Football: The Journey of a Coach

3. Early Career Coaching

 “Joe, where's Daniel?!”.

  “This child will not regret?!”.

    “Did he get an invitation from Crystal Palace?!”.

Thanks to Joey Collins' big mouth, almost every player on the team knows Daniel they sent a job application to Crystal Palace, and they also knew that Daniel would join the team as interim coach.When Joey came to the training ground, the players surrounded him and asked questions.

    "Danny and Dad will see Mr. Smith's!. Don't worry, he'll definitely come!. This is just to lead everyone to practice, and Daniel will not refuse. After all, this is our hometown team!". Joey said happily.

This group of players were all Croydon natives, and they all lived not far away, some of them might be neighbors or colleagues.

They are very familiar with Daniel Ward and know the basics. Among them, there are one or two coaches who have earned a coaching certificate. But when it comes to coaching experience, many of them have not focused on coaching. The club currently has a heavy responsibility for relegation. Both of them were not confident, so did not dare to come to be the head coach.

 Everyone talks about what new ideas Daniel will bring to everyone, how to prepare for the new season and the strategies at play.

Of course, Joey doesn't know too much. He has nothing much to do with coaching. He's like a gasing in the team. When the coach whipped, he just turned around. He doesn't know what Daniel's specific thoughts are when he comes into contact with the team.

Donald Hawking is forty years old, but he is still a member of the team and serves as the team captain. Seeing that the time was running out, I called everyone to warm up quickly. In any case, the team has less time to train on weekends, so why not take it seriously now? !.

Before the warm-up was over, Robert Smith and his uncle Wayne, took Daniel to the training ground, the players immediately stopped the warm-up, and everyone greeted the three of them hurriedly, and then gathered together.

On the surface, Croydon FC has a complete organizational structure, with internal organs, and management seems to be standardized, but most core first-team training management is too relaxed and no discipline at all.

This is the reason why many aspiring professional coaches are unwilling to break into amateur teams, as it is difficult to change.

    "OK, okay! All of them! All of them! I think you all know that our search for a head coach is not going well. In order not to affect the team's preseason preparation, we invite Daniel to come and lead everyone to train and prepare for the new season!". Robert Smith gestured for everyone to notice and began introducing Daniel Ward.

    “Haha, for Daniel, I don't think I need to introduce too much?!” Perhaps because of his familiarity, Robert Smith introduced Daniel very casually.

After talking nonsense about following Daniel's arrangements, Smith left with Wayne Collins on a full stomach, leaving Daniel Ward and the players behind.

    "Let's welcome Daniel to join us in applause!" Old captain Hawking took the lead by clapping with a smile. The others followed and whistled, and Joey was the loudest.

    "All right, thank you everyone! I'm so glad to see you again!. Mr. Hawking may have seen me grow up too!" Daniel Ward's words caused an explosion of laughter from everyone.

    "To be honest, I don't have much experience. After all, this is my first time being the head coach of a team. I hope everyone can support and support me! I hope we can work together happily!". Daniel did not make a long speech. The words of his uncle Collins this morning still echoed in his mind, and he did not know what to say yet, he still needed to organize his thoughts and words.

For example, how to stimulate everyone's desire to practice? !.

How to arrange training? !.

How do you tell everyone that you plan to cancel the weekend workout mode? !.

Sending everyone off to continue warming up, Daniel Ward crouched down beside the field and took out his notebook to write and draw. In fact, he had already arranged a training class. Daniel's memories of the training class were on his mind, based on the experience he had learned, he was now mainly writing the speech drafts.

 After the warm-up is over, Daniel still hasn't finished writing, and then he suggests. "I haven't designed a training course yet, why don't you play an internal warm-up game first!". This proposal naturally got approval from everyone, and most professional players. Some don't like boring training sessions, but it's their job and they have to accept it.

Professional players do not like training sessions, let alone amateur players and grassroots players, should not practice, just play. Everyone knows the benefits of training.

Daniel Ward sat down on the bench next to the practice field and continued to write and draw. After clearing his mind, he focused on watching football matches. As a coach, he has to learn to watch the game, especially his team.

The original Daniel had watched many Croydon games before, and had an early understanding of these players. Now he just needs to combine Daniel's previous knowledge and then look to the scene, and soon have a more three-dimensional view of the team's players.

As the eighth tier of the league, there is no such noble thing as a TV broadcast, and the club will not record the game. How much will it cost?. The most intuitive team cognition is through play.

The level of English football is still quite high, and the level of amateur players is also very good. Daniel Ward has enough knowledge through the memories of the original Daniel and seeing the current scene, he can also see some flaws in Croydon FC.

Don't talk about the technical aspects of the players. No matter how strong they are, there are limits. They cannot be compared to professional players, especially the older ones on the team. They did not develop much, because they were old and their physical functions could not be compared to young people.

As far as tactical discipline is concerned, Croydon FC's warm-up players currently look more organised than domestic players, but that can still be attributed to a lack of tactical discipline, especially less stamina.

What he learned from the memories of his previous life and what Daniel Ward learned slowly merged. Watching the match on the field at this moment actually gave him a feeling of enlightenment.

    “Even as a temporary coach, I can probably improve the strength of the team a lot!”. Daniel Ward seems to have regained his confidence.

    ...

    "How do you feel ?!". Daniel smiled and handed water to the players who came out after the 30-minute game.

    "It feels pretty good!".

    "The long-range kick goal is beautiful!".

    "Tom is so cruel! My chest is still sick. Goddamn, this is a violation. Do you want to kill me?!". The players were also very relaxed, commenting on the game earlier, most of them thought it was very cool, and everyone really enjoyed the game.

    "If you really think that your performances are not bad, then I want to say that this team is really done. Our fans may not have to go all the way to see your away games next season!". After Daniel told everyone to shut up, he said seriously.

    "You mean we'll be relegated?!".

    "Oh my God, last season was just an accident!".

    "Norwood is an idiot, the plan is bad!".

    "We're not bad! Look, we're still going this season to be able to surpass!".

The players started chatting again, but Daniel didn't like to hear the former head coach's accusations behind his back.

    "Quiet down! Cool out! All of them! Listen to what Daniel said, he is now the head coach!". Captain Hawking clearly realized that everyone was not taking Daniel seriously, so he hurriedly greeted him.

    "To be honest, I didn't watch your match in a day or two!. Last season, the team was almost relegated, so I don't understand where your confidence comes from?!. Everything, the league is about to start , The new season is very difficult for us, don't you all know that in the league, like sailing against the current?. If you don't go forward, you'll back off ?!". Daniel stretched his hand with a loveless look.

    "Confidence is a good thing, and complacency is also a good thing, but it is not recommended to be overconfident and lower satisfaction from your own needs!. Let alone Crystal Palace, which was a few miles away, they started as an amateur team back then. Now it can be to this day, as a neighbor, don't you want to do better?!".

"We don't expect to be a professional team, but at least we can fight for the best amateur team!". Daniel said with great zeal.