Coach Youth Soccer: 5 Things You Must Know
February 13th, 2010 by author
Ever wondered how difficult it may seem to coach youth soccer team? In fact, it’s much easy if you’ve got the right mind-set, the skill to tackle kids, and some practical tips.
It is always logical and best to start with the basics. During this stage, the kids are offered with the opportunity to enjoy thoroughly, thereby developing a professional attitude. Besides, a clear understanding of the basics has the advantage of instilling more confidence in the players.
On the road to teach youth soccer, to do nothing is the first step. Observe the kids very closely while just letting them be. Don’t make huge efforts to systematize things or train too much. This allows kids to have a lot of fun which is vital to the game.
Give them indispensable feedback to help them improve their performance. But make sure these feedbacks are given after and not through the session. Because they are only kids, you must consider it and communicate with them in their language.
Kid’s parents show a lot of concern in their advancement. It is therefore helpful in involving them early on. This is the best way to ensure that kids don’t lose their interest in the game when they are not in the field. It is important for you to confirm accurate understanding and handling of kid’s questions.
Please see that all available communication methods are utilized. For example: personal meetings, email, and telephone are adequate and efficient methods of communication. But be careful! See that you or the kid’s parents don’t instruct them while they are on field. Besides, make it a point not to give negative feedback to any young player in the presence of everyone.
To coach youth soccer successfully, one must communicate regularly with the fellow trainers. Every one has unique experiences of their own and sharing them with each other opens new doors to communication and ideas.
Plan your drills ahead of time. So it basically requires you to do all preparations well ahead of time. Sometimes coaches take an easy approach thinking they are dealing with kids. It’s not right. Expert coaching and respect for budding players is no less relevant as is in case of soccer as a sport.
Make the kids do drills that are enjoyable and yet teach them the basics of soccer. At times, it is also advisable to take them out on excursions and small picnics. Provide sufficient time to kids so that they can communicate their feelings and thoughts with each other. This develops a sense of team spirit and camaraderie between them.
While teaching soccer, talk to kids about the need and importance of discipline in soccer. It is vital that they understand in the beginning itself about the good practices in soccer.
To end the discussion, teach the kids how they can enjoy soccer to the fullest. Take these tips to your team and you will be amazed by the results.
To get additional tips to coach youth soccer, you can take subscription of our youth soccer coaching community. Here you will find several resources on coaching youth soccer as well as a strong and helpful coaching community.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Andre Botelho is a recognized expert in youth soccer coaching. He influences well over 35,000 youth coaches each year with his unique coaching philosophy, and makes it really easy to explode your players' skills and make training more fun in record time. To download your free youth soccer coaching guide visit: Coach youth soccer.
