Coaching Youth Soccer

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davebo
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:02 pm

Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by davebo »

Well, I heard about all those stories of people getting roped into being a head coach and now it happened to me! Actually, I agreed to become an assistant coach and no less than 30 minutes later, I had been promoted to head coach after the head coach dropped out. haha.

Anyways, I’m coaching 5 year old boys and I went in a little under-prepared for the first practice/game. The format is a 30 minute practice ahead of a 30 minute game and I think probably 20 minutes of the practice went really well, but the remainder was a little unorganized. I think I was basing my plans off my 5 year old son’s personality. He’s a rule follower and takes direction pretty good from a coach or teacher, but I realized that all kids aren't like that! So I spent a lot of time just trying to get the kids in the same general area and on the same page. Plus some practice activities went a little quicker than I thought and I didn't have anything planned as a backup.

Anyways, I’m interested in hearing from people that have coached or just been on the sidelines.

1) The league told us not to get into the habit of yelling from the sidelines and I took that to heart, so I was mostly reserving any instruction for after the game (outside of obvious things that a kid could hear/take action on). However, my wife said it didn't sound like I was vocal enough. I told her that I COULD spend the entire game yelling out instruction to the kids, but I wasn't sure it was productive for anyone. Instead, I said I just wanted to take note and work on it the next practice. What are your thoughts/experience on this? Would you prefer a coach do that at this age or just let them play?

2) I focused on a lot of games to keep the kids interested combined with me being a goofball during practice, but we got killed the last game. On the one hand, I don’t really care if they won or lost because they are just getting the skills together. But, I don’t see how it’s fun for them to get scored on all game. One of the things that I've noticed is that the kids have ok basic skills, but more than 5 out of the 8 kids do not go after the ball at all during the game. So now I’m wondering if I should incorporate some drills which force kids (1 v 1) to either attack or defend against someone. Not sure if they are afraid or what…..just not sure how that would go over with the younger kids.

Anyways, here is what I’m thinking of for my next practice:

5 minutes: Warm-up (without ball) and a quick “Race the coach” game.
5 minutes: Kids have a leader and dribble the ball following the leader.
10 minutes: Sharks/Minnows Game
10 minutes: Kids line up on either side of the goal. I roll the ball out to the field, kids run out, turn the ball around, and dribble to shoot at the goal.

***Alternate games of Red light/green light, simon says, 1v1 win the ball***

As I write that out, I’m wondering why I’m even putting that much thought into it because it looks like it’s easy enough. I just didn't like the feeling after the last practice that things seemed disorganized after awhile.

Any thoughts from parents/coaches? At this age, what do you prefer from your kid's coach?
livesoft
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by livesoft »

I coached youth sports (mostly basketball) for about 10 years from YMCA to AAU level. I must say I had a blast. The thing I found most helpful is the web.

A coach should search for web sites with practice schedules and plays for their particular sport and age group. For example, I used http://coachesclipboard.net which has lots of short videos. I could even print out things for the kids to read (which they usually didn't, unless I assigned homework and graded it). I would also send a coach's e-mail to parents about 3 times a week: (1) before a practice, (2) before a game, and (3) after the game. The e-mail would describe what we were going to work, what we had worked on, our game strategy, and a post-mortem of the game(s), and what to ask your child about what they had learned and done. That way, the parents could have talking points and stay involved with the whole thing.

Also realize there are lots of divorced parents and blended families. That is, just because you talked to one parent does not mean that you talked to the parent that will bring the child to the next practice or the next game.

My kids would beg me to coach their teams, especially after they had another coach. My kids are different ages, so I could not coach both of them in the same season.

Stay positive with lots of encouragement. But it is amazing that the kids do not care as much as the parents about losing. There's a lesson there.

Soccer is a starter sport for kids. All the kids who were great in soccer at age 8 end up being the top high school sports stars in golf, track, football, lacrosse, baseball, tennis, swimming, field hockey, baseball, and even soccer. :)
Last edited by livesoft on Mon Sep 09, 2013 10:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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johnubc
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by johnubc »

No matter how the team played the game - give them some positives talks about the game -
1) Did they have fun?
2) Did they notice how the winning team played as a team (if they did).
3) Play of the game discussion

As far as practice - try to enforce good game playing behaviors -
Running through the ball
Passing to team mates
When to shoot to try and score (ie, not listening to the parents shout from the sideline).
How to play the assigned position
Topic Author
davebo
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by davebo »

livesoft wrote:I coached youth sports (mostly basketball) for about 10 years from YMCA to AAU level. I must say I had a blast. The thing I found most helpful is the web.

