Speed Dribbling Past Defenders (Photo: WoodleyWonderWorks)

In the first article in this series the secrets of soccer speed, I briefly introduced three aspects that every coach should know and do to help develop fast & agile players. Over the coming weeks I will go into greater detail in all of these areas, starting with the scientific justification for developing speed skills. The importance of developing players that have speed and agility cannot be overemphasized. Their ability to contribute, cover for mistakes on the field and be totally in control are benefits from this soccer training. As a coach, here’s what you need to know to develop fast, agile players:

1. The human body consists of over 600 muscles that act on the 206 bones of the skeleton to stabilize and produce movement.  The skeleton therefore provides the framework on which muscles can act to produce movement about a joint.
2. Dependent on the movement required, some muscles contract to produce the movement, while other muscles work to support the skeleton, and in particular the spine, to maintain posture and prevent movement of other joints.
3. Muscles are able to contract and develop force either concentrically (by shortening), eccentrically (when lengthening) and isometrically (with no change in length).  It is through a combination of these actions by various muscles that movement is produced, controlled and stabilized.
4. For example, when your foot hits the ground when running, all the muscles of the lower body first work together eccentrically to stabilize your leg and prevent your leg from bending too far and collapsing (force reduction).  This is immediately followed by powerful concentric contractions to push-off the ground and propel you forwards again (force production).  Whilst all this is happening in the legs, the muscles of the trunk are contracting isometrically to stabilize the spine and help transfer force through the body, with the muscles of the upper body working in a similar pattern of eccentric and concentric contractions to pump the arms forward and backwards to assist the movement of the legs.
5. All speed & agility actions such as acceleration, deceleration and change of direction go through this same cycle of force reduction followed immediately by force production, which is referred to as the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC).  During the force reduction phase the muscles contract eccentrically, increasing in length while absorbing the force (stretching).  This also stores elastic energy in the muscles that can be utilized to increase the force produced during the shortening, concentric contraction phase.
6. Therefore, it is vital to train the body to reduce force as well as produce force to enhance the SSC mechanisms.  It is also during the force reduction phase of movement that the risk of injury is at its greatest, making force reduction training ie landing/stopping an essential aspect of all good speed programs.
7. All muscular contractions require input from, and are controlled by, the nervous system.  The nervous system can both send and receive signals to create and control movement and the rate and magnitude of force production/reduction.  Small electrical impulses are sent to the relevant muscles along the complex network of nerves that run from the brain through the spinal cord (central nervous system) and out to the muscles (peripheral nervous system).  This triggers a series of chemical reactions within the muscle to release energy and create movement, and at the same time receiving signals from sensory receptors within the muscles and joints that detect joint movement position, speed, rate of stretch, that can trigger reflexive muscle activation to protect the joints and muscles and maintain posture and joint alignment.  This sensory feedback process is known as “proprioception.”
8. The key factor to remember is that the brain does not recognize individual muscle activity, it only recognizes patterns of movement.  The brain looks at the movements that are required and creates a coordinated sequence of muscle activity, with all the muscles working together to produce the desired movement.  This is known as a motor program.
9. Over time, the more a motor program is used, the more efficient and refined it becomes, like a well trodden path through the nervous system.  Once mastered, these motor programs can run almost unconsciously, freeing up vital processing space in the brain to concentrate on the problem-solving and decision-making elements of a match or practice.
10. Therefore, it can be seen that the ability to move with speed & agility demands a high level of nervous system control and co-ordination, requiring many hours of practice, guidance and development to master these movement skills and perform them efficiently and effectively during a match.

Remember, speed & agility are skills that must be taught, learned and developed just like any other skill. What are you doing to help your players become faster and more agile?

Soccer Classroom

Related posts:

1. Soccer Coaching Q&A #3 – Introducing the Flat Back Four
2. Soccer Coaching Q&A With Coach Cip #1
3. Understanding the Offside Rule – Part 2

Ultimate Soccer Coaching

Our New Dog Blake

My family always had a dog. We’re dog people. Growing up, we had three dogs: two German Shepherds and a French Poodle. While I’m a little young to remember Bootsy and Chip, I do remember the loveable French ball of fur, Fluffy. It’s what inspired me to want another dog.

When I finished college, my friends approached me about taking their Golden Retriever/Lab mix. With a second newborn and 900 square feet of duplex to share, it was just overwhelming. I didn’t realize when I took on the challenge of Kita that she was single-handedly putting me through “Coach’s Boot Camp.”

