Coach Youth Soccer – 3 Killer Tips
January 29, 2010 • Recreation and Sports
Let me ask you a simple question. To Coach youth soccer, what are the 3 things for the coach to do? Before you jump into answering this question, realize that youth soccer means that kids should enjoy the game. The focus should be on making drills and sessions so exciting that they are always full of enthusiasm.
So, to teach youth soccer, remember the following rules. These will instill the ability in the kids to become mature players.
Let the players have fun: As discussed, youth soccer translates into fun sessions for the players. As a coach, design each of the sessions ahead of time. As an example, ask them to do warm up drills before moving to the regular drills. Then move to advanced drills such as passing, dribbling, trapping the ball etc and so on.
Also, allow the kids to be creative in their approach. Encourage them to try new things and even of they are doing something wrongly, do not interrupt them. Chat about it after the end of the session. It is essential to take the parents into confidence if you wish to make the game enjoyable for the players.
To coach youth soccer, it is critical because the kids stay at home more than they are on the field. Ask for cooperation from the parents since it is crucial in keeping a check on their daily diet, regularity in sessions, and encouragement.
Adapt to the age level: Teaching soccer to the youth is generally for kids between 7-14 years of age. At this stage, it is difficult to come up with drills that engage their attention. Therefore, you must spend a considerable time researching on various drills that are appropriate for this age group. 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 pumps in a sense of belongingness. It is advised not to conduct a lot of trials too. The idea of a well-balanced session is to have both tried as well as new activities in it.
Write the exercises: It always pays to write the exercises on paper along with the results that you are expecting from them. It achieves a road-map for the efforts of the team. The documentation also helps you in evaluating the progress of the players. If something needs a change, written plan will assist you in assessing it.
You can determine your goals easily too. It is quite normal for some things to go awry and then, you can always check them.
It is correct to say that youth soccer coaching is a great job full of excitement and accountability. With this information at your disposal, you will without doubt be able to do full justice to your job.
Put this to test right away! These tips on coach youth soccer are guaranteed to bring you marvelous results. For more such tips on youth soccer, join our youth soccer coaching community where you will find many resources and like-minded individuals from the soccer community.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
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 training fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Coach Youth Soccer
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