A coach should search for web sites with practice schedules and plays for their particular sport and age group. For example, I used http://coachesclipboard.net which has lots of short videos. I could even print out things for the kids to read (which they usually didn't, unless I assigned homework and graded it). I would also send a coach's e-mail to parents about 3 times a week: (1) before a practice, (2) before a game, and (3) after the game. The e-mail would describe what we were going to work, what we had worked on, our game strategy, and a post-mortem of the game(s), and what to ask your child about what they had learned and done. That way, the parents could have talking points and stay involved with the whole thing.

Also realize there are lots of divorced parents and blended families. That is, just because you talked to one parent does not mean that you talked to the parent that will bring the child to the next practice or the next game.

My kids would beg me to coach their teams, especially after they had another coach. My kids are different ages, so I could not coach both of them in the same season.

Stay positive with lots of encouragement. But it is amazing that the kids do not care as much as the parents about losing. There's a lesson there.

Soccer is a starter sport for kids. All the kids who were great in soccer at age 8 end up being the top high school sports stars in golf, track, football, lacrosse, baseball, tennis, swimming, field hockey, baseball, and even soccer. :)
Thanks for the tips and encouragement. I'm not really concerned with the losing, but I'm hoping we were just playing the powerhouse team of the league. If we lost 5-4, then I wouldn't care at all. Losing 10-1 (or whatever it was) was bad because the ball was never really on their side of the field.
bungalow10
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by bungalow10 »

My son is in U6 soccer (under six) right now and they are short coaches. I wouldn't mind signing up and splitting the duties with my DH, but DH says no.

Our league does not keep score. Our coach last year considered it a successful game when he had three kids on the field running towards the ball. If you don't have any kids crying, sitting down, or picking flowers then I think your team is probably better than the average five year old soccer team.

edit: and I think the best way to communicate something important is via email. Everybody gets the same message at the same time.
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markcoop
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by markcoop »

A few quick thoughts:
1) At 5 years old, the most important thing for development is touches. The more times a soccer ball touches their foot, the better. Try to avoid the touch being with the toe.
2) Parents suck. At that age they are ok, but as they get older they get much worse. There are a few good ones, but as far as I'm concerned, most parents just want their kids to score and couldn't care less that there are kids on both sides of the field. I used to start every year with a short speech about how you love your parents, but you listen to your coach for practice/games.
3) Every coach I've ever respected yells minimally during games. I usually tell parents to close their eyes and just listen for a couple moments to the noise. It's overwhelming for a child and a coach yelling only adds to the confusion. Coaching is mainly done in practice and on the sidelines (when a kid comes off the field is a great time and before/after the game).
4) Winning/losing at that age is tough but I find most kids don't care 10 minutes after the game. Every kid develops at their own pace. Every kid learns aggression (if at all) at their own pace. At that age, usually the team with the aggressive kid wins. The most important thing to focus on at that age are skills, not tactical strategies to win.

Coaching is one of the most fun things I have ever done with my children. Enjoy it.
Mark
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davebo
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by davebo »

bungalow10 wrote:My son is in U6 soccer (under six) right now and they are short coaches. I wouldn't mind signing up and splitting the duties with my DH, but DH says no.

Our league does not keep score. Our coach last year considered it a successful game when he had three kids on the field running towards the ball. If you don't have any kids crying, sitting down, or picking flowers then I think your team is probably better than the average five year old soccer team.

edit: and I think the best way to communicate something important is via email. Everybody gets the same message at the same time.
Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have such high expectations but it's my first time in the league so I want to be sure I'm not short-changing the kids. We did have one kid start crying after a goal was scored against us and the dad asked me to pull him from the game. Of course, those situations are kind of like talking someone off a ledge because you never know if the kid will throw a worse tantrum or get off the field. I didn't fault the dad for leaving it in my hands because I think he thought he would be less likely to revolt if I handled it.

We did have our share of lolly gaggers. We had 1 kid that either was hanging on the goalpost or asking to be removed from the game, another kid that was crying a lot, and then 2-3 kids that weren't really engaged in the game.
Seattlejo
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by Seattlejo »

I coach two teams. Ages 6 and 8.

