Let me present a real simple way to keep in mind some of the important soccer coaching factors that are needed in building the team philosophy and getting along with it. This philosophy can be applied to your youth team with relative ease as it is easier than you think.
These are 6 elements; parents, coaches, excitement, selection, time, and success windows that are needed for a successful youth coaching philosophy.
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. 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. Assess and see if you can turn one of your kid’s parents into a soccer coach? They would be most suitable and a great option for the future.
Selection: Players with great soccer skills drop out mainly due to non-selection. Studies show that players would rather get selected for a bad team out of the fear of getting rejected for a good 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. When the start times and finish times are clearly defined, you can execute the session very well.
Excitement: Is it absolutely necessary that all the soccer coaching sessions are entertaining? You must definitely try to make each session a delight for the kids but then, its not possible all the time. Therefore, go for a positive attitude as an alternative.
When training the kids, it is certain that the coach will have problems with ideas on how to make practice drills interesting. 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, keep increasing the level of difficulty for the player’s to grow. 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 necessitates for 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 yourself a favor 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. If you would like more such knowledge and resources, subscribe to 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.
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