March 16, 2010
Shall I ask you a straightforward question? To coach youth soccer, what are the 3 things for the coach to do? Now, before you respond to this query, it is critical to understand that the meaning of youth soccer is that the kids entertain themselves. The spotlight should be on making the exercises exciting and enjoyable so that the kids always look forward to them.
So, to teach youth soccer, keep in mind the following three tips. These will give you the leverage to turn the young kids into expert players.
Allow the players to enjoy themselves: As mentioned earlier, youth soccer means to enjoy the game thoroughly. As a coach, make sure to regulate your sessions early enough. As an example, ask them to do warm up drills before moving to the regular drills. Once done, instruct them to go ahead with the advanced drills such as passing the ball, dribbling with it and trapping etc.
As an addition, motivate the players to think out of the box. Stimulate the kids to challenge themselves and if they fail, do not be harsh to them. Have a word with them after the session. The support of the parents is also extremely crucial in achieving the fun objective.
To coach youth soccer, this is crucial since the kids spend more time with their parents than on the field. Ask the parents to inspire the kids, keep a track of their diet, and be regular in their training sessions.
Condition yourself to the age level: Teaching soccer to the young players is generally between the age of 7 and 14. At this level, it is very painstaking to find drills that actually make the kids happy. Hence, spend a lot of time thinking about exercises that they would play and enjoy. In addition, it is important to keep the age of the kids in mind while conversing with them as they may not find it easy to understand your instructions if they are too complex.
It is a good idea to divide the group into teams and name them. This breeds the feeling of mutual respect. It is advised not to conduct a lot of trials too. The sign of a productive session is that there are both new and old drills.
Pen down the drills: It makes sense to pen down the exercises and also the objectives related to them. It helps in developing a strategy for the team. Recorded data is highly beneficial in depicting the performance of the players. When you have to revisit your plan, it is easy to do so when it is in a written form.
You can determine your goals easily too. It is perfectly usual for a few things to go wrong and in that case, you can always get back to the original plan.
It can be safely said that youth soccer is an enjoyable and ever changing job. With these handy tips and techniques, you can easily tackle the job.
Examine these tips immediately. These powerful techniques on coach youth soccer will make you successful and rope in great results. Subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community where there is a wealth of resources on youth soccer.
Andre Botelho is the author of “The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide” and he’s a recognized expert in the subject of youth soccer coaching. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make coaching sessions fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Soccer Coaching Drills.