At age five, the single most important thing you should be focusing on is dribbling. Search the web for ideas. Try to find games that make it fun.

Next, you can focus on transisitions and clearing the ball.

Transition: This is mostly about staying focused (hard for five year olds). When we have the ball we move forward. When they have the ball we get back on defense right away. The scores will be much closer if they can pick this up.

Clearing the ball: In our defensive side of the field, clear the ball toward the sidelines. Don't pass back into or turn into the middle.

You can also have a few practices talking about throw-ins and goal kicks:

Throw ins- Player with ball throw-in up the line. Other team-mate needs to remember to be positioned up line.

Goal Kicks (our ball)- Kick toward sidelines. Other team mates positined near side line. This alone can save countless quick goals. Tons of goals are scored by the other team when we kick it down the center.

Passing: You can try to teach them this, but this skill usually develops at a later stage.

Aggressiveness. This game favors aggrssive players. We teach our kids to be gentle, not to hit, and to share. They have to unlearn this when it comes to soccer.

Above all, have fun and they will learn to love the game as well as how to play it.
Last edited by Seattlejo on Mon Sep 09, 2013 8:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
an_asker
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by an_asker »

davebo wrote:
bungalow10 wrote:My son is in U6 soccer (under six) right now and they are short coaches. I wouldn't mind signing up and splitting the duties with my DH, but DH says no.

Our league does not keep score. Our coach last year considered it a successful game when he had three kids on the field running towards the ball. If you don't have any kids crying, sitting down, or picking flowers then I think your team is probably better than the average five year old soccer team.

edit: and I think the best way to communicate something important is via email. Everybody gets the same message at the same time.
Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have such high expectations but it's my first time in the league so I want to be sure I'm not short-changing the kids. We did have one kid start crying after a goal was scored against us and the dad asked me to pull him from the game. Of course, those situations are kind of like talking someone off a ledge because you never know if the kid will throw a worse tantrum or get off the field. I didn't fault the dad for leaving it in my hands because I think he thought he would be less likely to revolt if I handled it.

We did have our share of lolly gaggers. We had 1 kid that either was hanging on the goalpost or asking to be removed from the game, another kid that was crying a lot, and then 2-3 kids that weren't really engaged in the game.
I am the father of two kids (older boy and younger girl) who has been through the rigmarole. Boy was in soccer for about a couple of years (2005 through 2007) and girl has been at it for just over a year now (and is still at it right now, though god only knows how long she'll last at it). Let me start at the beginning.

When son enrolled, I was gung ho about his talent and my coaching skills, not necessarily in that order. :wink: I signed up as an assistant coach. Realized very soon that son

a) didn't have great talent
b) didn't have enough aggressiveness
c) was not as interested in playing soccer as I wanted him to.

Next season, the coach quit and so did his son. I became head coach. Situation did not improve. Team lost a majority of its games; I got in trouble with my wife (though not with other parents). Son would come up to the ball and just look around and do nothing. Once in a while, he would kick the ball; more often than not, he would kick at it but connect nothing but thin air. And son was not alone with this issue. In the meantime, as the losses kept piling up, even though technically we were not supposed to keep score at that level, I realized that my kids (team kids, that is) were starting to get frustrated - but not everyone really cared about listening to the coach (aka me) and/or following directions.

I noticed that one of the opposing teams had this dynamo of a player who appeared a year younger than my son, and would score from all sorts of positions and do celebratory dances, screams etc. I also noticed that while I used to yell instructions at the kids, the coach of that kid's team kept a stoic watch over the proceedings, even as his team beat all other teams in the group to a pulp.

I was not the only one to observe this difference. In other words, I got in more trouble with my wife. :oops: Needless to say, I did not put my name in for coaching the next season (a euphemism for I resigned!).

Fortuitiously (I am not kidding), my son drew that coach (or vice versa) next season. One big difference - the dynamo player had moved on to a more 'competitive' league within the same umbrella of kids. Ours was referred to as the 'recreational league' or 'rec league.' Guess what?! I attended practices with the new coach, aka Mr. Nonchalant. Practice was definitely more fun with him (for me - as I did not have anything to do and so had no pressure - and for the kids). However, come game time, and now it was this team that was losing a majority of its games. Back to square one!

Lesson (that I) learned - the coach does not really play as big a part as I thought he (or she) did. However, my wife was still of the opinion that the coach (and coaching) does matter.

