What to Do When Your Coach Doesn’t Think You’re Ready For the Next Level

When you have big goals, it’s only natural to envision a pathway towards achieving them. That’s why high-level athletes tend to create their own, idealized trajectories for how their athletic careers will play out. A soccer player, for example, might have a clear picture of their path to the World Cup roster by the time they’re 20.

One of the things we’ve learned is our idealized path rarely works out just as we envisioned it would. There are twists and turns with obstacles that need to be overcome. One that is fairly common is you seeing yourself as ready for the next step while your coach and your club’s technical director disagree. Sometimes this is moving to the MLS academy or moving up an age level.

While our advice for our mentee’s is always tailored to their specific situation, here’s a general idea of how we’d recommend approaching this scenario.

Listen to What They Have to Say

If they don’t think you’re ready, it’s ok to ask them why they don’t think you are – just do it politely. Often, they will have a valid reason or two and that feedback is invaluable.

For example: maybe they know, while you’re good enough to be on the MLS academy roster, their MLS team has a player in your position that they are grooming for the first team and you’ll only play an auxiliary role on that team. Or the physicality of the age group above yours is going to be a harsh adjustment and you need to increase your athleticism before you make the jump.

While they will always think of the club first, it's best to assume that they have your best interests at heart – if you think they don’t, it might not be the best club for you.

Know What You’re Getting Into

It’s important to remember that when you are moving up a level, the competition is higher and you have to work harder. It’s common for players to have an intense focus on working to get to the next level (moving up a team, getting to college ball, getting a professional contract) and they let off the gas when they get there as they accomplished their goal.

Understanding that moving up a level coincides with moving up your work rate ensures that the transition to the next level will be smooth and you won’t be overwhelmed.

Look at Your Long-Term Goals in Soccer

It’s extremely hard, but it’s nevertheless important to look at your current situation objectively and how it plays into your long-term goals.

If you are in a good situation: you have a good coach, you are developing as a player, you like your team overall – is being on this team holding you back from your long-term goals? If it is, what aspect is holding you back?

Often, the argument is the higher team plays better competition and development will increase more quickly. Or, you are not getting the visibility you need to get recruited to play in college. Both of those can be true.

But it can be the case that there’s more room to grow at your level. You can up your individual training on your own, which will often accelerate your development more than team practice does. Or you can focus individually on your own college pathway rather than leaning on the club to handle it for you. 

At the end of the day, it’s your journey and you have to determine the best way to navigate the obstacles on your path.

Don’t Burn Bridges in Soccer

If you go through it all and decide that you are ready for that next step, make sure to leave your coach and technical director without a sour taste in their mouths. While the United States is a massive country, the soccer community is still pretty small – and the higher the level, the smaller it gets.

Just as players move clubs, coaches and directors do too. They move up to professional academies, to college jobs, or laterally too. You never know if they’ll be able to help you in a year or two.

At Beyond Goals Mentoring, we know how hard it can be to navigate your path towards your goals. That’s why we’re dedicated to preparing young athletes for these make-or-break moments by teaching them how to stay relaxed and focused under tremendous pressure. As former pros, we know what coaches want to see in new recruits, and we can help you develop the mental and physical tools to meet these intimidating standards.

Let’s set up a mentoring session today and start a building a comprehensive plan for your athlete’s next try-out session.