Permit me a straight question. To coach youth soccer, what 3 things can a coach do? Before you answer this question, it is important to know that youth soccer is all about letting the kids have fun. The concentration should be on turning the drills into enjoyable exercises so that the players get motivated.
So, to teach youth soccer, remember the following rules. These will give you the leverage to turn the young kids into expert players.
Let the kids have fun: As I said, youth soccer is all about having fun with the game. As a coach, prepare each of the sessions beforehand. To illustrate, engage the kids in warm-up exercises before making a move to the daily drills. Then move to advanced drills such as passing, dribbling, trapping the ball etc and so on.
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. Talk to them about it after the session. Parents need to be actively involved if the game has to be made enjoyable for the children.
To coach youth soccer, it is vital because the players are more at home than on the field. Seek the parent’s help in keeping a check on kid’s diet, inspiring the kids, and achieving regularity.
Get used to the age: Teaching soccer to young is usually between the age of 7 to 14. At this stage, it is difficult to come up with drills that engage their attention. Hence, spend a lot of time thinking about exercises that they would play and enjoy. And then, make sure that you communicate in a very casual manner and instruct them in simple terms.
It is a good idea to make two or more teams and giving them names. This instills brotherhood. It is recommended not to conduct a lot of experimentation also. The sign of a productive session is that there are both new and old drills.
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 anything requires to be changed, you can easily do so in a written documentation.
You can determine your goals easily too. It is natural that some things go wrong in which case, you can always retrace your steps.
It can be safely said that youth soccer is an enjoyable and ever changing job. However, with proper planning and these essential tips handy, you will succeed at it without a doubt.
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.