Coaching Spotlight on Steve Yorke – Part I
Southern California’s Steve Yorke says, ‘A youth soccer player may not remember winning a certain title or final in a year’s time, but they will remember for the rest of their lives what you as a coach have taught them in life. So don’t mess it up, let’s teach them right!’
SoccerToday News Editor Diane Scavuzzo interviewed Steve Yorke, Director of Coaching of Escondido’s FC Heat to discover his view on youth soccer and player development in America
Diane Scavuzzo: Where are you from and how does this influence you as a coach?
Steve Yorke: I am from Stoke-On-Trent in England and now I live in Bonsall, California. I came to California in the early 80’s when I was in my mid-twenties. Growing up in England but spending most of my life away from that country gave me a unique perspective on the world in general and of course soccer. I had traveled the world with the British Royal Navy prior to arriving in the US, so to see how people of different countries play and enjoy the game gave me a broad horizon.
Diane Scavuzzo: When did you become involved with soccer? Why?
Steve Yorke: I have had a soccer ball at my feet since I was 6-years-old.
Kicking a tennis ball to school through the streets of England is what we did as kids. It is a game I fell in love with no matter what other games were introduced to me. To go out at dawn on a weekend day and to come back when it was dark after kicking a ball all day was the normal thing to do.
Diane Scavuzzo: If you look back, when did your passion for soccer start?
Steve Yorke: In Staffordshire in England we had a program called “Lads and Dads” which is similar to our YMCA in this country, but geared towards boys playing soccer. I started there very young with my best friend at the time, Garth Crooks who went on to play for various clubs and the England National Team.
Diane Scavuzzo: Why do you do what you do? What inspires you?
Steve Yorke: Making a difference in a child’s life. Not just in soccer, but having gone through the school of hard knocks — we, as coaches — become well equipped to teach these kids life’s lessons; to mentor our players. I want to teach our players to find enjoyment in EVERYTHING they do.
Diane Scavuzzo: Cultural pressures on parents to create super achieving kids – How does this impact youth soccer in America. How is this different in our country than others? Or is it?
Steve Yorke: That’s a good question, which brings to mind the story of the Williams sisters in the tennis world, where their father pushed them from early on to be professional players. Have you heard the story of Andre Agassi’s father taping a table tennis bat to Andre’s hand and dangling a Ping-Pong ball above his crib when he was a baby? Most of us would think of this as ridiculous, but in their parents minds they are doing nothing wrong. Look at the Chinese and Russian gymnasts leaving home when they are barely older than infants to try to become the next world champions. Unfortunately, or fortunately, we are never going to replicate that African and Brazilian mentality, where poor kids are kicking something around on dirt or sand, simply because that is all that is available for them.
I really don’t think we have reached, or need to reach this level of determination to succeed in any sport here in the USA. I believe we are improving the way we teach soccer to our youth soccer players, and accomplishing this without sacrificing many of life’s experiences. Letting infants play fun activities while always having a soccer ball involved is our first level of coaching.
Diane Scavuzzo: The grooming of a Home Grown player – What does it take?
Steve Yorke: It is great to be able to discover that next protégé within your youth soccer club. At FC Heat, all of our coaches have enough knowledge to be able to spot that next young soccer star with exceptional talents.
Many youth soccer coaches in America tend to not give a young talented player the freedom to express themselves on the field. We like to take the Coerver Coaching approach with youngsters, making ball mastery the main building block for the player’s future and allowing players to become creative.
When looking at any player, whether home grown or not, we concentrate on perfecting the technical side of the game before everything else. When the player is comfortable and progressing well enough, we then try to take them out of their comfort zone into a more advanced arena.
Players of all levels are very important to us and we like to think that when they leave us, for whatever reason, they have become a more rounded player and a better human being than when they first came through our gates.
I always say that, ‘The player may not remember winning a certain title or final in a year’s time, but they will remember for the rest of their lives what you as a coach have taught them in life. So don’t mess it up, let’s teach them right!’
Diane Scavuzzo: A good coach sees the potential in every child – Do you agree? Does this philosophy belong in Competitive soccer?
Steve Yorke: I most definitely do agree. It is important to see the potential in every player.
When a child enjoys playing soccer, we try to make the game available to them at any age and ability, and as they develop, we want to challenge them, and try to take them out of their comfort zone when they are ready.
There are levels in soccer where many players can play while developing. There are obviously quite a few players who are not geared to competitive soccer, that is why FC Heat has a strong and popular recreational program. At FC Heat, we offer a wonderful recreational program with over 60 teams. It is wrong for a child unequipped to be pushed into competitive soccer, when we all know that this is why the recreational soccer exists.
Our competitive coaches work closely with our recreational coaches and their players to select players who might benefit from more player development focus. This enables us to spot the players that really should be in the competitive program.
Diane Scavuzzo: Playing with a purpose instead of for the joy of the game – The resume syndrome of playing for a college scholarship ….
Steve Yorke: At FC Heat we are currently working on a program that teaches potential college candidates some common sense when applying for college. Most of the time players and parents are so geared to try to get scholarships at any cost, they overlook the obvious. Academics is where the concentration should be most of the time, rather than trying to make a college scholarship be primarily in a sport.
The other thing to teach college hopefuls, whether they are equipped or not to make a great college soccer team, is to be careful of exposing too much of their personal lives on social media, it will sometimes come back and bite them.
In my opinion you should play the game for the love of the game, think of the old saying, “Find something that you are real good at and then try to make a living by doing it.” But remember, concentrating on academics never hurt anyone.
Diane Scavuzzo: What has been your greatest soccer challenge?
Steve Yorke: I would have to say that realizing I would not play competitive soccer again after receiving bad injuries in a car accident is high on the list. In the words of Martin O’Neil, “There is nothing as good as playing the game, but coaching is the next best thing.”
As far as challenges in my coaching life… To get players to stick with their school work and to keep a positive mental attitude about everything they do can sometimes be challenging.
Last season one particular player was disrupting practice while at the same time falling behind in school. This boy is a great player, when I stepped in to try and help and to find out what the problems were, I found he was part of a single parent family and had to help three of his siblings complete their homework and feed them and put them to bed while his mom worked nights. “When is there time to do my homework coach?”
These are real challenges that we as coaches should be aware of and try to work with our players in times of need.
Diane Scavuzzo: Who is your mentor and why?
Steve Yorke: My mentor has to be John Napier. I first met him in Escondido, California in 1981 on the soccer field, when he was still playing soccer. Napier was playing on the opposition and I didn’t know who he was until he knocked me out on a corner, then he was gracious enough to introduce himself as he was picking me up. Napier is probably the best coach in Southern California. He is ethical, devoted to the game and teaches great lessons to everyone he meets. I have had the good fortune to work alongside him ever since that very first meeting thirty-five years ago.
Coaching Spotlight on Steve Yorke – Part II will be published next week.
