Coaching Spotlight on Steve Yorke – Part II – Pay It Forward
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 player development in America – Check Out: Getting to Know Steve Yorke Part I.
Yorke grew up loving soccer and always had a soccer ball at his feet since the age of six. After moving to Southern California in his mid-twenties, Yorke has an international perspective on the beautiful game.
Diane Scavuzzo: Why do you coach?
Steve Yorke: I coach to make a difference; a difference in the players, the teams and the club I am director of.
When I took the job as Director of Coaching at FC Heat, I had a two year plan of action which the board wholeheartedly backed. We are making a difference in many young people’s lives because we are concentrating on constant and never ending improvement, it has nothing to do with making money.
We look at it this way; we develop the player in the game while keeping them mentally positive in life in general. We know that when we create a happy, healthy, enjoyable environment for players, winning becomes a natural byproduct.
At FC Heat, we won 40 championships in 2014 and appeared in 30 more finals. We have the same plan of action with the club, except just the expanded version. I hire coaches at FC Heat who ask, “What can we do for the club, rather than what can the club do for me.”
Diane Scavuzzo: What is the biggest problem in youth soccer today with youth development in the USA?
Steve Yorke: Sometimes, I feel that the quality of coaching in the very early ages, 7 – 10 years old is lacking. I think this is an age when most organizations are looking for volunteers or less qualified coaches because the kids have such a short attention span. But this age, in my opinion, is critical for teaching them the correct methods and the technical side of the game.
US Soccer refers to this age range as Zone 1. No player at this age should be subject to one position for the good of the team.
Diane Scavuzzo: John Napier has been selected for the 2015 Cal South Hall of Fame – He is your mentor, right?
Steve Yorke: Yes, John Napier is my mentor, absolutely. He belongs in the Hall of Fame. As I mentioned in Part 1, 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.
Diane Scavuzzo: What is your favorite soccer team? Who do you root for behind closed doors?
Steve Yorke: Well of course I love watching the big clubs of the world and in cup finals I nearly always plug for the underdog. Been born in Stoke-On-Trent, growing up and watching Stoke City FC and then playing for Port Vale as a schoolboy, I would have to say our local teams; Stoke City with a slight interest in Port Vale.
Diane Scavuzzo: What super power would you like to have and why?
Steve Yorke: I would be Captain “To put an old head on young shoulders.” Meaning I would love to be able to have the ability to teach kids the right things to do in life, especially teenagers – having two of my own – and to be able to get that message to sink in when they are young. We all know though, that it is life’s experiences that mold our children’s character.
Diane Scavuzzo: Why do you coach? Specifically to your role today…
Steve Yorke: When I took the job as Director of Coaching at FC Heat, I had a two year plan of action which the board wholeheartedly backed. We are making a difference in many young people’s lives because we are concentrating on constant and never ending improvement, it has nothing to do with making money.
We look at it this way; we develop the player in the game while keeping them mentally positive in life in general. We know that when we create a happy, healthy, enjoyable environment for players, winning becomes a natural byproduct.
At FC Heat, we won 40 championships in 2014 and appeared in 30 more finals. We have the same plan of action with the club, except just the expanded version. I hire coaches at FC Heat who ask, “What can we do for the club, rather than what can the club do for me.”
Diane Scavuzzo: Why do you believe you are a good coach?
Steve Yorke: I have been around the game for many years and am constantly surrounded by creative and experienced people in today’s game. I am ALWAYS learning and when I see a coach with an attentive audience, no matter what their age or sport, I watch and take notes. I study the best coaches in every sport and then try to apply the methods I believe in to the students I teach.
Diane Scavuzzo: What is the role of a coach in youth soccer in the USA today?
Steve Yorke: As a coach in any sport where we are teaching the youth of today, we have a massive responsibility to live up to. When we constantly are playing teacher in one of the true subjects that the kids enjoy, we have their undivided attention (usually). Many of the lessons we teach therefore, stay in their database. We have to make sure that we teach them the right things in life, not just the sport they are playing.
