Coaching High School Soccer

Even though I’m not very sure about how you work, I’d still like to discuss some simple yet effective teaching techniques in coaching soccer drills before you start your practice sessions. Let’s say that the soccer practice has one broad goal for both the coach and the player and it is to have fun while participating in the practice sessions.

At this point, it’s important to stay alert or else you’ll get distracted by other things. For this reason, I suggest that your goals should be as precise as possible both for your own good and for the good of your team. For instance; constantly remind the players to remain physically fit, develop them into sporting players with a positive attitude towards the game, and concentrating on skills unique to them.

When it comes to sportsmanship, the onus lies on you to set a high standard for the players. Promote the feeling of sportsmanship, team spirit, and fair play amongst team members. However, in teaching soccer, you can have numerous other objectives that you can add to those mentioned above.

In coaching youth soccer, winning is also an important concept that should be paid due attention. During the training sessions, introduce the open concept of winning and try to place it in their minds. Make it clear to the players that it is the level of their performance that makes them a winner no matter what the final decision is.

Soccer Coaching

The players as a result will feel totally relaxed but much more responsible to play the game sensibly with the team’s objectives in their mind.

It’s important that your instructions during coaching soccer drills are to the point and exact for players to fetch expected results. There are some clear dos and don’ts in soccer on which the players must be taught before you go ahead with your coaching sessions. The difference in coaching and teaching is that the former is done with a group of players who are already familiar with the basic skills and concepts of the game.

In coaching drills, it is great idea to first demonstrate to the kids about 5 to 6 times a specific drill and then let it di it themselves. It is due to the fact that kids grasp visualizations more effectively than simple instructions. If you endeavor to explain in instructions, they will not understand it. Rather they are pretty good at imitation.

So, as a general rule, demonstrate the skills yourself whenever possible.

In the end, but still important is to keep the kids involved in several activities. This holds even bigger importance when the weather is not conducive to a regular session. It is very well acknowledged that the kids find it enjoyable to play in the rain. Therefore, in place of cancelling the training session, rearrange it in a way that the players make the most of their energy and time.

Ensure that in situations like these, the kids are wearing proper soccer gear as well as additional protection.

Now, it is time to add these tips to your training program and make the most of them. You’ll be amazed to see the results.

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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: Coaching soccer drills.

You may know this already that in coaching soccer drills, every other skill leads to one final aim, a shot at the goal. It takes both skill and instinct to develop the art of good shooting. But apart from this, there is something else that is equally important and that is forceful attitude.

Even though, all players must do this but it is more onto the forward players to shoot the ball. When teaching soccer, shooting should be at the top of your list.

There are so many things that may be a consequence of shooting. Shots can be directed towards a goal. The goalkeeper might drop the ball exactly at the feet of your forward player. Directionless shots can become beautiful passes. Ground shots may return. A goal might result out of a straight shot.

When in soccer practice, attacking players are always looking for a chance to shoot the ball right into the goal. They are made to think in a way that they always have goal scoring on their mind. These attacking players are known as sniffers in England. This is because they are always sniffing out scoring chances.

Soccer Coaching

They take every shot as if it was the last chance to score a goal. They are always present at the right time at the right place. They have the skills to even convert negative situations into positive ones. So in coaching soccer drills encourage your players to shoot the ball whenever possible.

As a general rule, any kick that causes the ball to go towards the goal is considered as a shot. One of the most effective techniques of driving the ball is through its middle with the help of laces of the foot. While performing this, head of the player should be over the ball, his upper body be steady, and his toes should be extended.

During the coaching drills, teach the players to shoot the ball low and wide of the goalie. Here, low ground shots are preferred over high shots. This is because goalies find it difficult to stop the ground shots as they have to stretch their hands relatively more.

When kids practice inside the regulation sized goals, they are likely to score more by striking the ball above the goalie’s head. You must discourage your players to do this as it instills the habit of shooting high goals. In coaching soccer drills, stop this practice by not letting your players to practice in adult sized goals.

So go ahead and make your players expert in shooting the ball to score goals by confirming the position of the goalkeeper once before shooting.

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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: Youth Soccer Drills.

You’ll more that agree with me that when it comes to coaching soccer drills, the toughest part is where the most suitable mode of organizing the player’s conditioning schedules is to be decided upon. The reason I say this is because in the last few years, the fine line between coaching and educating has gradually dissolved.