Anyway, we gave it one more season. Same result. At the end of this season, some big changes were announced for the league - they were planning more coaching, would move to a newer location (that was less accessible to us), yada yada yada. I saw 'more moolah' and 'more time commitment' - after discussing with kiddo and wifey - quit the league.

In the meantime, daughter - who was all of two years old at that time - would take a ball and dribble around the field by herself. She would wear big brother's old uniform and look like Casper the friendly ghost in a soccer uniform. We held high hopes for her.

As this has been a long post as it is ... I will take a break and post the sequel tomorrow. A quick teaser: my kids share their genes :oops:
Last edited by an_asker on Mon Sep 09, 2013 2:32 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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TomatoTomahto
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by TomatoTomahto »

davebo wrote:[snip...]

Thanks for the tips and encouragement. I'm not really concerned with the losing, but I'm hoping we were just playing the powerhouse team of the league. If we lost 5-4, then I wouldn't care at all. Losing 10-1 (or whatever it was) was bad because the ball was never really on their side of the field.
Years ago, in my daughter's first year of ice hockey, she was saying during the ride to a game that her teammates had told her that they beat the team they were playing that day handily the last time they met, and she expected to win. I gave her the talk about not becoming over-confident, that there's a reason that they still play the game even after overwhelming predictions, that you never know if the opponents were missing some players last time, that the other team had also been practicing, etc. Sure enough, my daughter's team lost the game. I saw her after she got dressed, ready to reinforce the message about over-confidence, and she asked me: "did we win or lose?" Over the years, as she has played at higher levels, she has become more competitive, but I always try to remember her question when I, or the other parents around me, take the game too seriously.

It's only a game, but hopefully they will get exercise, develop some skills, learn that there is usually a correlation between effort and results. learn how to be a good teammate and friend, and most importantly, learn to win and lose graciously. Everything else is the small stuff.
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schmoglehead
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by schmoglehead »

I have coached youth soccer with my three sons for over 10 years and have seen it all, especially from parents.
Coaching does matter, especially with the players attitudes. If they dislike the coach they are likely to dislike the sport and quit.
I strongly agree with all of the posts suggesting a positive attitude from the coach. It can really make a difference.
Most soccer coaching should take place during practice or at half time. Yelling at players during the game is usually conunterproductive.
Full sided games before age 10 do not make alot of sense. We called the swarm around the ball "bees around the honey pot." One toy is not enough for that many kids.
Our sons got the most out of the small sided 3v3 or 4v4 games. They learned nearly all of the basic skills needed, got many more touches and fell in love with the game. There is alot of strategy to the 3v3 game and it transfers well to the big field.
Tigermoose
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by Tigermoose »

I'm an assistant soccer coach for 5 year old boys as well. We run 3 vs. 3, and this year we've added a goalie to that mix per the league rules.

First thing to keep in mind is that the success of your team is largely dependent upon the talent and physical advancement level of the players. If you get a team with lots of aggressive talented players, your job is easy. The biggest challenge is keeping them from fighting each other and playing as a team.

Next, make sure that at the beginning of the season you work on the appropriate fundamentals for your age group, but do it with fun games. Rarely should you have drills where players have to stand around and wait their turn. That's just asking for trouble.

Third, as the season progresses, you can add one new skill/strategy to work on during practice and games. For example, last year we gradually worked in the idea of a defensive player that kind of plays a midfielder/defender role while the other two players push up the field. Again, talent plays a huge role here. The talented players naturally figure these things out and adapt quickly. Another skill we worked on was taking the proper angle to cut off the opposing players. When the boys started, they would hardly ever take the right path and ended up running behind the opposing player with the ball. Now, they take a bee line for their defending goal then attack the ball.

One kid that was new to soccer didn't seem to want to be playing at the beginning of the year. His parents worked out some kind of reward system that if he played attentively and actively they would give him a marble. Apparently he is really into marbles. It worked. While he isn't one of our top players, he at least stays on the field and tries to play. That helps out a lot when you are giving equal time to all players.

As far as yelling from the sidelines, we'll see how this goes this year. In previous years, a coach was allowed to be on the field to help direct the players and referee the game.

We also found in past years that placing the boys on the sidelines close to their parents helped with behavior issues when they were not on the field. I'm fairly sure that this year this will not be allowed, but it really helped when they were four.

Last. Remember: if you are energetic, active, and care about the players, they will be better players. They tend to feed off the mood created by you and the other coach and parents.

