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. This philosophy can be applied to your youth team with relative ease as it is easier than you think.
The 6 essential factors which are required for an effective youth coaching philosophy are; parents, coaches, excitement, selection, time, and success windows.
Regular communication with Parents: When it comes to soccer training, parental influence is the key influence in the mental and physical well being of your players, especially on the day of the match. The pamphlet of “parental responsibilities” provided at the beginning of the term is not adequate. Regular meetings should be arranged with the parents to highlight the key points again and discuss issues.
Future soccer coaches: A vital part of your philosophy should not just focus on developing the players, but also the coaches. You may try if one of your kid’s parents can become a soccer coach? 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. According to studies, players say they would rather get selected for a bad team than not getting selected for a good team. Therefore, with the help of a rational selection system all the player could be given equal game time.
Time: The session should be started on time and the parents should also be told to be on time. When you define the start times and finish times clearly, it helps you deliver the session effectively.
Excitement: Is it necessary that every soccer coaching session should be fun? Make an effort to make each session an enjoyable one but do not forget that it is not possible to each session like that. Hence, choose enthusiasm as a substitute.
While training the kids, it is natural for every coach to run out of ideas on how to make practice drills exciting and enjoyable. So, the biggest challenge in teaching soccer is to be creative enough and keep introducing new and innovative ideas so that the kid’s remain interested in the game.
In soccer drills, it is a good idea to keep increasing the level of difficulty every time. A way of doing this is to begin a game, take note of a problem, and then remove it with the help of a soccer drill.
Success windows: Try and include a success window for the season as a vital part of your training sessions. This actually requires 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.
To take an example, time frame of minimum four and maximum eight weeks. This can be done for both team as well as individual team 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. 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