Before you get on with coaching soccer drills to kids, let me share with you some teaching ideas that are sure to help you, whether you agree or not. Work out a common objective for the team as well as yourself as a coach, for instance; during soccer practice the players must enjoy the game while they are a part of it.
Herein, you must remain careful otherwise you’ll not be able to follow the fun part. So, it is suggested that more specific objectives are decided upon that benefit not only the team but also the coach. A few examples are promoting the physical fitness of the players, developing a good sporting attitude towards competition, and focusing on the individual soccer skills.
You, being the coach are solely responsible to set high standards for sportsmanship. Encourage attitudes like fair play, team spirit, and sportsmanship. However, in teaching soccer, you can have numerous other objectives that you can add to those mentioned above.
Winning is another important concept that I’d like to emphasize in coaching youth soccer. During the training sessions, introduce the open concept of winning and try to place it in their minds. Teach them that as long as their performance is out of ordinary on the field, they are winners, no matter what the final result.
It has the effect of encouraging the players to give it their best shot and play the game without unnecessary pressure to win anyways.
When coaching soccer drills, always keep in mind the importance of giving clear and correct instructions if they are to be helpful. Before coaching, you need to teach your players about some explicit do’s and don’ts in soccer. The variation between coaching and teaching is prominent because coaching deals with a bunch of players who already play soccer pretty well.
In coaching drills, it’s best to give the players 5 or 6 fine demonstrations of some specific skill and then let them perform it themselves. It is because kids have a tendency to learn quickly by watching than by listening. If you try to explain everything as a lecture, they may not get it. Instead, they take demonstrations more enthusiastically.
So, as a general rule, demonstrate the skills yourself whenever possible.
Lastly, but still no less in importance is to keep the kids engaged in meaningful activities. This is more valid if the weather prevents you from having a regular session. You must understand that kids are just thrilled at the prospect of playing in the rain. Hence, instead of simply cancelling the session, it makes more sense to have them play soccer games or something like that.
Just make sure that in a situation like this, your kids have an extra layer of clothing and proper footwear.
Now get out there and start incorporating these teaching suggestions into your practice sessions. You’ll be amazed to see the results.
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Andre Botelho is a recognized expert in youth soccer coaching. He influences well over 35,000 youth coaches each year with his unique coaching philosophy, and makes it really easy to explode your players’ skills and make training more fun in record time. To download your free youth soccer coaching guide visit: Coaching soccer drills.
Tags: coaching drills, coaching soccer drills, Soccer practice, teaching soccer