Sarah Lowdon: The vital role of the assistant coach

The Dash has since hired retired player Alex Singer as general manager and brought in former OL Reign assistant Sam Laity as permanent head coach.

Lowdon signed a new contract in January and is currently in 2023 pre-season, taking all that she learned in her head coach stint to make her a more effective assistant.

“I learned so many lessons,” Lowdon says when asked what her time in charge of the Dash taught her.

“I have a lot more empathy for the head coach than I have probably ever had. I think empathy is crucial in the generation now that we’re coaching in and the society we live in. 

“The second thing is I understand now why things are delegated - why I have to get this done, why I have to get that done. 

“It’s not because the head coach is not doing anything. It’s because they have a multitude of other things they are getting done and getting pulled into.”

 

‘YOU ARE ALWAYS GOING TO HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE UNHAPPY’ – Three KEY things Sarah learned as an Acting head coach  1. You can’t keep everyone happy “As an assistant, you are liked by the players and you can throw your opinion out all day. But when you become a head coach it’s different - you are making decisions which affect everybody. “I wore a lot of everybody else’s feelings, trying to keep everybody happy at the beginning. You learn you can’t. You are always going to have people that are unhappy, that is part of it.”   2.  A head coach wears a lot of hats “I had no idea what a head coach has to do. Between all the media calls, the individual player meetings, having to plan and decide how you are going to have hard conversations. “As a head coach, you’re always dealing with conflict and your job is to deescalate it. That’s what you don’t learn in coaching school, the man management side.”   3.  It’s more than managing players “You understand you’re going to have to manage 26 to 29 players, but I never realized you’ve got to manage the medical department, the strength and conditioning department, and the equipment manager department.   “You’ve got 20 staff members you’re having to manage.”

 

These learnings have given her a better understanding of what the role of an assistant really is.

Were Lowdon to write a job description for an assistant coach now, what would the ‘purpose of the role’ section read?

“To take as much off the head coach’s plate as possible and make their life a lot easier,” she says. “But also be the bridge between the head coach and players.”

Under ‘skills required’, she would include being a good communicator.

Lowdon added: “I think you have to be able to pick and choose your moments when you are giving information to the head coach or the players. It’s very important.”

How you handle players is also a top requirement, says the Dash coach.

“For example, if a player is not getting the playing time they think they deserve, reframe and reposition that player in a way that doesn’t undermine the head coach and also helps the player be better,” she explains. “It helps not just the individual player, but also the team as a collective.”

In terms of tasks, Lowdon gives an insight into what her days look like at the Dash. 

“In general, my job is to help plan training,” she says. “It would then be to support the head coach and lead in specific areas of training.

 

“If one assistant is leading an activity, I try not to step on their toes by jumping in...”

“From there, it would be organizing not just the planning of training, but what it looks like with the head coach. So if we have four activities, my role, for example, might be a supporting one in activity two. But then it could also be organizing the teams.

“We have functional unit groups that we work with, whether that is the forwards, midfielders or defenders. Within that are the individual development plans of each player.

“[It is also] having conversations with players to make sure they are okay on and off the field and answer any questions they have. 

“Again, being that bridge for the head coach is massive in the club. Sometimes it’s just being a listening ear for a lot of people.”

At the Dash, Lowdon works alongside a number of other technical staff, including goalkeeper coach Matt Lampson, who joined the club at a similar time to her.

For Lowdon, building and maintaining strong relationships with colleagues is vital.

“It is key to be aligned, to have the same type of messaging,” she said. “For example, if one assistant is leading an activity and I’m supporting them, I’m trying not to step on their toes by jumping in to coach the session when it’s their activity. 

“I’m maybe in their ear, giving them a bit of feedback. But you all have to be aligned with the head coach. 

“If my role is set pieces – I have attacking set pieces and the goalkeeping coach has defensive set pieces – then maybe the other assistant coach’s role is more geared towards individual development. 

“That relationship between the two assistants is key. And you have to have different strengths.

“As a general manager or a head coach, you want to bring people in that support your blind spots.

“That’s one of the things between the two assistants - figuring out what the weaknesses and strengths are of each assistant coach and putting them in their strength zones.”

For Lowdon, so much of this stems from what she deems her word of 2023: clarity. But how do you get clarity?

“Ask as many questions as you can to the head coach, early,” she advises. “In order to get clarity, you have to ask questions.

“As a head coach, you also have to set structures and have a lot of clarity within your principles of play, your game model or your tactical intentions. Whatever it is, there has to be a lot of clarity so your staff are all on the same page. 

“But if you don’t know as an assistant, you need to ask. The last thing I want to do as an assistant is create confusion to the player.”

Alongside asking questions comes challenging ideas. Lowdon referenced assistant coaches having a lot of opinions – and there is a place for those to be heard.

 

“The environment I’m in now, where the head coach wants to be challenged, is great...”

“When you’re in coaching meetings and technical staff meetings, that’s the place to challenge”, she says.

“The environment that I’m in right now, an environment where the head coach wants to be challenged, I think is great. 

“It doesn’t mean that they’re going to go with what you say, but it’s important to have the challenge. You don’t want ‘yes people’ on your staff.

“But again, once you leave that room, even if you disagree, you’ve got to be aligned with the head coach, no matter what. 

“That’s where the reframing and repositioning comes in with the players. You can challenge in private, but when you step out that door, you have to be aligned.”

It’s sage advice from someone that has insight from both the hotseat and the seat adjacent to it. But what seat does Lowdon see herself in long term?

Like all of her career decisions to date, that will all depend on her gut and her values.

“The head coaching track and the assistant track are two very different tracks. But it’s not right or wrong. If I worked for the right person, I could be a lifetime assistant.

“If my values – family, growth, and enjoying where I work – align with where I’m working, then it doesn’t matter what title I have, as long as I’m able to have an influence, and am growing and learning where I am.”

Networking and aN IDEAS database - MY TIPS for aspiring assistants “Networking is super underrated - I don’t think we do it enough.  “Fringe networking should be a way of life. You don’t network because you need someone or something. You network because it’s a way of life.  “Experiences and skills aren’t always enough to get you up the ladder.  “Networking is the one thing you can rely on to help, because you might know someone who knows someone who is looking for an assistant. The networking piece is crucial.  “When you network, you get to speak to people from all walks of life, with different experiences, and you can pick their brain. “The other thing I have is a database of stuff I’ve stored from anyone and everything I have found on social media that I like. “If I need to go back and look at how to defend against an expansive back four with one holding midfielder, I can go back through the database and find ideas from how people have done it in the past with other teams.”