I loved Kita. But, she was also a pain in the ass.

Kita was a demanding dog that would double cross you the second you turned your head. Through our experience together, Kita taught me five critical things that prepared me to become a great soccer coach.

1. Set Expectations

As we transitioned from our friend’s home to our home, there were different expectations. For instance, Kita was allowed on their furniture; she was not allowed on our furniture. We had to set that expectation early and reinforce that each and every time she tried to get on the couch. And, inevitably, she would almost always want to hop on the couch if you were on it.

Transitioning a dog from one home to another is much like a team changing coaches or forming for the first time. Their previous habits aren’t the same as the ones you want in your home.

Your expectations must be backed up with consistent behavior. It was only through months of consistent expectations and behavior that we created a new pattern of behavior.

Coaches make their lives way harder by not setting expectations. Here are three ways I set expectations with my team, which allows the season to flow beautifully and efficiently:

• Starting Practice – First players to practice knows to meet me at the car and grab the balls and other coaching gear
• Setting up Practice – At the start of the season, I will setup the playing grid areas. I will also communicate clearly with my players to look around and pay attention. I set the expectation that they will setup the fields with me in the future and will mention “We’re in a 20×20 grid” along the way. In the future, I can ask players to help efficiently run the practice, so I can address players on the sidelines during a break and others can keep practice moving. It is a shared experience.
• Ending Practice – Many coaches get turned off because they feel like their job is to clean-up. My players know that I expect them to have everything gathered, cones picked up as they exit the practice field, balls in the bag and all gear dropped by my car. I’m their coach, not their maid.

By setting clear expectations with consistent adherence, we can build teamwork community and know our roles for success.

2. Give Attention to Get Attention

Dogs are man’s best friend for a reason. They have boundless energy and excitement over you simply showing up. But, I learned there is a threshold to that point.

I was traveling a lot for work and my dad was sharing the duties with the dog. Slowly, in time, Kita lost her enthusiasm for me. She no longer greeted me at the door. At times, I felt a little bit like a jilted lover. Kita stopped giving because I hadn’t return the favor.

As coach, you can’t have endless goodwill and enthusiasm “just because” you’re the boss. You have to come to practices mentally prepared to give some attention. It’s the only way you’ll get attention.

If you want to get the most out of your coaching relationship, be prepared to give first…then get.

3. Develop A Common Language

For Kita and me to have a successful relationship, I had to teach her simple commands. Sit, stay, no, good and come were about as far as we got…but it allowed us to have a common language. Instead of looking at me like an alien, our common language allowed us to communicate and interact.

As coaches, I’m sure you’ve seen that, “What is the alien talking about?” look a few times. We need to develop our own language with our players. Just like my dog, short, simple commands work best (so does short, simple feedback). To allow everyone to feel success and on the same page, here are a few words you should be introducing to your players:

• Square
• Man on
• Turn
• Through
• Flag
• Dummy
• Pressure

Develop a shared language with your players and you relieve a lot of tension and set yourself up for success.

4. Trust, But Pay Attention

With all the work I put in with Kita, we really developed a trust and a bond. Sometimes, that trust and bond was tested.

Kita suddenly started getting out of our backyard. I scoured the backyard for holes in the fence. I checked and double checked the latch on the gate, which was always closed despite her roaming the neighborhood.

Despite the trust we developed, I had to keep an eye on her. I watched one of the most athletic feats from a dog I’ve ever seen. It was the damndest thing. Kita would wait for me to walk back in the house and she would scale a five foot fence like she was a nimble ten year old kid. Front paws ¾ of way up fence, pulled hind legs up, steadied, front legs to top of fence and one leap over. Outrageous.

Now, Kita knew she shouldn’t be jumping out of the backyard – it’s why she waited for me to leave and she never did it while I was out back. Your players are going to test you and will push the envelope at every turn. Trust your players, but also know they’re going to do dumb things, so pay attention and hold them accountable.

As a side note (since coaching is always interrelated), during these episodes, our communication broke down because I stopped using our shared language and instead started screaming her name, “Kita, Kita, Kita.” I wasn’t communicating anything. It was just noise. About the fifth time this happened, I simply and sternly called, “Come.” Amazingly, she did. Duh!

5. Love and Affection Works Way Better than Hitting the Snout

Like all dogs, Kita loved to be in the moment and please me. She loved nothing better than being petted, play catch with the ball or just simply hang out. Life is good.

I had learned that by providing positive feedback when she was doing right that she wanted to do it more often. The joy was in the pleasing and the fun interactions.

