Allow me to put a simple question to you. To coach youth soccer, what are the 3 things for the coach to do? Before you reply to this question, it is vital to understand that youth soccer means that kids should enjoy themselves. The spotlight should be on making the exercises exciting and enjoyable so that the kids always look forward to them.
Therefore, to teach youth soccer, take care of the following instructions. These will instill the ability in the kids to become mature players.
Allow the players to enjoy themselves: As mentioned earlier, youth soccer means to enjoy the game thoroughly. As a coach, you must plan each session well in advance. As an example, ask them to do warm up drills before moving to the regular drills. Once done, instruct them to go ahead with the advanced drills such as passing the ball, dribbling with it and trapping etc.
Also, allow the kids to be creative in their approach. It is important to inspire them to try new things and if they commit mistakes, do not interrupt blatantly. Have a word with them after the session. Parents need to be actively involved if the game has to be made enjoyable for the children.
To coach youth soccer, this is crucial since the kids spend more time with their parents than on the field. Ask for cooperation from the parents since it is crucial in keeping a check on their daily diet, regularity in sessions, and encouragement.
Adapt to the age level: Teaching soccer to the youth is generally for kids between 7-14 years of age. At this time, it is highly testing to create drills that stimulate the kids. 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 is always a great trick to divide them into teams and also give them individual names. This breeds the feeling of mutual respect. Also, do not experiment a lot. A well designed session consists of both new as well as old tricks.
Write down the drills: It is a good idea to write the exercises and 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. When you have to revisit your plan, it is easy to do so when it is in a written form.
You can determine your goals easily too. It is perfectly usual for a few things to go wrong and in that case, you can always get back to the original plan.
It can be assumed that youth soccer coaching is a fun filled and challenging job. However, with proper planning and these essential tips handy, you will succeed at it without a doubt.
Examine these tips immediately. These tips on coach youth soccer are guaranteed to bring you marvelous results. If you would like access to a mass of resources on youth soccer, join our youth soccer coaching 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.