What is a captain?

Captains have responsibilities toward both the players and the coaches. Two of them will be elected by the players at our Thursday, 9/29 practice. They will serve as captains through the end of our fall season and will have arm bands to wear in games.

From the perspective of players, the captains should be leaders that the players are willing (and hopefully eager) to follow. We coaches will generally try to make sure that at least one is on the field at all times. They are expected to make decisions regarding who takes corner kicks, free kicks, and penalty kicks. They are expected to encourage players on the field, spur them on to a higher level of play, and keep players focused and optimistic through the end of every game. They should have a good understanding of the game so that their advice and instructions are trusted and well received by the players.

From the perspective of coaches, players help to organize practices and model the best behavior at practices. They should be diligent to arrive on time -- or even early -- to practices. They should through their own example and encouragement get the team to organize quickly for drills and keep mentally focused. I will often say, "Captains, form up two teams" or "Captains, break players up in to four equal groups". They should organize warm-ups once practice begins, and lead in any stretching that we do. They will pick teams for scrimmages, not by schoolyard rules but through consultation with each other to create teams relevant to the goals the coaches communicate to them for a scrimmage.

Shalrie Joseph has been the captain of the New England Revolution for a few years. One game will stick in my mind forever. In 2010, their backup goalkeeper Preston Burpo suffered a horrific (career-ending, as it turned out) leg break in a game. It was awful, and you could see that Shalrie was immediately shocked and sickened when he saw it. Players were devastated all over the field, with some of them lying face down on the field sobbing. It was Shalrie who went to each of them, picked them up, encouraged them, helped them recover and get their heads back in the game. And he helped to escort Preston Burpo's stretcher off the field, comforting him as he went. I turned to my son (a captain at the time) and said, "That's what a captain does."

God forbid we ever experience something like that! And I don't expect we will. But there will come times when  we will fall behind in games and start thinking we're going to lose. It's up to the captains -- far more than the coaches -- to keep players' heads in the game, confidence up, and spirits bouyant.

Being a captain is not for everyone. This year, I will only list names for voting if the players have indicated to me that they wish to stand for election. I will make this clear at practices this week and next, and I will expect candidates to have read this post to understand the expectations.

Important upcoming soccer games to watch

FC Barcelona (the reigning Spanish and Champions League champions) are playing AC Milan (the reigning Italian champion) on Tuesday (9/13) at 2:00 PM on Fox Soccer Channel.

We're recording it and watching it that evening. Contact me if you think you'd like to come.

The importance of aiming -- part 2

I was chatting with my brother (a coach for 25 years) last night regarding this idea of aiming to improve. He mentioned the example of Paul Mariner.

Paul Mariner was a great English striker in the 70s and 80s. A few years ago, he was the assistant coach for the New England Revolution (serving under another great former player, Steve Nicol).

Paul once told my brother what his personal training regimen was growing up. After his practices, he would stick around after and knock 100 balls into the goal... but not aimlessly. On Mondays, he would aim for the bottom left corner of the goal, 50 with each foot, using a cone to help define the success zone. On Tuesdays, he would aim for the bottom right... Each day of the week had a different specific location.

After he became proficient, he increased his challenge by not letting himself leave until he had 100 successful shots into each aimed spot.

Dedication + aiming helped make him a successful goal-scorer, notching 175 professional goals and 13 international goals in his 15-year career.