Have fun!

Other tips: For throw ins, we had the players learn to throw the ball towards the opposing teams goal. We taught the other players to keep their bodies turned halfway so that they could quickly pivot and chase the ball if it goes past them. Usually the players will stand facing the throw-in player, and they do not adjust well when the ball is thrown past them.

This year, we are using goalies so that is new. I want to teach the players how to quickly transition from the goalie getting the ball to quickly getting the ball upfield on the side of the field (as opposed to the middle). I want to teach the non-goalie players to quickly run to those areas whenever their goalie gets the ball sot that they are ready to take the ball up the field.
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cestan
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by cestan »

coached all my kids in soccer from age 4 to 12. girl is now 17 and won two state high school soccer championships. looking back on it all, here is what i have learned

1. practice is good when it is all drills with games, ie sharks and minnows, kick the ball at the coach, red light green light. kids especially the little ones do not do well when they stand around and wait. kids love it when they can come after the coach

2. check the web for drills and appropriate age drills. it will take several times before kids get the hang of a new drill.

3. have had teams that won every game and those that lost every game. kid just don't seem to care after about ten minutes.

4. first practice, have meeting with parents. say " I have a day job" "i love coaching your kids" "if the parents have suggestions, i would love to have you come out and coach with me" this will immediately stop them from telling you what to do.

5. best practice ever, still talked about in the club, was after a big rain when all we did was roll around in the mud and kick balls in the puddles. kids loved it. my girl still talks about it. moms hated it. all kids got stripped down in parking lot prior to getting in cars. all you could see was the gleam from their smiles surrounded by mud.

6 it should be fun for you too

7. at the end of the season have a parents versus the kids soccer game. kids love this and looking back at it, i remember these games more than the season games.

enjoy it. it seems like only last week when i did it. i miss it.
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davebo
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by davebo »

Thanks for the reminders. I think from an outsiders perspective, everything went well during the practice/game. The parents all seemed to be happy with the way things went, but I guess I am more critical of my coaching ability than someone else would be (I'm sure there will come a day when everyone has an opinion that they are willing to share!)

My son has been doing soccer since he was around 3 years old, but in more of a "Soccer class" type thing. They started out just doing little games and, by the time it was finishing up, he was doing 30 minute practices followed by 3v3 scrimmages. He started out with the same problems that I'm seeing this team have (lack of aggressiveness) and now he's always going after the ball. I'm going to operate on the assumption that I should continue giving them a fun experience while increasing the amount of touches, and hopefully the rest falls into place over time.

Would it be safe to say that practices at this age should be primarily focused on dribbling?
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Bulldawg
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by Bulldawg »

I coached several sports ( inc soccer) from that age to high school ; the thing that stands out in my mind is that kids that age tend to flock to the ball and cluster around it . We had some success with letting kids play all the positions and bragging just as hard on defensive plays, assists as well as goals scored. If you can teach them to stay in their position or lanes, teach them the basics of passing,dribbling and defending, I think you and players will have a ball ( sorry ) !
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S&L1940
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by S&L1940 »

Bulldawg wrote:I coached several sports ( inc soccer) from that age to high school ; the thing that stands out in my mind is that kids that age tend to flock to the ball and cluster around it . We had some success with letting kids play all the positions and bragging just as hard on defensive plays, assists as well as goals scored. If you can teach them to stay in their position or lanes, teach them the basics of passing,dribbling and defending, I think you and players will have a ball ( sorry ) !
Since my kids are in their 40's (and one at 50 - almost as old as I am) my experience is a bit dated.
But, the beauty of youth soccer is that you do not have the domination of a super star as you have in baseball or basketball.
In baseball some kids seldom got to bat or field a ball. In basketball the better players would hog the ball and take all the shots.
Because the field is so large and at an early age you usually have all ten kids (eleven if the goalie joins in) chasing the ball at once everyone can be part of the action and at some time each they wind up touching the ball.
As mentioned above, the key is to have some semblance of holding their positions and they may be young enough not to have the instinct to catch the ball with their hands.
Stay calm, give some guidance and really enjoy the experience. Your sense of pleasure should rub off on the kids - even the ones who stand around and chat or pick flowers as the ball goes by.
As adults and parents themselves my kids still bring up the good - and sometimes the crushing - times they had.
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Seattlejo
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by Seattlejo »

