Managing Children vs. Managing Adults: Lessons from the Football Field

Welcome back to my journey, where consecutive day 1623 has brought forth some interesting reflections on the management of children versus adults. Today, I had an experience during an under-14s football match that provided me with valuable insights into this very topic.

To Set the Scene

We're at an away game for our under-14 team, and as often happens in Colts football in the UK, the home team appointed the referee. My role, as the assistant coach, involves supporting the head coach while observing the dynamics on the field. The game started well—we were 1-0 up at half-time and soon extended our lead to 2-0. However, things took a turn for the worse.

The Unexpected Twist

Just when we thought we had victory in our grasp, a series of unfortunate events threw us off balance. A messy goal conceded from a corner pulled the scoreline to 2-1. Then, what should’ve been a minimal amount of injury time stretched to an unexpected four minutes, allowing the opposing team to net an equaliser.

This ended in a draw, frustratingly so, as we felt the additional injury time shouldn't have existed. The referee's decisions and the mistakes from our players had left us pondering over a game that slipped through our fingers.

The Post-Match Debrief

Post-match, our head coach tried to boost the team's morale, focusing on the fact that we felt hard done by due to the extended injury time. While I agree with giving the kids encouragement, I felt a compelling need to address the truth behind our mistakes.

The goalkeeper's hesitation and a defender's miskick gifted the opponent their equaliser. These are the areas we needed to improve on, and I didn't want these points to be ignored. Encouragement, after all, is crucial, but so is constructive feedback.

Managing Children vs. Managing Adults

This brings me to the crux of today's reflection—should managing children be different from managing adults?

Encouragement and Truth

Yes, encouragement is vitally important when dealing with kids. Their minds are still developing, and every experience shapes their resilience and outlook. But I firmly believe that we shouldn’t shy away from telling them the truth. Kids need to understand their mistakes to avoid repeating them.

Confidence Over Tentativeness

I carefully explained to the team that making a decisive, confident mistake is better than making an error due to hesitation. For example, if our goalkeeper confidently came out to claim a ball but missed, it would be more forgivable than what actually happened—a hesitant approach that let the opponent nip through for an easy goal.

Balancing the Approach

With adults, you can generally afford to be a bit tougher. Their minds are more resilient and capable of bouncing back from criticism quicker. Children, on the other hand, require a balance of encouragement with truthful, constructive feedback to aid their growth.

Learning from Football

Today’s game provided a wealth of learning opportunities. While managing kids and adults share similarities, the approach needs tweaking based on the development stage of their mind. Providing kids with both encouragement and necessary home truths fosters their growth in skill and mental resilience.

Final Thoughts

Was today’s analysis useful? It certainly helped me dissect a frustrating match and provided fodder for thought on management techniques. If you have any questions or comments, please drop me a line, and I’ll respond to everyone.

Remember, if you believe in my mission of saving children’s lives through the ultimate ultramarathon of run vlogging on consecutive days—covering the distance of a lap around the world, barefoot—please consider subscribing, sharing, liking, or commenting on this blog. The more people we reach, the more funds we raise, and the more children's lives we save.

Thank you, as always. Stay positive, stay happy, and I’ll see you again tomorrow.