What Coaching Youth Soccer Taught Me About Running Better Businesses
Leadership, clarity, and systems, all from the sideline.
Every week, I coach youth soccer teams filled with energy, talent, and (let’s be honest) chaos.
And every week, I leave the field more convinced that what I’m learning on the pitch makes me better at running and advising businesses.
At Sonnett and Company, I help small businesses bring clarity to their operations, building the systems, roles, and rhythms that allow teams to perform at their best. And whether it’s 10-year-olds or tenured employees, the same principles show up again and again.
Here are just a few lessons I’ve brought from coaching youth soccer into business transformation:
Clear Roles Build Confidence
Kids play better when they know their position. Business teams work better when they know their role. In soccer, when everyone chases the ball, the team breaks down. In business, when roles are unclear, people step on each other, or drop the ball entirely.
Lesson: Define the space each person owns, and everything flows smoother.
The Game Needs Structure (But Not Micromanagement)
If I over-coach from the sideline, I disempower my players. If I give no structure, they get lost. The sweet spot is creating a framework, a system, that allows people to make decisions, take ownership, and adapt as the game evolves.
It’s the same in business: systems shouldn’t restrict people; they should free them to perform.
Repetition Builds Confidence, Then Execution
In soccer, we don’t just talk about passing, we run the same drill ten different ways. Because it’s not enough to understand the concept, you have to practice it until it becomes second nature.
In business, we often expect teams to execute after one meeting or one memo. But clarity comes through repetition, documentation, and reinforcement.
Don’t just launch a process, run it with them until they own it.
You Can’t Coach What You Don’t See
One of the most powerful things I do as a coach is watch what’s happening without stepping in right away. That pause gives me perspective, and helps me coach the real problem, not just the symptom. Same goes for business: if you’re always in the work, you can’t diagnose the system.
Sometimes, the best thing a leader can do is step back and observe.
The Team Culture Matters Just as Much as the System
You can have a great formation, a solid practice plan, and sharp uniforms, but if the players don’t trust each other, don’t believe in the goal, or don’t feel seen, they won’t play to their potential. In business, systems without trust won’t scale.
Team buy-in, culture, and alignment matter. And they need just as much intentional design as your CRM or workflows.
The Team Culture Matters Just as Much as the System
Coaching youth soccer has reminded me that every team, whether on the field or in the office, is made up of people who want to contribute, grow, and win together. Your job as a leader, coach, or consultant isn’t to have all the answers. It’s to create the clarity, structure, and environment that allows your team to perform at their best.
And whether I’m on the field or in a boardroom, that’s what I try to do every day.
Want to Build a Business That Runs Like a Well-Coached Team?
At Sonnett and Company, I help growing businesses bring clarity to their systems, align their teams, and build a culture of executional, with a little coaching mindset thrown in. Let’s talk about what’s holding your team back.