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.
The elements which are essential for an effective youth coaching philosophy are 6; parents, coaches, excitement, selection, time, and success windows.
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. “Parental responsibilities”, the brochure supplied when the term starts is not sufficient. Meetings with the parents should be set to discuss the concerns and reminding them the important points.
Developing soccer coaches: Training of soccer coaches should be an integral part of your philosophy instead of targeting 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 greatest reason for players with great soccer skills to lose interest is non-selection. Studies reveal, that the players think that they would not get selected for a good team so they opt for a bad team. Therefore, use a logical selection system which gives all players equal game time.
Time: Be particular in starting the session on time and also the timely arrival of the parents. The start and finish times that are clearly defined make for an effective session.
Excitement: Is it necessary that every soccer coaching session should be fun? Try to make every session an enjoyable one but also remember that you cannot do it all the time. Therefore, go for a positive attitude as an alternative.
When you train the kids, it is perfectly natural that coaches have problems coming up with different ideas on how to make sessions fun. Therefore, the biggest obstacle that coaches face is to be creative enough to bring about new drills every now and then.
In soccer drills, it is a good idea to keep increasing the level of difficulty every time. The best way of doing this is to get started with a game, look for a problem, and then rectify it with a drill.
Success windows: Make success windows a part of a season for every training session. This actually requires 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 and individual members.
Do good and adopt a soccer coaching philosophy like this become a part of the development phase of your kid’s training once the basics have been covered. For more information, join our youth coaching community which has a collection of relevant material and resources on youth soccer.
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