But, like everything we make mistakes.

My sister loves to bake cookies for Christmas. She always made this twenty-four inch catering style tin of cookies. It was certainly more than a human could possibly eat during the holiday season– and I loved to eat her cookies. As I found out, Kita loves to eat Jen’s cookies, too.

When I showed up on that fateful “Cookie Heist” day, instead of hitting Kita’s snout, I ignored the behavior. She knew exactly what she had done since she was cowering in the corner when I arrived home. Besides, I’m sure the three day spell of upset stomach gave her a good indication not to do it again.

Kids know when they’ve messed up on a soccer field. You don’t have to tell them. I cringe when I hear coaches and parents yell, “Why did you [insert: screw up, miss] that [insert: shot, tackle, head ball, move, save]? I find it stunts their creativity and confidence.

I had learned that by reinforcing good behavior consistently, Kita became a better dog and did less frustrating things – even though there were slip-ups along the way. By creating a fun environment with positive expectations and rewards, our relationship became enjoyable for all involved. Even though Kita has passed, her lessons to me live on…little did I know that my coaching foundation would be formed by a dog.

Soccer Classroom

Have you ever imagined how lack of soccer coaching and playing experience can affect the proficiency and confidence of a coach? Allow me to present different angles of a coach’s persona that can aptly be called the traits of a soccer coach.

Personality: Experience is an effective tool but it’s not nearly as important as personality. How successful a coach is, is determined by his/her personality, whether the end-result is a fun game without any physical and mental pressures or the creation of a consistently strong team.

Knowledge of the game: It’s imperative for a coach to be ready to learn new strategies and latest techniques in soccer. Understanding of the game’s rules, strategies, and tactics is a basic prerequisite for gaining player’s respect.

Enthusiasm and interest: In the course of a soccer training program, become a salesperson. When they begin to like the session, inspiring them becomes an easy task. It’s also vital to be open to a player’s needs with respect to team goals, no matter what their age. If the kids freely ask questions, their interest in the game is sustained.

Soccer Coaching

Persistence and Patience: It is bad to ignore the inability of the player to perform soccer drills. When a player cannot perform well, he or she does not show the inclination for lessons. Putting up unreal goals leads to frustration in young players. Therefore, be patient and persevere as players try to motivate themselves in moving from one session to another.

Ability to manage priorities: Devise a step-by-step method of learning that meets the needs of all players in the team. During soccer coaching, players must get sufficient time and opportunities to practice the lessons learnt during training. Only after the old skills have been mastered, should you move to the new skill.

Single-mindedness: A coach must take a genuine interest in the skills and social and moral behavior of each player. If you remain sensitive to their needs and aspirations, you will surely win them over. In order to be a great player, strength of character in victory as well as in defeat builds the foundation for a player’s success.

Understand the learning process: A concise understanding of the process of learning results in overall team development. Inspire the players to go all out in doing exercises that make a difference to their thinking and acting.

Motivate the players to learn soccer skills through participation, demonstration, and guidance. The learning process ends only when the kids do what they have been taught. Learning requires active experience and not just plain teaching.

Imagination: Make situations that challenge the player’s imaginations, bring them pleasure in performing tasks, and serve important game drills. Cheer up the players to make their sessions more innovative and pleasing.

In your own interest, use these soccer coaching attributes and you will see yourself rise to the heights of soccer coaching. You can subscribe to more of such simple yet effective tips and techniques on our youth coaching community pages, so join today!

Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. Learn  how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun by downloading your free ebook at: Youth Soccer Practice.

Coaching Soccer Drills

It is true that we now have many instructors who wrestle a lot to find effective as well as free soccer drills for his or her players.
Really what they are seeking are youth soccer drills that could be performed through the kids all alone without any direction.

A person Become A Soccer Coach as soon as you notice a few issues:

• The drills that do not effectively require any kind of equipment are generally of great help for you to jump start the training program.
  Apart from that, these soccer exercises are designed to go well with the player’s age, mastering potential , and the role he or she plays for the team.

There exists one wonderful drill to train players the particular skill to dribble a soccer soccer ball and at once, be aware of what is happening around these people. This routine has become proven to work by many coaches, and i also can guarantee it is so much superior than getting your players to be able to dribble through cones.

Sure that this drill demands far more involvement via players however it makes sure of it in soccer train.

I’ll allow you to organize this specific

To begin with, mark a new square around 20 metres by 30 yards. The amount of players as well as their age makes a decision the size of this specific square.

