Youth Soccer Coaching That Works

Perhaps the most important key to successful youth soccer coaching is making training sessions fun for everyone - including you.

But you can only do this with the aid of careful planning. Always think about what it is you want to achieve beforehand.

Your training session plan should take into account the ages and capabilities of your players, but generally your sessions should follow this pattern:

* A warm up to raise the heart rate, stretch muscles and get players focused on the session.
* A quick and simple demonstration of the skill or technique that you want them to learn. (Important. Don’t forget to ask them what they think is the best way to pass or shoot or keep the ball, rather than tell them why you think they should do it that way).
* Some fun games that will allow them to practice what you’ve just shown them.
* A small sided game to finish.

While it’s important to plan your sessions, be careful not to make them too rigid. Be prepared to adapt according to what you see and hear on the practice field. Above all, don’t be afraid to let your players play!

* Don’t try to pack too much in – remember to allow time for discussion, setting up, drinks, and even arguments.
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Don’t persevere with a plan that isn’t working. Have a couple of tried and tested alternatives up your sleeve and work out what went wrong afterwards.
* Don’t use drills that involve children standing in lines for more than a few seconds – they’ll soon get bored and bored children are trouble!
* Don’t train children on your own. Always have at least one assistant, even if all they do is tie laces and fetch balls. There is also an important health and safety consideration here: who will look after your children if you have to take one of them to hospital?
* Do treat your players with respect. They like you to listen and take notice of their feelings and opinions. Find out what they want from you and agree some clear ground rules.