Learn The Philosophy Behind Soccer Coaching
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.
Communicating with Parents regularly: Parental influence is the key factor for soccer training which is essential in the mental and physical growth of your players, particularly on the day of the match. 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. Assess and see if you can turn one of your kid’s parents into a soccer coach? They would be the best candidates, not required in the beginning, but might be an option for 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. Therefore, use a logical selection system which gives all players equal game time.
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? 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. So, the biggest challenge in teaching soccer is to be creative enough and keep introducing new and innovative ideas so that the kid’s remain interested in the game.
With soccer drills, it is necessary that you increase the challenges for the kids so that they grow. 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 instance, time frame of minimum four and maximum eight weeks. This can be worked out for both the team and individual members.
Favor yourself 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. 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.
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