Steve Phillips

Following my conversation with Steve Phillips, 3 parts of the podcast episode stuck out for me:

1.  Life Skills

Steve is a little bit of a throw back in his coaching and his philosophy.  But I like that.  He isn’t afraid to really challenge the children he works with, make it physically tough for them and ingrain a work ethic that will serve them well not only in their footballing career but also their life in general.

2. Parents putting too much pressure on their children

Steve has created a culture around his players and their parents, where they are supportive and not critical.  I asked Steve where we draw the between wanting to win, but also valuing the process of becoming the best goalkeeper they can be. This is very closely related to what we do.  We are all about children finding something they love, enjoying being active and finding a sport or activity that they can enjoy and continue through the rest of their lives.  But this needs to be balanced with challenge and failure.  We cannot wrap our children in cotton wool, they need to learn how to deal with failure, see it is a chance to improve and grow.  

But I agree with Steve, in that we must create fun environments where children are able to express themselves.

3. Xbox!

What was very clear is that Steve hates the Xbox!  His son is obsessed as he describes it and we can all think back to when we grew up, ‘the good old days’!  When they were not as prevalent in society.  But how can we use today’s technology to our advantage?  Xbox’s certainly aren’t going anywhere!

Please send us you suggestions. PLEASE?!