Tag Archives: advice

Soccer Kids Battling for Ball

3 Tips On How To Stay True to the “It’s About Development, Not Winning” Philosophy On Gameday

They just scored to take a 1-0 lead late in the second half. I know exactly why they scored, I saw it coming before they scored, and I know that they are likely going to continue to threaten our goal for the next 5 minutes for the same reason. I refuse to fix the issue the easy way. Two minutes later the score is 2-0. My players’ fighting spirit has been broken. A minute later it is 3-0, and 2 minutes after that the game is over. We got blown out by a team we are equal to in every aspect of the game. What a great teaching opportunity.

This is the exact scenario I faced recently with my U-9 boys team. Even before we went down 1-0 I could see that one of my less athletic players was mismatched against a player who was not lacking in any aspect of the game. Sitting on the bench at that moment I had one player capable of stopping this future Messi, and playing in one of the wide positions already on the field I had another equally capable player. But it was my less athletic player’s turn to play in that position.

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Coaching Young Soccer Players

5 Tips for Coaching Young Soccer Players

Hint: It doesn’t have to be like herding cats

It is not unusual for a youth soccer coach to come prepared for a very productive practice, or with a great game plan, only to throw the entire plan away when the kids seem to do whatever they want, and not at all what the coach is asking them to do. First of all, when (not if) this happens it does not mean you are a bad coach or that you do not have control of your team. It is just natural for kids to act up a bit, especially when surrounded by their peers.

Coaching young players sure can be challenging, especially in recreational leagues where players join more for the social aspect of the game than the game itself. Here we offer 5 concrete tips that have helped us prevent, or at least minimize, players losing attention.
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