Let me show you a neat way to remember a few vital soccer coaching factors that are instrumental in ascertaining your team’s philosophy and fulfilling it. Using this philosophy for your youth team can be very practical; and simpler than you may 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. “Parental responsibilities”, the brochure supplied when the term starts is not sufficient. Arrange for regular meetings with them so that the key points can be repeated and concerns shared.
Future soccer coaches: A vital part of your philosophy should not just focus on developing the players, but also the coaches. Try and see if you can make one of your kid’s parents to become a soccer coach? They are the ideal candidates, not necessarily to start immediately, but may be in the future.
Selection: One of the biggest reasons why players with great soccer skills drop out is non-selection. Studies reveal, that the players think that they would not get selected for a good team so they opt for a bad team. Thus a logical system which provides the players equal game time should be used.
Time: Observe punctuality and tell the parents to be punctual as well. Clearly established start times and finish times allow you to plan and deliver the session effectively.
Excitement: Is it a must that each soccer coaching session is interesting? Make an effort to make each session an enjoyable one but do not forget that it is not possible to each session like that. 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 is a good idea to keep increasing the level of difficulty every time. One way of doing this is to start with a game, identify a problem and then eliminate it by performing a related soccer drill.
Success windows: Make an effort to create a success window for the season as an important part of your training. This needs 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.
For example; time frame of minimum four and maximum eight weeks. This can be achieved for both the team members and the individual members.
Do good and adopt a soccer coaching philosophy like this become a part of the development phase of your kid’s training once the basics have been covered. For more information, join our youth coaching community which has a collection of relevant material and 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.
Tags: soccer coaching, soccer drills, soccer skills, soccer training