Coach Youth Soccer

Would you be surprised if I let you know that it’s really tricky for the young players to kick the ball with a straight leg? Both coach and the kids feel that this is by far the greatest trouble in way of coaching soccer drills. It calls for the player to keep complete balance and bend the leg at the knee in order to kick the ball. Both power and stance to kick the ball emerges from below the knee.

In soccer practice, this is the starting position for almost all types of kicks. The increase of rate of the foot from below the knee puts together a powerful blow on the ball. This provides the players with a lot of power to act upon a range of kicks. Still, the style of kick that would emerge would depend upon the nature of contact of the ball with the foot.

For example; it could be knocked very high, driven low, turn left, or sway to the right.

There are three vital passes in soccer i.e. a side foot pass, the outside of the foot pass, and the instep drive. Let’s discuss them further.

Soccer Coaching

The side foot pass: In teaching soccer, the simplest and the most commonly used pass is this. This is usually employed to make short distance passes. Though it is a little slow and quite predictable during the game but is very easy for the kids to learn and execute accurately. The foot turned outward, ball comes into contact on the outside of the ankle and the foot.

In coaching soccer drills, the players should be trained to keep their bodies relaxed all through the action. This is by far the most critical rule applicable to all types of kicking actions. Teach the players to stiffen their ankle and the foot only when they need to get into contact with the ball.

Subsequently, as players are convinced of their ability to perform it, the action should come out smooth, natural, and relaxed.

Outside of the foot pass: Since this pass can never be predicted, is pretty accurate and quick, players must be trained on this even though it’s a little tough to master. The ball makes a contact between the laces and the outside edge of the foot, when the foot is extended and turned inward. With the use of a foot, the pass is transformed into a speedy throw for short distances.

In the course of these coaching drills, players should keep their stance relaxed.

The Instep Drive: Both the lofted version and the low driven version of the instep drive are used to pass the ball over longer distances. Once mastered, this style can also be modified to make a “chip pass” or an “in swinging pass”. The approach of the instep drive is slightly angled and the non kicking foot is placed about 12 inches to the side of and behind the ball.

The contact with the ball is made between the laces and the inside of the foot and it should be stiff and extended.

So now coach your kids the various techniques of kicking the ball and with variations to let them do different things with the ball.

To know more about coaching soccer drills, subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community that offers effective and practical knowledge to help you excel in your career as a soccer coach.

Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. Learn  how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun by downloading your free ebook at: Soccer Training Drills.

It is well known that in coaching soccer drills, every skill and teamwork imparted to the players has only 1 objective; to shoot the goal. It is both a matter of skill and intuition to cultivate the art of shooting. But other than this, winning attitude is also equally important.

Even though, all players must do this but it is more onto the forward players to shoot the ball. While teaching soccer, put shooting on the top of your priority list.

There are so many things that may be a consequence of shooting. Shots can be directed towards a goal. It might be that the goalkeeper drops the ball at the foot of your forward player. Wild shots can turn into great passes. Ground shots may spring back. You might even score a goal directly from the shot.

When conducting soccer practice, the attacking players try to convert every goal scoring opportunity into a goal. They are trained in a way that they think of nothing else but scoring goals. In England, these attacking players are called sniffers. This happens because they are always reviewing scoring chances.

Soccer Coaching

They take every shot as if it was the last chance to score a goal. You will see that they are always available when the situation is favorable. They always make the most of every situation even if it is not favorable. Hence, in coaching soccer drills, you must instruct the players to hit the ball whenever they get a chance.

In most cases, when the ball is knocked with a view to get it through the goalpost, it is termed as a shot. But driving the ball through the middle using the laces of the foot is by far the most effective technique for shooting. To carry this out, the player should have his head over the ball, his toe should be extended, and his upper body should keep steady.

In coaching drills, your players should learn to shoot the ball low and wide of the goalie. Here, low ground shots are preferred over high shots. The reason is that low shots are especially difficult for the goalies to stop as they have to move their hands a greater distance than for high shots.

