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The 3 Big Reasons Why I Coach Soccer: Identifying My Purpose on the Field

Published: January 26, 2022
Updated: February 20, 2023
By: Jenn Ireland

Category: Coaching

I coach soccer in a competitive, youth league environment, but I don’t have a professional playing background. So I don’t coach soccer because of my playing career. I didn’t become a coach because I wanted to stay involved in the game after my college career (spoiler: I didn’t have one). And I did not become a coach because I have the desire to reach the top level of the game (I don’t).

And while it’s always awesome to watch the players that you helped, guided and mentored, reach elite levels and maximize their potential, that’s also not the reason I coach (although it is an added bonus.)

I do not coach as a hobby and I do not coach because I have a kid on the team. I also do not coach for the money – because while I do get paid, it’s a very minimal amount and requires a lot of sacrifice on my part, financially and otherwise.

So I do not coach for any of those reasons. But I do know very clearly my purpose for being out on that soccer field every day. I do know EXACTLY why I coach soccer. Here are the 3 big reasons why I coach.

Helping soccer players, help themselves

When I think about my purpose for coaching soccer, my purpose for investing so much of my time, energy and love into this sport, it really comes right down to my soccer players. And I’m speaking directly to them when I say that the biggest and most important reason why I coach soccer is this: I want to help YOU, help YOURSELF.

What this means is that I want to help my players build the tools they need (self-confidence, resilience, mental toughness, etc.) to be able to help themselves through any difficult situation – on or off the soccer field. I want them to be able to perform under pressure, be leaders for their teammates and play with love & enthusiasm for the game, and not burnout under the stressors of the high-pressure environment.

I coach soccer because I want to help my players be the best possible version of themselves that they can be. I want to help them experience their own greatness. I want them to know that they are awesome and that they can do this. I want to help them understand and LOVE personal accountability and I want them to experience the feelings of pride that come with taking responsibility for their own development.

Identifying your 'why'

I’m super passionate about this, as you can probably tell. And I openly talk about this topic with my teams, often even having 1-on-1 conversations with my players about their own personal ‘why’. Why are they playing soccer? Why are they out here on the training field every day? This is a great way to get them to start self-reflecting and identifying their own values.

Conversations like this can be deep, and they resonate with some soccer players and not so much with others. One thing I’ve come to realize is that that is OK – not everyone is going to understand or get me. Some of those players whom I’ve really built a good relationship up with DO really understand this about me though: that I’m out here coaching because I really care about them and I want to help them harness their power and achieve their goals by giving them what they need to succeed not just now, but in the future as well, once I am no longer their coach.

I truly believe that lot of young women are not able to really fully grasp their potential because they are very held back by social conditioning, by wanting to be liked, by thinking a lot about what others think of them, etc. All of that stuff is really hard. And it really gets in the way of young female athletes being able to let go, play creatively, play without fear of failure, and really just be authentically themselves. I speak from experience because I was once in their shoes, at their age, experiencing those same things.

I coach because I want to change that. I want to help my soccer players be able to help themselves. I want to help them be more adaptable, creative, happy, accountable, motivated, resilient players for THEMSELVES. Because any player, if they really dig down and take responsibility and do the work they can progress towards their goals. They can be great soccer players.

Personal growth and expansion

The next reason why I coach soccer is more selfish. I coach soccer because NOTHING else that I have EVER done in my ENTIRE life has provided me the opportunity for personal growth that coaching has. Nothing.

I have never undergone as much transition and shifting and self-improvement as I have over these past 5 years coaching soccer. Ever. The reason for this is that, if you want to be a better coach, one that players respond to better, you really have to be self-aware and self-reflect on how you are doing things.

Coaching soccer can kind of be looked at as a very interesting experiment of reflection, assessment and self-improvement. You have to be willing to be very open and invite change and growth. You have to be willing to look at yourself and see what you are doing and how it affects your individual soccer players and also the group at large. Doing all this is the very definition of personal growth.