The identical number of gamers should be situated evenly together with the rectangular. All the participants should encounter inwards and every gamer and should have the ball of their.

With the coach’s whistle, each player may dribble the golf ball to the reverse side which will help prevent the ball on the line opposite to them.
This really is one of those totally free soccer drills that is simple yet effective in training the players dribble with their heads up to keep away from ramming into each other because they move over the square.

You can add more entertaining by making players dribble along the sq and back again driving them to to turn 180 degrees with the soccer ball.
Keep varying how often players have to dribble across the square. At end of every run, a new player is eliminated and also this carries on until only one player remains. In addition, if the quantity of avid gamers are number of, one can increase the risk for players run with the soccer ball and not in order to dribble it.

Your coach will surely have great fun using this type of drill along with simultaneously teach the kids many important approaches of dribbling a basketball with the ball. Some tough and light youth soccer drills are usually added in the actual soccer training programs to make the big event interesting. It’s possible to add some drills which aren’t directly of this particular soccer game but they are added just for fun.

It is crucial in soccer coaching that youngsters shouldn’t accomplish too much of anything.

Become a Soccer Coach – Whenever all these free of charge soccer drills are employed in your instruction programs, you create the kids to learn the essentials with the game rapidly.

Also, our own youth soccer coaching group is stuffed with this sort of awareness in the form of articles, notifications, videos etc. Register as a member nowadays and get the cutting edge edge.

Tryouts Soccer

The truth is that there are many coaches who have difficulty a lot to discover powerful and also free soccer drills because of their players.
Truly what they are searching for are youth soccer drills that may be performed with the kids on it’s own without any guidance.

You Become A Soccer Coach any time you learn a very few things:

• The drills which do not require just about any equipment are of great help to be able to kick start working out program.
  After that, these soccer work outs are designed to match the performer’s age, studying potential , and also the role they plays for that team.

There is certainly one fantastic drill to teach players the skill for you to dribble a soccer basketball and at one time, be aware of what’s going on around them.
This punch has been used successfully by a lot of coaches, i can guarantee it is so much outstanding than having your players in order to dribble through cones.

Certain that this exercise demands much more involvement through players nonetheless it makes sure from it in soccer train.

I’ll enable you to organize this drill.

In the first place, mark any square around 20 meters by 20 yards. The amount of players and their age makes a decision the size of this square.

The same number of gamers should be located evenly alongside the sq .. All the participants should deal with inwards and every gamer and should have the ball that belongs to them.

With the coach’s whistle, each player will dribble the golf ball to the contrary side and prevent the basketball on the line reverse to them.
This is one of those free soccer drills that is basic yet efficient in education the players dribble using heads up to keep away from ramming into each other as they move throughout the square.

One can possibly add more fun by making the members dribble across the rectangular and again driving them to to show 180 degrees with the basketball.
Keep various the number of times participants really need to dribble over the square. From end of the run, a new player is eradicated and this remains until just one player remains. In addition, in the event the number of gamers are number of, one can result in the players manage with the ball and not to be able to dribble it.

The particular coach may have great fun with this drill and also simultaneously show the children a lot of important approaches of dribbling a basketball with the golf ball. Some tough and light youth soccer drills are usually added in the soccer training plans to make the big event interesting. You can add some drills which aren’t directly for this soccer game but are added for entertainment.

It is crucial within soccer coaching that youngsters shouldn’t do too much of anything.

Become a Soccer Coach – While all these free soccer drills are used in your education programs, you are making the kids to find out the requirements of the game rapidly.

Also, each of our youth soccer coaching community is filled with such knowledge in the form of articles, newsletters, videos and so on. Register as a member right now and get the key edge.

Coaching Soccer Drills

Train Toe Poke

Players who consistently win balls (called “Ball Winners”) are the most important players on your team. This is true at U6 as it is in the World Cup. They’re more important than your last, great defender and your lethal goal-scorer. Why? A team of ball winners will control the game and dictate play. And, without the ball, skillful players might as well be cones on the field.

Think about it this way:

The team that wins the “50/50 game” gains control of the ball more often, can go forward aggressively to score goals and will have more opportunities on the field. You can’t score if you don’t have possession of the ball, so winning 50/50 balls is the true battle on the field. The team that is “winning the ball” is inevitably the team that is winning more games. This is especially true at younger ages where complex tactical formations are not employed.

