Bayern Munich Soccer Club of Kansas City

 COACHING PHILOSOPHY

Our coaching staff plays a vital part in carrying out KC Bayern Munich’s philosophy. It is the coaches’ responsibility to insure all players are trained in a safe and healthy environment.

Our coaches will conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times, this includes before, during and after games, practices, or tournaments. All coaches must be aware of the Rules and Guidelines that the club provides. The club will continually seek and pass on any new information to its coaching staff.

KC Bayern Munich coaching staff uses eight pillars upon which we build our philosophy. Each pillar is required to prepare our athletes for premier play.

 PHYSICAL CONDITIONING:

-Run.

• A soccer player must run daily for long distances in the off season to keep in shape. Not only will the player have great stamina but the player will have that crucial first step in overtime.
• Not only is a player responsible for long distance running but also short distance running. A player's fast twitch muscles are a valuable must have in a soccer game. If a player had slow fast twitch muscles they would be beaten every time. Players are encouraged to grab a jump rope, sprint with a speed chute, or do daily polymeric workouts to keep the edge.

-Strength.

• Being able to shoot a sixty mile an hour soccer ball at the goalie consistently takes strength and stamina. Not only do soccer players need good leg strength, but even greater strength stamina. Players are encouraged to shoot soccer balls daily, run with ankle weights, shoot with ankle weights, lunges, and do anything that helps with leg strength.
• Strong ball kicking abilities do not only come from the legs. A player's hips, back, and abdomens, are just as important. When kicking a ball almost all of a player's momentum and strength comes from twisting the hips. If a player has weak abdomens than they probably have weak hips.

-Extra Step.

• As stated previously, a player must have supreme stamina to have the edge. But what most athletes do not realize is the importance of an extra half step in overtime. This step may seem useless, but when a player has an edge-greatness follows.

 SOCCER SKILLS AND TACTICS:

  MOTIVATION:

In soccer, nothing can affect performance as dramatically as a sudden loss of motivation. Without the motivation to succeed, a player cannot survive the challenges premier soccer can throw at him/her. If the team or player is going through a bad patch, then motivating players becomes especially important. However, an overly motivated player may be nervous and take unnecessary risks. Motivation is a tool that channels the player towards being successful as a team and winning the game. The source of this motivation is the coach’s approach and mind-set along with the ability to help a player in developing his/her skills and showing him/her how to be successful through example. It is a coach’s job to make sure that each player’s level of motivation is high enough to be able to confront all the tough situations in the game. At the same time, the coach must monitor the player to ensure he/she is not so motivated that they are hyperactive and play rashly.

As KC Bayern Munich coaches, we understand some players are self-motivated and see hurdles as things to be overcome and naturally work hard towards their goal. All they need is proper instruction. We also understand some players know the basics but lack the confidence to believe they can win. They need to be encouraged in the right manner so they learn to believe in themselves. Team motivation comes through structured, well-organized and age appropriate soccer training. We work to understand the team’s needs and focus their coaching points on those needs. While striving to maintain good morale, we strive make it invigorating for the players to enjoy their game while achieving their best each time. As KC Bayern coaches, we are experts at setting team and individual goals, and this gives the team a proper direction. We work to maintain appropriate motivational levels during match situations, say the right things, and provide the right tips. This involves balancing the pressure level in the group and presenting a positive attitude so it spreads through the entire team. It is important to reiterate all the good things done by the team instead of harping on the shortcomings. The players become more receptive to tips for improvement in such an environment. Respecting the team by being open to the team’s concerns and queries is important. Keeping team spirit high is a KC Bayern Munich coach’s job and we know it goes a long way in soccer motivation.

 TEAM COHESION:

There are many group dynamics that take place within a soccer team. One of the most important is cohesion. One is always hearing about how important it is for a team to "gel" or "bond" or "have good chemistry." Cohesive teams can achieve dramatic and awesome things. The way players interact has a tremendous impact on the way a team performs. The more cohesive a team is, the higher the peak performance of the team’s members. If cohesion is lacking, this lack can often prevent the team from reaching its’ potential. Teams should spend time and energy developing a cohesive environment.

In many cases, teams aren’t sure what cohesion is or how to go about developing and maintaining a cohesive environment. Too often the unspoken attitude is, "If it happens, that’s great, but if not, well, we don’t have a close group this year and there’s not much that can be done." To establish cohesion, everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to team goals. If everyone is striving towards the same goals, this helps develop team cohesion. Productivity must be established by setting challenging and specific goals. In addition, team members’ knowledge of individual goals and team goals is very important. If you know what your teammates are striving for, many times you can help them reach many of their goals, which will lead to a more cohesive relationship. There can be no hidden agendas by any of the team members, their goals must coincide with team goals. What’s good for the team has to be good for the individual and visa versa.