Regrettably, many coaches still don’t understand that when teaching soccer, drawing a coaching plan based on the player’s needs is of paramount importance. They should make an effort to develop them professionally together with educating them on the game. Many a times, this educational characteristic of soccer gets totally neglected in almost all scenarios.

Still, we must not forget one theory on which the coaching drills for the layers should be based. Any young player must first endeavor to grow as an individual and only after that he can become the best and a high ranking soccer player. A coach should therefore act according to the above principle.

What motivates a player to take on the role of a coach is very simple to work out.
It’s the feeling to stay with the game in either ways after he has stopped playing for the team. This is what makes some successful players take a plunge and become kid’s coaches. However, what they don’t understand is the seriousness that this role requires.

Soccer Coaching

Some of them take this as an opportunity to get into the field of coaching and training adult players. Some look at this opportunity as a way to be able to share their passion for the game of soccer with the budding players. Both these reasons are valid and well accepted. But along with this, there are some ethical responsibilities as well that come hand in hand with being a coach.

In coaching soccer drills, the key factor is communication and sadly it’s the one that people find most difficult to recognize. It is not enough to have a great career history spanning many years of top rated success and achievements to qualify as a professional coach.

There are some very important goals that a youth soccer coach needs to set for himself. Being a competent and skillful coach requires helping young players to love soccer and consider it as a positive and an exciting experience in their lives. As a coach, make sure that during the soccer practice, players feel comfortable in openly expressing themselves by way of the game.

All players in the team vary in terms of strength, style, and individual skills unique to them. The fact that every single player in the team has the qualities and talents of a champion is not of much value. What is actually important is that each player ultimately reaches his own potential.

This needs to be understood that every soccer player, no matter how skilled, renowned, and competent he may be, is not capable of coaching young players. Working with kids must come naturally to him; an inherent gift to get in touch with their human side and emotional feelings.

Some food for thought; serious consideration of one’s real motivations should always be a precondition in this context.

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Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Learn how to skyrocket your players’ skills and make practice sessions fun in record time. Download your free ebook at: Soccer Drills.

I’m not sure if you know this but young players have real trouble in kicking the ball by using a straight leg? In coaching soccer drills, this is by far the biggest problem that a coach and the players face. The player keeps overall balance and the leg to be used to kick the ball is bent at the knee. Both power and stance to kick the ball emerges from below the knee.

In soccer practice, this is the opening pose for just about all types of kicks. The increase of rate of the foot from below the knee puts together a powerful blow on the ball. This provides the players with a lot of power to act upon a range of kicks. However, what type of a kick would it be is determined by the precise contact of the foot on the ball.

For example; it could be hit very high, driven low, swung over left, or lean towards right.

The three essential passes in soccer are a side foot pass, instep drive, and the outside of the foot pass. Let’s now discuss them some more.

Soccer Coaching

The side foot pass: In teaching soccer, this pass is considered as the most extensively used and the simplest. Normally, it is used to make short distance passes. Despite the fact that this is somewhat slow and predictable, it’s easy to learn and simple to execute. The ball makes a contact on the inside of the foot and ankle, and the foot is turned outward.

In coaching soccer drills, the players should be trained to keep their bodies relaxed all through the action. When it comes to different kicking actions, this rule is the truly indispensable. The ankle and the foot need to be stiffened only at the time when the players is about to get in contact with the ball.

Once the players become confident, their overall action should seem relaxed, smooth and effortless.

Outside of the foot pass: This is a little difficult to learn but is extremely important to master because it is accurate, quick, and cannot be predicted. A contact is made with the ball between the laces and outside edge of the foot with the foot extended and turned inward. The pass is then transformed into a quick throw for short distances by using the foot.

Throughout the coaching drills session, the posture of the players should be relaxed.

The Instep Drive: Both the lofted version and the low driven version of the instep drive are used to pass the ball over longer distances. There is also an option to adapt this style to make a “chip pass” or an “in swinging pass”. Because the approach of the instep drive is angled to some extent, the non kicking foot is positioned about 12 inches toward the side of and behind the ball.

The ball makes a contact with the laces and inside of the foot, which should be firm and extended.

So now coach your kids the various techniques of kicking the ball and with variations to let them do different things with the ball.

To know more about coaching soccer drills, subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community that offers effective and practical knowledge to help you excel in your career as a soccer coach.

Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. Learn  how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun by downloading your free ebook at: Soccer Training Drills.