Characteristics of Ball Winners

By definition, a 50/50 ball is any loose ball where either team can gain possession of the ball. There are four main characteristics of players who consistently win 50/50 balls:

• Aggression – Players have to go as hard as possible for the ball. This limits injuries and increases the chances to win balls
• Courage – While going hard and expecting a physical challenge, a player has to do it without hesitation. Courage allows players to act unflinchingly to create the split-second advantage.
• Physicality – Soccer by its nature is a physical game. Players must learn to embrace physical contact as part of the game and use it to their advantage.
• Confidence – A player’s confidence in their skills and their ability to win a ball becomes self-fulfilling.

Teaching Ball Winning Skills

There are essentially three types of 50/50 balls where each team has an equal opportunity to win the ball. While the mentality to win the ball remains the same, each type calls for a unique approach. The three types are:

Charging Bull 50/50 Balls
This is a ball that is equidistant between two players, which ends-up looking like two bulls charging at one another. There is no room for hesitation. Here are the tips to successfully win this challenge and avoid injury:

• Go hard to the ball – if you simply win the race to the ball, there is no physical challenge
• Brace for the challenge
• Lock your ankle
• Knee bent
• Aim for the center of the ball
• Strike hard at the ball
• Continue through the ball as the ball is likely to squirt away and if you continue your momentum forward it will likely go your way

Train Race 50/50 balls
Imagine two trains racing parallel on a track desperately trying to get to the finish line first. Winning the race involves either being faster than the player or using a simple shoulder-to-shoulder technique to create an advantage to knock the opposing player “off the track.”

Tips:

• Keep your arms at your sides
• Lean into the player as you are running side by side
• Initiate the contact to “knock the player off the ball” as you near the ball
• Don’t “chicken wing” and let your arm get away from your body pushing the other player
• Take possession of the ball in the same direction and use your body to shield the ball
• Toe poke the ball away if the other player has an advantage

Jack in the Box 50/50 Balls
These are balls played into the air. By their nature, anyone can jump and win the ball in the air – whether it is goalie punts, six yard kicks, corner kicks or other set plays, the ball is in the air a lot during a match. Players that can win “Jack in the Box Balls” are dangerous and effective weapons for your team – think about balls played into our out of the goal mouth area.

Tips:

• Face the ball, so you can see it
• Time the jump to meet the ball at the highest point of your jump
• Maintain your space by keeping your arms by your side, elbows bent
• Brace for impact
• Head the ball to a teammate or your target

Cultivating Ball Winners

Ball winning players is like leadership. Some people just “got it” and others need to cultivate it. Unfortunately, growing up, kids have been taught not to “rough house” or “be aggressive” as they may get hurt. In that way, we’re fighting upstream. Cultivating ball winners involves a psychological component and a technical component of the game. First, we must inspire and acknowledge players who are mentally strong and courageously try to win the ball. From there, we can teach them the technique of how to best win the ball and create an advantage over other players.

How do you cultivate it?

• Encourage the mental aspect of “being tough” and “going hard”
• Challenge them to compete against the opposing player. There are “11 1v1 battles” all over the field. Ask your players, “Will you win your battle today and help your team succeed?”
• Praise courageous and aggressive play regularly. “Do you see how hard Johnny is going to ball out there? We need everyone to go to the ball that hard.”
• Introduce competitive games during practices where players are used to getting physical with one another.
• Work in smaller spaces where players will run into one another – and learn that it is perfectly ok to do so.

As coach, it is our job to inspire and teach our players to become ball winners. Using these proper techniques, you will create a competitive advantage for your players and your team while also ensuring their safety on the field.

And, at the suggestion of our Facebook fan, Rod Trent, if all else fails, wrap them in bubble wrap and send them out to play.

Soccer Classroom

You have registered your 6 year old son or daughter to play on a recreational team or in an academy. You have been kind enough to volunteer your time as the coach and the first day of practice is upon you. You spent hours planning a session and you feel prepared, but it is not what you thought.

You have exhausted all of the activities you know and you still have 45 minutes left in your practice. The players do not listen, they are not receptive to instruction, some are crying, others are playing with butterflies, and there is at least one kid whose sugar consumption before practice has altered his behavior significantly. You are asking yourself what have I got myself into this season?

If you knew what the most important thing was at this age group, I am sure you would breathe a sigh of relief. It would also help you invest your time more economically when planning sessions. The most important function of the coach in this age group is keeping the game fun while developing body coordination and a sound technical foundation.

If the kids are having fun, then they are motivated to invest time in the sport. Improvement is inevitable. Improvement is accompanied by self esteem and the desire to be competitive. So basically, if the kids have fun doing the right things in practice, the rest takes care of itself. I am sure you would like to know what are the right things to do at practice.