 DISCIPLINE:

Every player must be held accountable for his or her behavior. The way players and coaches express themselves verbally can break down discipline, for example a coach who uses bad language is in no position to punish a player for using the same language. Bad language should not be tolerated. Players and coaches are faced with many distractions--alcohol and drugs being the most common. The coach must first set rules and guidelines which all players must adhere to with every player joining the team with a clean sheet. Every player must remember a poor decision by any individual will affect the team. Players will be challenged to make good ethical and moral decisions during every day of their life.

 MENTAL PREPARATION:

Most performance problems that soccer players struggle with are not a result of poor conditioning, inadequate coaching or a lack of physical skills or technical ability. Physical or mechanical (skills) factors can sometimes cause sub-par play. However, when the heat of competition is boiling, the individual performer or team that falls apart does so because of mental factors like runaway nervousness, intimidation, poor concentration, negativity, lack of confidence or an inability to let go of mistakes or bad breaks.

For soccer players to realize their full potential as premier athletes, they have to start training their minds as well as their bodies. Just as athletes develop physical skills and techniques, they must learn to develop sports psychology mental skills. What are these so-called mental skills?

• Staying relaxed under pressure, also referred to as “good nervous.”
• Focusing on what’s important and letting go of everything else.
• Rebounding from mistakes, bad breaks and failures.
• Handling last minute self-doubts and negative thinking.
• Using mental rehearsal for upcoming performances.
• Motivating self by setting personally meaningful and compelling goals.
• Recognizing mental traps and avoiding them.
• Developing self-confidence and a positive, go-for-it attitude.

 MENTAL TOUGHNESS:

As an athlete, you are always limited most by what you believe is possible. When you believe in yourself, the sky’s the limit. You will regularly do the impossible and turn your goals and dreams into an athletic reality. Belief is the fuel that will keep you going long after others have given up. It will provide you with the motivation and energy to immediately get back up after you’ve been knocked down, over and over again. Belief is the stuff of champions. When you believe in yourself, you don’t know intimidation, runaway nervousness doesn’t exist for you and determination is your close friend. However, when you doubt yourself and question your ability, then you will continually struggle with subpar performances and disappointment. If you don’t believe in yourself you’ll struggle with performance problems and have trouble quickly rebounding from setbacks and failure. You must keep in mind that it doesn’t really matter what others believe about you. It only matters what you believe. Begin practicing today speaking the language of belief; eliminate words like “can’t”, “never” and “impossible” from your vocabulary. These words are negative and self-limiting and will kill your motivation. Instead get in the habit of using the word “can.” Assume that anything is possible until proven otherwise. Remember, success comes in cans.

One of the biggest mental mistakes that young soccer player make is to hang onto their miscues or errors as the game continues. Once you mess up, your primary mental job is to return your focus of concentration back to the game. The only constructive time to dwell on and work with your mistakes is in practice, NEVER during the competition. Why? If you start thinking about your mistakes while the contest goes on, then you will end up distracting yourself from what’s important at that moment. For example, instead of being able to read the offense and quickly react with a good defensive cover, you will always be a step behind when you dwell on that last easy shot that you missed. As a consequence, you will mess up again. That’s one of the most common results when you dwell on your mistakes during a competition. Understand that mistakes are inevitable. You cannot prevent them from happening. Everyone makes them. The key here is to learn to quickly set your mistakes aside until after the game is over.

 COMMUNICATION:

Communication is often interpreted as "talking on the field." Calls like "man on, time and turn" are viewed as evidence that a team is performing at a high level. But this is only one element, albeit an important one. Effective communication involves much more than just verbal skills.

Everyone's tasks must be clear and understood. Too often this is not the case and miscommunications will result. For example: in a competition, the sweeper has beaten his immediate opponent and has moved into the midfield. What should the midfielders do? If they go ahead of the ball the available space for the top and sweeper will get very crowded. If the sweeper loses the ball who will stop the counter attack? This is a moment that the midfielders need to ask themselves "what should I do?" Are the midfielders to let the sweeper through to combine with the front line and hold behind the ball? Does one midfielder have a task of going forward? But if that midfielder is not in a position to do so, what should the others do?

These situations happen so quickly and are so common, they cannot be overlooked. There is simply not enough time to "call" instructions by either players or the coach. Communication is based on reading the situation, analyzing it, and acting on it.

A common vocabulary is an important part of the communication process. Playing wide to one player might be 10 yards inside the field. To another, it is on the touchline. Agreement regarding common soccer terms makes instructions consistent. This way, players do not have to constantly reinvent the wheel. Communication is more than "talking on the field." It is the final ingredient that can bind a team together and allow it to be more than the sum of its parts.