Eastern Washington University head women's soccer coach George Hageage was one of eight selected to take part in the Master Coach Diploma program by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
The one-year program will begin July 9 at Bloomsburg Academy in Bloomsburg, Pa. Hageage will be commuting back and forth between EWU and the Academy during the 2007 season.
The NSCAA Master Coach program is designed to meet the needs of modern coaching and, more specifically, addresses the skills required by the coach of American players.
The Master Coach program offers an opportunity to those who wish to develop a mastery of the profession of coaching over and above the 150 hours of field instruction presently available in the NSCAA National, Advanced National and Premier Diplomas, which Hageage had already received.
The coaches participating in the course are required to fulfill a certain number of hours in the following special topics: management, leadership, game promotion, fitness and nutrition, self-development and sports psychology.
Hageage looks to further his experiences in soccer by working with an assigned NSCAA staff member.
“This is a great opportunity to learn from some of the best in the country,” Hageage said. “This will bring new ideas to Eastern's program and make me a better coach.”
The NSCAA Master Coach program is designed with four major principles in mind:
• The evolution of the game of soccer in the U.S. has made it necessary for the role of the American coach to expand beyond simply field instruction. It has now become necessary for coaches to have a firm grasp in topics such as leadership, management, promotion and other areas of personal development.
As American coaches face the challenges of soccer's cultural disadvantages and competition with other countries increases, it is important to develop the coach as a “whole.”
• The American coach must be part of a support network. Other American sports have developed a system of constant input, advice, feedback and professional reinforcement from the culture as well as from the development of sophisticated staffing and professional networks.
Master Coach graduates will become part of the NSCAA network, which provides lifelong professional growth opportunities, and advice and support from the association.
• Soccer coaches must continually grow and improve. The Master Coach program offers a challenging and energizing continuing education component, which keeps its members on the cutting edge of professional development.
• The NSCAA recognizes that coaching education at the highest levels is dynamic and synergistic. The Master Coach program is oriented toward coaches who already have significant knowledge.
The NSCAA believes that the ideas and programs, which will emerge from the Master Coach participants, will make a major contribution to the coaching community as their experiences and philosophies become shaped and refined.
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