Before you start thinking about a practice session, it is important that you understand the characteristics of the players you are working with. Cognitive ability and physical limitations are the two most important factors to consider when planning activities.

Tactics and fitness are non existent in this age group, so save yourself the frustration of trying to include this in your practice. The golden rules to follow are: no lines, no laps, and no lectures. If you adhere to this, your life will be much easier.

The players must engage in fun activities that help develop coordination, agility and speed of reaction. Some should be without a ball, but most must include the use of a ball. Training with balls of different sizes and textures, should be used in all body coordination activities.

This helps the players develop a refined feel for the ball. Participation by the parents is encouraged, especially those with playing experience. The kids love this. Technical development is continued through the use of fun educational games, as well as small sided games with small goals. No keepers please.

Related posts:

1. Youth Soccer Coaching – What Happened to Those Winning U12 Players?
2. 5 Youth Soccer Coaching Mistakes You Must Avoid
3. Soccer Coaching – How to Defend When Your Team Lacks Speed

Ultimate Soccer Coaching

Last week we sent an email requesting soccer coaching questions from our subscribers that they would like to see answered by our staff.

The first round of questions has been rolling in. Yesterday, Coach Cip came by my office to go over the questions. As often happens, we ended up getting into a lengthy discussion about the topics at hand.

Ultimately we decided the best plan would be to record a video of our conversations about each question.

The first question we discussed was as follows:

“I have a U10 girls developmental rec team. We are working on trying to develop them. I feel it is too early to set them into specific positions. I feel that with the way the game is so free flowing today it’s more important than ever that they develop in all areas. To this end, I do not set them in any specific position, instead I take the time to make sure everyone has experience in every position. When is the right time to start setting positions? I have some coaches that believe we should do it now and I’ve heard from others that say we should wait until they get a chance to grow.”

Here’s the answer:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu471o85MNA

Please  comment below to let us know what questions we can answer for you. Show us you are alive!

No related posts.

Ultimate Soccer Coaching

Have you ever imagined how a handful of secrets on how to coach soccer can help you put together a great soccer team? If no, then go on reading this for effective and simple tips, tricks, soccer approaches, practice drills, physical fitness, balanced diet, and everything that a player and a coach needs to know.

This article shares some key points along with broad approaches for a coach, to create a winning team.

1. Carefully plan the soccer coaching drills: Before each training session, give requisite instructions to the kids. But ensure that only a limited time is spent on this activity. For example: The time taken in giving out instructions should not exceed 5 to 7 minutes if the practice session is for 30 minutes.

2. Once the practice session starts, let the kids enjoy and you get out of the field. When players make mistakes, note them down but sit and discuss them only after the practice session gets over. Interrupting them in between the session will affect the enjoyment.

3. Introduce variety in your drills: Of all the strategies, the most foolproof tactic is to bring about a range of activities into training sessions in order that the players look forward to taking part in the sessions. Allow them to take part in a variety of activities including walking, jogging, running, and the like, along with their daily drills.

Soccer Coaching

4. Divide players into small groups: When faced with a situation to train a great number of players at one time, divide them into small groups. Moreover, teaching soccer requires the coach to keep a vigil on each group’s progress and their activities.

You must ensure that every players gets recognition and that they also talk to each other.

5. Feedback is important but should be carefully summarized: Talk to your players keeping in mind their age and intellectual capabilities. Your understanding of how to coach soccer is mostly dependent on your knowledge of what kids can do or achieve at specific age groups.

6. Communication is essential: Be very vocal about the achievements of the kids and congratulate them as they reach their goals. This will instill confidence in them as also inspire them to do more.

7. Listen well: Every now and then, kids may come up with ideas that are dazzling only if you care to listen to them. Motivate the kids to be frank. When you act like their friend, they learn soccer skills more quickly and also have a blast learning soccer.

8. When the kids do things at a certain level easily, increase the standard. There is no harm in testing the capabilities of the young players and also present a few challenges.

These tips on coaching soccer are time-tested, and proven to be effective. It is the most efficient and easy to follow theory about how to coach soccer as it enhances your confidence as a coach and also presents factors that are responsible to make a winning team.

There is a good amount of information in the form of articles, videos and newsletters posted on our youth soccer coaching community which keep you updated with the latest and the best in soccer, hence you should subscribe it.

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: Free Soccer Drills.

Coaching Soccer Drills