Would it be safe to say that practices at this age should be primarily focused on dribbling?[/quote]


Yes!!! See my post above (it was stuck waiting for moderator approval and then was placed above)
mikep
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by mikep »

I coach youth baseball and when we had our taxes done last year the CPA told us that all expenses you pay are deductible as charitable donations as long as the organization is a non-profit. This somewhat surprised me but rolled with it anyways. So keep track of mileage to/from each practice/game, uniforms/equipment, registration fees, anything you purchase for the team/league/child playing is deductible if you itemize. Since my son's league registration fees are due in January and I bunch deductions I'll be paying those in December this year, January the next year, etc.
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by Slapshot »

I coached high school soccer and hockey for 35 years, and also put in many years at the youth level with my 2 sons and their friends. The most important thing a coach of 5 year olds can do is make sure the kids are having fun. Get some basic drills online, yes, but your positive attitude is paramount. The kids want the ball, so the more touches you can give them, the better. 2 on 2 or 3 on 3 mini games in small areas are best. Also make sure that everyone gets to play goalie, and as they move along in age, make sure that everyone gets to play every position. That 5 year olds are playing organized sports at all says something about our society.
This time, like all times, is the best of times if we but know what to do with it.
sandburg
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by sandburg »

The AYSO has some good information.
http://www.ayso.org/coaches_referees/coaches.aspx
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zebrafish
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by zebrafish »

Dear davebo,

I've coached my now 6 year old daughter's team for about 2 years now. We play 6 v 6.

1. Cannot reiterate previous comments enough about being positive
2. Kids really take negative/criticism to heart at this age, it can be crushing
3. Don't be that psycho coach who acts like a boys high school football coach-- remember, it is Kindergarten soccer
4. Most stuff recommends not playing positions at this age-- just let them play during the game
5. Your practice stuff sounds great
6. Our AYSO league lets the coach on the field during the game to help guide the players-- I think this is a great concept-- you might want to see if your league might test this concept out
7. Coaches have different styles-- I've seen quiet and load coaches have good teams. Mean/negative coaches make me cringe.
8. Don't focus on the score & winning/losing (your players will always know the score, but don't emphasize it); focus on improvement and having fun
9. One or two good players on a team can make a very lopsided score-- sometimes you'll be the windshield, sometimes the bug-- just enjoy it
10. One thing that helped us not get crushed when facing a really good player was to play a "one-defender" system where you have a player play ~5 feet behind the scrum (DON'T make them sit in front of the goal-- have them kind of follow the pack up and down the field as a safety valve; if you park them in goal the other coaches and that kid will hate you). Also emphasize "getting back" on defense.

I think a lot of kids at this age need the most work on dribbling and kicking. A lot of it is general coordination.

I love coaching my kids' team. So far, so does she. I'm trying to enjoy the ride!
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zebrafish
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by zebrafish »

In regards to the amount of kids playing organized sports at age 5-- cannot agree more that we are becoming insane as a society.

I saw a kid on my neighbor's 5 and under boys' team whose first name was actually "Beckham" and he was a serious gamer. The parents had probably been drilling the kid since he came out of the womb...
S&L1940
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by S&L1940 »

zebrafish wrote:In regards to the amount of kids playing organized sports at age 5-- cannot agree more that we are becoming insane as a society.

I saw a kid on my neighbor's 5 and under boys' team whose first name was actually "Beckham" and he was a serious gamer. The parents had probably been drilling the kid since he came out of the womb...
Agree. The parents sometimes ruin it for the kids - even reaching the rowdiness we read about at professional level events.
On the other hand, the 'everyone is a winner and gets a trophy' is not such a hot attitude either. As we well know, there are times where our best efforts are not rewarded by success and we should be prepared for that.
Like not crying every time the market looses a half a point or the stock we just sold has doubled...
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Kevin21
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by Kevin21 »

Dribbling is a good skill. For teams that take it to the next level, "possession" and passing will be the key to success.

Having said that, at this age, just have fun and hope the parents don't ruin it.
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by davebo »

zebrafish wrote:In regards to the amount of kids playing organized sports at age 5-- cannot agree more that we are becoming insane as a society.

