What if I ask you how to coach soccer, or for that matter youth soccer? The phrase looks quite simple and familiar but if you give it a serious thought, a lot of things will start coming to your head.
Communication is one of these soccer skills, necessary for both players and coaches to master. A coach has to give instructions, share feedback, evaluate players, council them, maintain discipline, and all this requires communication skills.
Players, on the other hand, talk about issues with coaches, peers, parents, share feelings (good or bad) with colleagues, and give tips and tricks to new players in the team. It is the comprehensive language of soccer by which players and coaches transmit their thoughts and feelings.
Soccer coaching has some fundamental principles of communication that are essential for coaches to learn and then teach them to their players.
1.Always call your players using their names. This is not only sound good but is also courteous.
2. Make it clear in your head what you want players to do and achieve before sending out instructions.
3. Be kind: The purpose of communication is not to overpower but to bond. So value the opinions of others as well.
4. Be careful of your body language: It should be comfortable and easy to allow others to open up with you.
5.When speaking to the players, make an eye contact with them for effective communication. Look into the eyes pf people that you get to talk to.
6. The way you speak should make a mark upon the other person. So select a style that best describes you and also suits the other person.
7. Pick a topic that needs attention. Communication answers many questions, how to coach soccer works only when it is straightforward and short. Choose a list of items and stick to it.
8. Be objective: Always remember that you are a soccer coach and are speaking to a team or an individual player. So keep your sentiments in control and talk to them only about the game.
9.Speak Clearly: It is critical that what you say is understood in the same spirit as you intended.
10.While teaching soccer, continue repeating the key points. The players should always keep in mind the important points and this is possible only when you keep repeating them in different situations.
11.Add humor to your style and words with a view to lighten up things whenever possible.
12.Always give your players enough room and confidence so that they can get their queries answered from you. Give them permission to ask questions.
A soccer coach who does not exhibit good communication skills required to distribute the information correctly will not be a good coach in the long run.
In conclusion, how to coach soccer is something that must make get the coach into a mode of trying to understand and make allowances for different cultures. Enroll for our youth soccer coaching community that has a large volume of resources on youth soccer in the form of articles, newsletters, and videos that help you in imparting required skills to the players.
Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Learn how to skyrocket your players’ skills and make practice sessions fun in record time. Download your free ebook at: Soccer Drills.
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