Let me present a real simple way to keep in mind some of the important soccer coaching factors that are needed in building the team philosophy and getting along with it. Applying this philosophy to your youth team can be very easy, easier than you can think.
These are 6 elements; parents, coaches, excitement, selection, time, and success windows that are needed for a successful youth coaching philosophy.
Communicating with Parents regularly: Parental influence is the key factor for soccer training which is essential in the mental and physical growth of your players, particularly on the day of the match. A brochure of the “parental responsibilities” at the beginning of the season is not enough. Meetings with the parents should be set to discuss the concerns and reminding them the important points.
New soccer coaches: An important part of the philosophy is that you should not only concentrate on development of the players, but also the coaches. The kid’s parents can also be considered for soccer coaching. They would be the best candidates, not required in the beginning, but might be an option for the future.
Selection: The greatest reason for players with great soccer skills to lose interest is non-selection. Studies show that players would rather get selected for a bad team out of the fear of getting rejected for a good team. Hence, a fair selection system should be used so that all the players are given equal game time.
Time: Start the session on time and tell the parents to be on time as well. When the start times and finish times are clearly defined, you can execute the session very well.
Excitement: Is it necessary that every soccer coaching session should be fun? You must definitely try to make each session a delight for the kids but then, its not possible all the time. As such, adopt excitement as an alternate.
When you train the kids, it is perfectly natural that coaches have problems coming up with different ideas on how to make sessions fun. Hence, the biggest challenge is to be so good with your thinking that you can come up with several great ideas to make drills fun for kids.
In soccer drills, it makes sense to keep escalating the difficulty aspect so that kids get skilled. The best way of doing this is to get started with a game, look for a problem, and then rectify it with a drill.
Success windows: Make success windows a part of a season for every training session. This necessitates for you to determine a lower limit and an upper limit of time with a view to measure the level of success that needs to be achieved.
As an example, time frame of minimum four and maximum eight weeks. This can be worked out for both the team and individual members.
Favor yourself and have a soccer coaching philosophy like this become a part of the development phase of your kid’s training once the basics have been covered. To get the most out of your soccer coaching skills, join our youth soccer coaching community where you will find the best resources, tips, and tricks 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.