I avoid coaching indoor soccer and my son is very OK with that. In his words "Dad, you're the kind of guy who is a good coach for teams that practice and have games and that kind of stuff. Indoor is not for you".
The real reason I avoid it is that I have been involved with our club for a long time. The last two times I had house league teams (always random) we did very well, so the conspiracy theories begin. So I park my rear-end on the parents' side and enjoy myself.
It's a once/week co-ed affair with games only. The kids really enjoy it and I love that my sons enjoy playing it. The club called last week to say one of the hired help will coach this team and my son then told me that now it's OK for me to coach. He's very nice to me that way :)
We had our second game tonight. It's 9v9 on half field, with 6'x18' goals. Our last facility had boards around the field, so it's a switch this year.
Our team has nice kids on it and they actually try to play with ideas. With the removal of the boards the players have to be concerned with putting the ball out of play so they work harder to control it. For me, it's even playing time, revolving positions and not intense.
For the players, it's competition with a score clock, so it's all out... but civilized.
The only time they hear my "coaching" voice it's to remind players to get back when we don't have the ball. Other than that, I try to cheer as much as I can with the occasional funny guy moment. They know how I am now and are not afraid to ask if they can try certain positions. And they ask about all of them, not just striker/forward. I admire that.
Officially, I don't coach as much as I facilitate their recreation ... but I will admit to having them playing 2-3 touch soccer and moving the ball around quickly. It's not pretty, but their eyes are going up, the ball is moving and everybody is involved. We are set up as 3-3-2 to make it simple and we've given 8 of the 15 players a chance to be our centre midfielder, so far.
You didn't really think I wasn't going to "coach", even if quietly. ;)
The house league coaches job is to foster a life-long love for the game and keep the environment enjoyable.
This league is great. It's pure fun for the kids and loose for 99% of the parents (you still get the occasional nut). A lot of players get to play with their friends for the first time since U6 (separated by travel and house league during the summer) and it creates a lot of very good individual moments for every player there. Coaches are casual with each other and the referee, and that sets the tone for everybody.
Travel leagues look to raise the level of each player and hopefully harvest some of Canada's future. League like this Wednesday night U14 co-ed indoor league will foster a player's passion to keep playing well into adulthood and adopt a healthy lifestyle.