In coaching soccer drills, there are certain training tips that I’d like to share with you before you initiate your training program even if you have been doing this for quite a long time. 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. For this reason, I suggest that your goals should be as precise as possible both for your own good and for the good of your team. 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.
Since you are the coach, you only are responsible for setting high standards of sportsmanship for players. Promote the feeling of sportsmanship, team spirit, and fair play amongst team members. However, in teaching soccer, you can have numerous other objectives that you can add to those mentioned above.
The theory of winning is one concept that I’d like to stress upon when it comes to coaching youth soccer. Try to infuse an open idea of winning the game inside your player’s minds while training them. Make it clear to the players that it is the level of their performance that makes them a winner no matter what the final decision is.
This will take away the pressure off the kids and they’ll focus more on playing their best game rather than just winning it.
In coaching soccer drills, make sure that your instructions are very precise for them to be effective. Before coaching, you need to teach your players about some explicit do’s and don’ts in soccer. The dissimilarity between coaching and teaching lies in the fact that coaching is concerned with a group of players who are already familiar with the game to a certain extent.
In the process of coaching drills, it is nice to first impart 5 to 6 demonstrations about a drill to the kids and then let them practice it themselves. It is due to the fact that kids grasp visualizations more effectively than simple instructions. If you attempt to explain an action in words, they won’t understand it. However, they are good at replicating things.
Consequently, at all possible times, give a demonstration.
In the end, but still important is to keep the kids involved in several activities. This is more valid if the weather prevents you from having a regular session. It’s a fact that all kids love to play in the rain. So, rather than just telling them to go home, it is more beneficial to find ways so that they can still enjoy soccer in some form.
Just keep in mind that the kids should be wearing additional protective gear in such weather.
Now get out there and start incorporating these teaching suggestions into your practice sessions. You will be astonished 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