Use your 'why' to get you through the hard moments

Don’t get me wrong, coaching soccer can be VERY difficult at times. Things go downhill a lot of times and I wonder why I’m doing this. It’s very difficult in those moments to continue to push through and move forward. That is where my ‘why’ comes in though, my purpose. And when I think about why I coach soccer (for personal growth & expansion) I realize how amazing this experience is and I can’t imagine not having it in my life.

This may be a big statement but it is true: nothing else that I’ve ever done in my entire life (other jobs, running small businesses, family life, relationships, etc.) has ever tapped into the personal growth and expansion the same way that coaching soccer does.

So, why do I want to coach? I coach soccer because it invites me to be a better version of myself. And fortunately there’s no ceiling in the personal growth department (unlike that annoying glass ceiling). You can just keep going up and up and expanding and flourishing.

Grow your confidence through preparedness.

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Being a student of the game

As mentioned before, I didn’t play soccer at a high level, but I did grow up playing. I played some rec, some club and some high school ball. I liked the game, I had fun, it was good for me in regards to health and exercise, but I struggled A LOT. Most of it was because I never had really great guidance and I was a complete perfectionist (I was self-defeating myself at every turn).

Here’s what changed for me though: I now think of myself as a student of the game. This is why I coach soccer – because coaching has instilled within me a very deep, passionate desire to learn about this beautiful, amazing game that brings people (from all over the world) together and unites us under a common interest.

As a kid, I never had this genuine interest in learning about soccer. Now, I see the game in an entirely new light.

Your 'why' can help you be a better coach

I have fallen in love with learning about all parts of soccer. From the history of the game, to performance and data analysis, to the mental performance side – I love it all. And the tactical part of the game, I am just enamored by it, to the point that I now absolutely LOVE teaching tactics to my players.

I am the soccer coach that really enjoys challenges because I’m very invested and I really love learning. So when things go wrong on the field, I try to figure it out. Often I turn to video analysis, and I watch film, take down numbers and gather the data I need to build the training sessions that will help my team learn and grow.

Being invested in learning and wanting to grow my knowledge of the game has absolutely made me a stronger coach. It’s made not only MY soccer IQ stronger, but it’s made my player’s soccer IQ stronger as well because I pass along the knowledge.

As I continue to grow, learn from others and teach myself new things – I have become very good at explaining tactical concepts to my players. I am proud of my ability to help young players understand things on the soccer field that some coaches would say are too advanced for them. I am able to do this because I relay information in a way that is easy to understand, makes sense, and actually connects pieces of their game together in a way that hadn’t been explained to them before.

This is why I coach soccer, why do YOU coach soccer?

Knowing why I coach soccer has helped keep me motivated, driven and passionate. Clearly knowing your true and authentic purpose will keep you going when things get hard. When you feel connected to it, when you feel that purpose, it keeps driving you forward.

My hope is that this post will inspire you to define your own personal ‘why’. Whether you are coaching soccer or playing soccer, take a moment to sit down and really think about this (here’s a few ideas about HOW to define your ‘why’). Because I promise you, if you can define your purpose and get really invested in it – the skies the limit. And if you already know your purpose in coaching, please help inspire others by leaving a comment below and telling us about it!

Hi everyone! I’m Jenn and I create content to help female soccer players and coaches maximize individual and team potential by developing healthy mindset skills. Join other subscribers and sign up for the newsletter for all my best tips and advice!

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Hi everyone!

I'm Jenn, a USSF C-licensed youth soccer coach, mental skills coach & founder here at Expand Your Game. I created this site because it is the site I needed when I was a soccer player.

About me: I am a former newspaper photojournalist who loves downtempo electronic music, guacamole and books of every sort. And of course soccer! On days off you can find me researching tiny farms in Portugal , tossing a frisbee for my dog, or tending to my growing collection of indoor plants.