Young players while practicing inside regulation sized goals, tend to score more by kicking the ball over the head of the goalkeeper. This must be discouraged otherwise players form the habit of shooting very high goals. In coaching soccer drills, stop this practice by not letting your players to practice in adult sized goals.

So go ahead and make your players expert in shooting the ball to score goals by confirming the position of the goalkeeper once before shooting.

If you would like to enhance your knowledge on soccer coaching for kids, subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community that has a huge amount of information in form of articles, newsletters and videos.

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: Youth Soccer Drills.

If you think the way I do, I’m sure you’ll agree that in coaching soccer drills, zeroing down the best method to organize conditioning programs is by far the most difficult part. This is because in the past few years, the distinction between educating the players and coaching them has diminished.

I’m sorry to say that even today, there are many coaches who fail to recognize the importance of designing player specific coaching plans in teaching soccer. They should make an effort to develop them professionally together with educating them on the game. In some situations, it is seen many a times that the educational aspect in soccer is neglected totally.

Still, we must not forget one theory on which the coaching drills for the layers should be based. Any young player must first endeavor to grow as an individual and only after that he can become the best and a high ranking soccer player. The coach must therefore base his strategy on the above stated principle.

It’s easy to find out the reason that pushes a player to take on the duty of a coach.
After the player is no more a part of the team, he wishes to continue being associated with soccer. As a result, many successful players become soccer coaches. But they don’t truly recognize the seriousness that this role calls for.

Soccer Coaching

It is considered by some as the first step that’ll take them towards the prospects of coaching adult players. There are still others who take this up because they truly love working with kids and wish to share with them their passion for soccer. Both are compelling and very well acceptable reasons. But along with this, there are some ethical responsibilities as well that come hand in hand with being a coach.

Communication is the main feature with respect to coaching soccer drills, and unfortunately it’s the trickiest for a majority of people to understand. The fact that someone has been a successful soccer player for a long time and has countless achievements does not hold well when it comes to being a successful coach.

In order to be accepted as a great coach, certain standards need to be set and followed. It’s a capable and an expert coach who alone can cheer his players to fall in love with soccer so much so that they begin to experience it as an upbeat and a stimulating practice. During the soccer practice, a coach should ensure that the players can openly convey their feelings through the game.

In a team, different players have their different styles of playing and a varying potential. The important thing is not that each one of them should have skills and potential of a champion. What is actually important is that each player ultimately reaches his own potential.

So we must understand that not every soccer player is cut out to be a skillful and a proficient youth team coach. He should have a special bent for working with young players; an innate gift for human contact and emotional relationships.

Some food for thought; you should seriously consider what truly motivates you as it is a major requirement in this context.

If there is more information that you’re looking for on coaching soccer drills, just join our youth soccer coaching community and get an access to tons of news, views, and articles that help you give an insight of coaching young 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.

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. In your soccer practice, identify one goal that is common to both the team and the coach for example; to have a lot of fun while playing the game.

At this time, it’s essential to follow your goal and not feel distracted by other things. 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.

When it comes to sportsmanship, the onus lies on you to set a high standard for the players. Promote the feeling of sportsmanship, team spirit, and fair play amongst team members. When teaching soccer, you have the option to include any number of relevant objectives along with the ones stated 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. Teach them that as long as their performance is out of ordinary on the field, they are winners, no matter what the final result.

Soccer Coaching

This ultimately takes away all the unnecessary pressure off the players and enables them to play their original game by carefully following the strategy.

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 is great idea to first demonstrate to the kids about 5 to 6 times a specific drill and then let it di it themselves. It is effective because young players are more receptive to seeing than listening. If you decide to give them plain instructions, they will not appreciate it very much. However, they are good at replicating things.

Therefore, consider giving demonstrations wherever you can.

Last but by no means the least; keep your players active with several purposeful activities. This is all the more important when it rains or the weather is extremely cold. You must understand that kids are just thrilled at the prospect of playing in the rain. Therefore, in place of cancelling the training session, rearrange it in a way that the players make the most of their energy and time.

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. The results will make you happy.

To gain more knowledge on coaching soccer drills, register for our youth soccer coaching community that will keep you updated on topics of youth soccer.

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.