When Coaching Youth Soccer and as with any profession, there is a list of things that a soccer coach should always follow. You may say that some of these are just simple common sense, but they are not for sure common practice:
1. Don’t make speeches. This is particulary important if you coach young players and have the habit of making long lectures during your training sessions. This as nothing to do with your players age group. When it comes to making speeches and giving instructions, make it short and sweet.
2. Don’t complicate things. If you’re demonstrating an exercise, try to break it down to its basics. Complicated things never work and this is not different. It’s really easy for the kids to lose interest and attention when a coach tries to implement and demonstrate drills with lots of diagrams and instructions.
3. Don’t be a ball boy- during a soccer practice ball will be travelling all over the field. Leave them alone! Doing that can dangerously unbalance the player-coach equation. If a player shoots a ball out of bounds, make them go get it.
4. Do you have kids helping with getting the balls? If that’s the case, don’t let them join the training session. This simply signals a laxity in discipline- ball boys are just there to get the ball. Some of these kids may want to join your drills. Let them know that they can join if they want to make part of the team in the future.
5. Never, ever criticize the player. Never blame a player for missing a goal or a shot. Point out the flaws in their technique or skill and do that calmly. Screaming at a player for being ’stupid’ is a great way to make them want to leave your team.
6. While Coaching Youth Soccer, explain it clearly and as briefly as possible. After that it’s time to show the kids how it’s done. They will understand it if you do it properly. Conversely, don’t try and demonstrate something that you can’t do.
7. Health and safety should always be foremost in a coach’s mind. This means making sure that the ground and the equipment are in good shape before your soccer training session starts. Remember that if a kid sprains his ankle because the ground was slippery, then it’s technically your fault.
8. Don’t leave the parents out in the dark. It’s important that you interact with your player’s parents in a way that they feel integrated and well informed of what it’s happening. Parents are a powerful ally when it comes to keep your coaching activities running smoothly.
When Coaching Youth Soccer, these are important aspects that every coach should consider. If you’re a youth soccer coach and you’d like to learn how to dramatically improve your players’ skills and make training more fun in record time visit us right now at SoccerDrillsTips . com.
About The Author:
Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching. If you want to learn how to explode your players’ skills and make practice more fun and interesting, get your free Soccer Coaching guide at http://www.soccerdrillstips.com – Coaching Youth Soccer Drills
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