Diane Scavuzzo: What do you look for when you hire a coach? What traits are most important? Are you influenced by a winning record?
Steve Yorke: I like to see a coach who is comfortable with children, who offers respect and demands it in return. Since I have been with FC Heat, I have hired more school teacher coaches than ever before. In the 80’s in Rancho Bernardo, I hired a parent coach of very young players who some parents thought was not good with kids. He went on to win 5 State Cups and his own son became the head of the men’s soccer program at one of the best colleges in the US. I love coaches that are innovative, who want to better the club in many ways and who are quick to volunteer. Good hard working people who show up early and leave late and who ask what they can do for the club, rather than what can the club do for them. Winning will come natural if the kids are taught well and are happy.
Diane Scavuzzo: If you could change one thing, what would it be?
Steve Yorke: I think in the club environment, we have a problem with passing out scholarships and having a system where if you are a good player you can be rewarded with free play.
Sometimes parents and clubs use this to recruit some of the better players from other clubs. I think we should have an even playing field. At FC Heat, we have a program in place that allows parents to use their profession to work off their kid’s fees. This gives many parents the ability to have their kids play in the competitive program, where normally they could not afford it. And just think of the positive lesson the kids learn when they see their parents working for them so that they can play soccer.
The scholarship program should be in place for kids that really need it and not just because they are good players. I have seen coaches arriving at the club gates with two of their best players and saying we come as a package deal, the coach to coach and the players to play free, this is wrong and something we at FC Heat do not accept. Our scholarship money is spent in the right areas. If other clubs took this approach I think everyone would be better off.
Diane Scavuzzo: Why do you think America has not been more successful so far at developing a home-grown Messi?
Steve Yorke: Soccer is the world’s greatest sport, it is only in America that we have so many sports from which to choose.
In most countries, soccer is it. Having said that, one thing that America has is sheer determination and a plan to make things work. In Europe, we say that a certain player is gifted and we admire what they can do with a ball. In America, we want to find out how the player does what he does, then break it down in a step by step program, and then teach it that way.
I think with the popularity of the game, especially on the ladies side, it is just a matter of time before we see an American world leader in the sport. Indeed we already have with the likes of Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach. One day though this will happen on the men’s side, it may just take a little longer.
Diane Scavuzzo: What is being done on injury prevention? Do you believe coaches warm up their players enough?
Steve Yorke: Warming players up correctly is part of all our lesson plans at FC Heat. This year we have partnered with an injury prevention company called Rehab United that educates our coaches and players about injury prevention, dealing with injuries and injury rehabilitation. I and my coaches are constantly reading up on the subject of concussions, especially in light of what has happened with NFL players.
Diane Scavuzzo: Are coaches aware enough of potential concussions on the field?
Steve Yorke: No, we have to become more aware as coaches and always error on the side of caution. One thing that comes to mind is of all the players I watched as a kid, many center-forwards and central-defenders, who headed a ball thousands of times a week, have suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia later in life, not to mention those who died early in life. So we know that in soccer head trauma, whether gradual or from a clash of heads, can be serious.
I think in the game of the future we will see some type of mandatory head protection in the professional game. In my practice sessions when we work on heading, I use much lighter balls and use volley balls with the younger players.
Diane Scavuzzo: If you look back at your career, what is the one thing you would change, if you could?
Steve Yorke: I would have tried a little harder as a schoolboy playing the game. Many chances came my way but I did not take them with the passion that they required.
As far as coaching is concerned, I started coaching in the 80’s with a Rancho Bernardo club, but took a break and went into business ownership. Looking back, I think I should have stayed more involved. It was only having twins of my own that brought me back into the game. It was then (about 14 years ago) that I realized what I had been missing.
Diane Scavuzzo: Do you have any children who play soccer? As a parent, what is your goal for them?
Steve Yorke: Yes. I have 14 year-old twins, my son Lennon and my daughter Reagan, they both play high school and Heat Soccer.
I have many goals for them as they have for themselves, but the main one is to be a well-rounded, confident human beings who will always give back more than they receive.
