Coaching High School Soccer: Winning Tactics To Raise Confidence
In coaching high school soccer, the first and the foremost quality that the players need to have or develop is confidence if they wish to become complete players. As a coach, when you declare that your players are under pressure, you are really identifying in them a lack of confidence to deal with a situation. I say this because only confident players expect to win and get successful.
Like many choices we make, confidence as an attribute is also chosen by players. When coaching youth soccer, illustrate this point by telling them the behaviors of two parrots sitting on either shoulder.
One parrot is a positive parrot that constantly motivates the players to take every challenge that comes in his way by saying “You can do it.” The other parrot has the tendency to de-motivate the players saying “You can’t do this.” And clearly they have to choose which parrot to listen to.
After they’ve made a choice, train them to take the accountability for their acts. The players may have to make this decision on a daily basis. Develop successful players in your team by helping them build strong inner confidence by focusing on their contribution to success or failure.
When it comes to soccer coaching, let it be known that blaming somebody or something else is a symptom of insecurity. Rather teach players to take the setbacks as an integral part of the learning curve and not something to deter their confidence levels.
Similarly in coaching high school soccer, the most important self-conversation for any player missing an opportunity to score is the phrase “I’ll get the next one.”
Automatically, the confidence for the next strike overshadows the distress of the miss.
Accurate and quick judgments regarding a player’s caliber and talent is a key to manage a successful team. Judging mental readiness is often a bit tougher challenge than judging physical readiness in football coaching.
To make such judgments easy, there is a need of searching clear messages. Look for both verbal and non verbal messages that the player is sure of his or her ability to succeed in the game.
Success gives rise to confidence. Self-belief, hard work done and the mental preparation to face tough situations, hold the key to success in soccer. The phrase “If you are not preparing to win, you are preparing to fail”, is used over and over again to trigger off the players.
Confidence is built on experience. To build a strong base of the much needed experience, the players must be trained to cope up with their mistakes, defeats and criticism and fears, calmly. It is always felt that he or she has the knowledge, has practiced it before and knows what to do next.
Never doubt it. Building of confidence in coaching high school soccer is an everyday task, so players should reflect on certain key steps to discover what works for them.
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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 Coaching.
Tags: Coaching high school soccer, coaching youth soccer, football coaching, soccer coaching