Shall I ask you a straightforward 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 attention should always be making the exercises exciting so that the players have fun all the time.
So, to teach youth soccer, keep in mind the following three tips. These will allow you to guide the kids to become advanced players.
Make the kids enjoy the game: As we talked about it earlier, having fun and enjoyment is the key to youth soccer. As a coach, design each of the sessions ahead of time. For example, make them start with warm-up drills that prepare them for the sessions. Once completed, make the kids move to more advanced drills, for example, passing dribbling, and controlling the ball.
In addition, help the kids do some creative thinking on their own. 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. The support of the parents is also extremely crucial in achieving the fun objective.
To coach youth soccer, it is vital because the players are more at home than on the field. Request the parents to help you in monitoring their diet, motivate the kids, and maintain regularity in trainings.
Condition yourself to the age level: Teaching soccer to the young players is generally between the age of 7 and 14. At this stage, it is difficult to come up with drills that engage their attention. So, research a lot over what games you would like them to play. 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 makes sense to split the group into two and name them differently. This instills brotherhood. Also, do not experiment a lot. 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 makes the efforts of the team worthwhile. A documented plan goes a long way in measuring the progress of the players. If something needs a change, written plan will assist you in assessing it.
And then, it is super-easy to measure your goals. It is obvious that some things will not work out as you expected and you can always get back.
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.
Test them right way. These tips on coach youth soccer are sure to bring positive results for your team. 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.
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.