coaches.
But now it’s based on environments … grassroots is where it’s at, it’s where communities come together, it’s what drives the game. That’s not going to cost me very much time, money or energy and I’ll be able to really feel the support and feel that I’ve got the tools to impact that level … We have to think about what are the intentions and goals of each coach and what it means when a coach decides to pursue this field as their full-time professional career.
