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. We can apply this philosophy to our youth team very easily as it is easier than we can imagine.
The elements which are essential for an effective youth coaching philosophy are 6; parents, coaches, excitement, selection, time, and success windows.
Consistent Parental Guidance: During soccer training parental influence is very important for the mental and physical progress of your players, mainly on the match day. A brochure of the “parental responsibilities” at the beginning of the season is not enough. Meetings with the parents should be set to discuss the concerns and reminding them the important points.
Upcoming soccer coaches: Your philosophy should emphasize the importance of development of the coaches along with the players. You may try if one of your kid’s parents can become a soccer coach? They are the perfect choice for this job, and could be tried in the future.
Selection: The drop out of players with great soccer skills is mostly because of non-selection. According to studies, players say they would rather get selected for a bad team than not getting selected 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. Clearly established start times and finish times allow you to plan and deliver the session effectively.
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. As such, adopt excitement as an alternate.
At the time of training the kids, it is valid that coaches face problems with ideas on how to make training interesting. Therefore, the biggest obstacle that coaches face is to be creative enough to bring about new drills every now and then.
With soccer drills, it is necessary that you increase the challenges for the kids so that they 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: Try and include a success window for the season as a vital part of your training sessions. This needs 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 done for both team as well as individual team 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.
Tags: soccer coaching, soccer drills, soccer skills, soccer training