What 12 Weeks of Coaching in Africa Has Taught Me
I’ve been coaching football in Malawi for 12 weeks now. I’ve adapted quickly and don’t miss soccer in Canada, not in the slightest. Moving to Malawi was the right decision for me and my coaching journey because I get to work with a caliber of player I could not have coached in Canada, as well as experience a culture and life I could not have imagined.
Some context for those unaware: I’ve never lived alone before, and only traveled alone for the first time in 2021 to get my UEFA C in Scotland. Otherwise, I’ve had my hand held by my parents when it comes to international travel.
So, inevitably, there was always going to be lots to learn as I am now living alone, in a different country, on the other side of the world.
I’m not going to talk about food, traveling, or other typical travel blogger BS. I’ve narrowed what I learned down to a few things that have had the most profound impact on me and my football:
- Language barriers are hard, keep it simple
- Ignorance is bliss — poverty, corruption and football opinions
- Kids are sneaky and push the boundaries — even when you live in a house full of them
- Unrivaled respect and dedication to the coach — most of the time
Language barriers are hard, keep it simple
I’ve said before that coaching points need to be quick and easy to understand. Ideally 30 seconds to one minute with small, simple words. Players, believe it or not, don’t actually like the sound of your voice as much as you do. My world fell apart when I learned that.
I cannot express how important the concept of simplicity is when working with players who do not speak English. So, any bad habits I had when giving coaching points are pretty much gone. I’ve had my fair share of monologues and hairdryer treatments on the pitch. Not very easy to do here, so communication must be different.
I have become a laptop coach. I use pictures, videos, myself — basically anything that isn’t something the players need to read or listen to, in order to express what I want. This has been done on the pitch, through weekly “tactical sessions” in a classroom with my u12 group, or a one on one sit down with a player I work with individually, like the goalkeepers and strikers.
I can confidently say that this has worked incredibly well and will be something I make intentional when working with all players, even ones who speak English fluently.
Ignorance is bliss — poverty, corruption and football opinions
The less I know the better. No one wants to see how the sausage is made, for lack of better phrasing.
The elephant in the room when I got here was poverty. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world.
Some of the players I’ve worked with have disclosed that, before academy life, they may have only eaten once per day.
It’s very hard to find football boots that fit the feet of our players because for the first 9–11 years of their lives, they walk barefoot. Their feet are so calloused and thick that boots don’t fit them, and the ones that do last less than three months because the boots are used and the players have very wide feet.
Malawians are short, some of the shortest in the world, not through genetics but because they don’t eat enough nutrient rich food from birth to six or seven years old. The player talent pool is now made smaller, literally.
In a way, I’m glad I know this and can share this with others who came from privileged backgrounds like me. In another way, it weighs heavy on my mind.
Corruption and football opinions go hand in hand. Match fixing is common practice. My U12s play in a U12 league where the opponent may field several 14 or 15 year old's. In one friendly before the league began, the opponent fielded what looked like a U16 team against U12s. Two of my players were taken off due to injury.
This isn’t just an issue for my U12s. All of the other academy teams have the same issue, even up to the U18s.
This also isn’t always an intentional issue. I’d say only 1/10 players know their actual birthday. Many children come from homes with several siblings and parental figures. Very few families actually keep track of player birth records.
Additionally, coaches will tell players to lie about their age to better their chances of being selected for a trial with us, the Malawian FA, or other clubs. So, no one really knows anyone's age, meaning that age cheating inevitable.
Seeing how corrupt just youth football is has inspired me to work even harder.
I prefer not to speak about senior football.
Poverty, corruption and football opinions are something I choose not to speak a lot about because it gets no one anywhere.
It does more harm than good to challenge status quo at the moment.
Kids are sneaky and push the boundaries — even when you live in a house full of them
I live with several of the academy players. At first it was great because I was new and excited, everyone wanted to be my friend. Now that I’m settled, the players are always trying to see what they can get away with.
I’m an authority figure, so I have to enforce the rules. Players are clever, they know if they strike a conversation with me at 8:58pm they might get away with not going to bed for their 9:00pm bedtime.
I have a little brother who is only 14 months younger than me. I’ve never lived with people half my age, nor have I had to enforce any sort of rules.
Food, money, boots, shorts, books, basically anything that isn’t nailed down will get stolen if allowed. It was surprising to me: “Why would they steal food? We feed them five times a day.” Then I realized that when I was 14 I was definitely stealing cookies or chicken when my Mum wasn’t looking. I was doing it before I left Canada!
Now imagine the excitement a player gets when they see more food than they’ve ever seen or eaten in their entire life stored in a fridge and closet.
I don’t have kids, but I feel like a parent at times. Discipling the children is hard because you spend so much time with them, on and off the pitch.
You try so hard to help them improve as footballers so they can achieve their dreams, only for them to go and take some peanut butter from younger players when no one is looking.
Unrivaled respect and dedication to the coach — most of the time
Other than disrespecting the rules, the players are delightful. After three weeks, my U12 players were bowing in front of me when I came back from evening training with the goalkeepers. It was strange, I thought it was a joke until I asked some of the staff what it meant.
It is one of the deepest signs of respect people can show you here in Malawi.
From that moment, I realized that these players will run through walls for me. I’ve always been lucky to have loyal players, but I’ve never seen 12 boys pledge their loyalty to me so quickly and so affectionately.
Their loyalty and undying devotion to the Herbert Philosophy (trademark pending) has rewarded them. Everything I ask them to do, they do. If they fail, they keep trying until they get it right and then they do what was asked until mastery, or until I say it was good enough (which is usually the same thing).
Kids in Canada were very hard to get through to. It would take literal months for players to resonate with what I wanted them to do. In addition to this, even at the “elite youth level” in Canada, some players just don’t care as much about soccer as my Malawian players.
It’s very common for “elite youth players” to play two sports, usually hockey, and have other interests, that soccer is put on the back burner despite Mom and Dad paying $5,000 a year for.
Here in Malawi these kids are mad for football, which definitely influences how much information they retain and their dedication to improvement. It’s a privilege to work with the best players in Malawi.
I’m happy with what Malawi has taught me so far. I’m sure I’ll learn more as the months and, hopefully years, go on.
Thanks for your time! If you like what you’ve read, consider following me on Medium.
If you want to support me and writers like me, consider paying for a Medium membership using my referral link: https://cameron-herbert.medium.com/membership
Your support will help pay for my growing coffee budget.
Follow me on Twitter for unhinged content: https://twitter.com/CamH___
