Coach Ken Soccer

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14 Lessons from Soccer
Today we ended one of our best spring break camps in our over 20 years of coaching. As I thankfully considered God’s blessings and mercies over the years, I was reminded of a few things. Let me share 14 of them:
1. Don’t despise small beginnings. I started Coach Ken Soccer from scratch 17 years ago. No investment capital, no official sponsor or helper. Just faith in God and support from my wife and those who appreciated the work they saw me do over the 6.5 years I worked for another soccer coaching company. God’s people must learn to be content with small beginnings: “For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. “These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.”” (Zechariah 4:10 ESV).

In my experience, get rich quick expectations and schemes are one cause of Africa’s poverty. Africans saw colonialists come and take whatever they could just because they could and have continued with the same wickedness. African leaders on all mountains of influence have made it official policy to steal as much as they can while they can. Africa cannot rise up unless and until we get rid of this mentality and practice. We should go back to the meritocracy-based African system as described in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart where anyone could rise if they worked hard. Achebe quotes the Igbo proverb on meritocracy: “if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings.” (8).

Meritocracy is disappearing in Africa as political, financial, social, religious etc. dynasties that are beholden to colonial and imperial powers tighten their grip on Africa, for satan. Meritocracy is disappearing as the satanic system takes away every opportunity for our young people to succeed through hard work and not connections and corruption. This is what I was addressing under the Mũanake (child take) concept. Our people will never rise up unless and until they understand and restore this concept. Our people will not rise till they understand what their forefathers understood: anything righteous and worthwhile takes time to build.

Witches, sorcerers, diviners, conmen and gamblers are thriving in Africa because our people want short cuts, and they hate anyone who tells them otherwise. Even worse, many partner with satanic agents or build on satanic investments, not knowing satan will come to collect his share at some appointed time.

Nothing is free. Build righteously and patiently, treating and paying God’s people well, and what you build will be God’s blessings that are not followed by sorrow (Proverbs 11:29).

2. Experience helps develop competence. The 6.5 years working for another company became the good foundation for my own. One of the best things that happened to me is that my former coaching company kept me in an assistant coach position longer than other coaches. Though it seemed unfair then, I later realized that this elongated training period under one of their best coaches became the best foundation they could give me. Everything works out for the good of God’s people (Romans 8:28). This leads to the next lesson.

3. Leaders are developed by elders. You will not get far without listening to the wisdom of those who have already gained much experience and succeeded in what you do. There are things you cannot learn in school. To date, I consider the biggest opportunity I missed to be not spending more time learning from my grandfather. After years in graduate school, I have learnt my grandfather knew things that top scholars in disciplines like philosophy and spiritual development do not even know as well as he did! Yet my younger self thought I knew much because I had a degree certificate and he didn’t! We must teach our children to respect and learn from their elders if Africa hopes to rise.

4. Competence is better than competition. Spend time developing your competence in your field and you will not have to worry about competition. Go to school and get the necessary qualifications for what you want to do. Do your diligent study. Learn from those more experienced than you even if it is to learn what not to do. But whatever you do, do not fail to take advantage of learning from every situation and person you can learn from. The best will always come first, even without trying to compete with others.

5. You do not have to worry about commercial success if you provide a product or service that the community needs. The needs of the community should guide your product and service development. Apple’s Steve Jobs succeeded because he understood this.

6. Build sustainable systems of sustaining and improving whatever product or service you offer.

7. Build a community of delivering your product or service. The consumer community will find you.

8. Current customers are your best advertisement. Five words like “it’s a good program” by a current customer is more powerful and efficient advertising than paid adverts or long essays—like this one 😂.

9. It only gets better. We start coaching kids at 3.5 year olds and sometimes parents will sneak in a kid who is not even 3.5 years old. I have all our coaches do at least one class for that age group each week because it’s great training for several reasons.

First it teaches them the kids can only get better. Likewise, any new thing you start can only get better if you stay on it. Consistency is the key to success.

10. The second reason is that if the kids are not getting better, it’s more about you, the coach, than about the kids. You have to ask yourself what you’re not doing right: like communicating with them at their level. Engaging them as a group and as individuals, or keeping it fun.

11. The third reason is that it keeps you humble. All of our coaches are qualified to coach higher levels. But they chose to coach beginner’s level, like me. Nothing humbles you more than having to teach little kids. It challenges you and actually starts transforming you to be more like them in your attitude, which is exactly what God wants: “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,” (Matthew‬ ‭18‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬).

12. Godly leadership is servant leadership: “But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew‬ ‭20‬:‭25‬-‭28‬ ‭ESV‬‬).

We will continue suffering until the day we learn that the leader is supposed to carry the people, not to be carried by the people. We will continue suffering until we learn the leader is ultimately responsible for every mistake that is done under his leadership, even by others he taught to do the right thing. I have had to learn this first hand. Nothing has taught me why Jesus had to die in our place than every time I have had to take the ultimate responsibility for every mistake made at the company.

13. When you’ve done your best, you can confidently leave the rest to God, which is also a lesson in spiritual warfare: “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” (Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬).

14. As Angela Duckworth’s book Grit shows, grit (passion and perseverance driven by determination to succeed against all odds) will get you further than talent. Today at camp, these 4 young men decided to stay and learn when everybody else took shelter due to rain.

Do not be deceived: you have to put in the necessary extra work to be the best. Elders must help the youth learn this. We are not giving our children opportunity to survive in future and without us if we don’t teach them the value of hard work.
https://youtube.com/shorts/12cfHPZsEnM?si=Irp40IArrom28Iqe

God bless you!

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Welcome to Coach Ken Soccer! – Local to Global Welcome to Coach Ken Soccer! REGISTER HERE FOR CAMPS REGISTER HERE FOR CLASSES REGISTER HERE FOR INDOOR SOCCER Coach Ken is recognized for both his teaching ability and the joy he brings to the youth soccer experience. Thousands of young players and their families have enjoyed and benefited from Coa...