I saw a kid on my neighbor's 5 and under boys' team whose first name was actually "Beckham" and he was a serious gamer. The parents had probably been drilling the kid since he came out of the womb...
I don't see what the big deal is with playing organized sports at this age. My kid kicks the soccer ball around the yard, but it's a lot more fun to have some instructional games/actual games with other kids his age. I don't let my 5 year old roam around the neighborhood looking for pickup soccer games with other 5 year olds. :happy

As long as they have fun, I'm ok with it.
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by an_asker »

I agree with the bit about organized soccer getting crazy for the kids. The following is for kids who are in the 3 on 3 (or 4 on 4, or more) groups. Just plan to make sure that all kids show up at a given time (the older the kids are, the fewer you need showing up at the same time), and let them run their own game, figuring out who teams with who and who gets which side of the field. You should just sit on the sidelines, make sure that the environment is safe, and that they are following the rules (if not, stop them and tell them what they are doing wrong) and let them carry on for an hour. So, it is not technically a pick-up game as in you are not searching for kids to play against, but organizing the kids together. However, the actual playing is impromptu. In addition, you would have the 'coached' weekly games as well.
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In an ideal world (if I were the commissioner of the local soccer league), here is how I would handle it for - based on personal experience - kids 7 and under.

Instruct them where the sidelines are, show where the goal is, tell them that the objective is to put the ball into the net.

When they are younger, each player gets a ball (his or her ball) apiece. I would have maybe 20 kids on a play area and four sets of goalposts. This would teach them a) dribbling and b) scoring in spite of others getting in their way.

As their skill level increases, I would separate them by skills based on judgment, reduce the goalposts to two sets and reduce the number of kids per play area.

- for the most skilled, there will be one ball for two kids and the same rules would apply. Now, there will be kids trying to snatch the balls from one another to go and score.
- for the least skilled, there will continue to be one ball per kid.

Next, I would introduce the 3 on 3 keeping in mind that the skilled kids are matched up against the kids who are similarly skilled, even if there are pairs of teams that play each other every week!! There is no point in having a round-robin with all teams - like I have seen everywhere my kids have played - as it is unfair to both the skilled kids and the non-skilled kids. I wouldn't mind placing a five year old with a seven year old if the skill level warrants it.

PS: This is just my opinion and some/many/all of you might disagree with me.

PPS: I edited this post, as I was talking about two different topics (kind of), and the post was not coming across properly (it probably still does not ... oh well!)
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davebo
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by davebo »

an_asker wrote:I agree with the bit about organized soccer getting crazy for the kids. The following is for kids who are in the 3 on 3 (or 4 on 4, or more) groups. Just plan to make sure that all kids show up at a given time (the older the kids are, the fewer you need showing up at the same time), and let them run their own game, figuring out who teams with who and who gets which side of the field. You should just sit on the sidelines, make sure that the environment is safe, and that they are following the rules (if not, stop them and tell them what they are doing wrong) and let them carry on for an hour. So, it is not technically a pick-up game as in you are not searching for kids to play against, but organizing the kids together. However, the actual playing is impromptu. In addition, you would have the 'coached' weekly games as well.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In an ideal world (if I were the commissioner of the local soccer league), here is how I would handle it for - based on personal experience - kids 7 and under.

Instruct them where the sidelines are, show where the goal is, tell them that the objective is to put the ball into the net.

When they are younger, each player gets a ball (his or her ball) apiece. I would have maybe 20 kids on a play area and four sets of goalposts. This would teach them a) dribbling and b) scoring in spite of others getting in their way.

As their skill level increases, I would separate them by skills based on judgment, reduce the goalposts to two sets and reduce the number of kids per play area.

- for the most skilled, there will be one ball for two kids and the same rules would apply. Now, there will be kids trying to snatch the balls from one another to go and score.
- for the least skilled, there will continue to be one ball per kid.

Next, I would introduce the 3 on 3 keeping in mind that the skilled kids are matched up against the kids who are similarly skilled, even if there are pairs of teams that play each other every week!! There is no point in having a round-robin with all teams - like I have seen everywhere my kids have played - as it is unfair to both the skilled kids and the non-skilled kids. I wouldn't mind placing a five year old with a seven year old if the skill level warrants it.

PS: This is just my opinion and some/many/all of you might disagree with me.

PPS: I edited this post, as I was talking about two different topics (kind of), and the post was not coming across properly (it probably still does not ... oh well!)
Having just gotten through the first practice/game, if you put 5 year olds on the soccer field together and watched from the sidelines, there is no way they would just play a game....or really do anything with the soccer ball. The kids on our team were watching kids at the park, looking at bugs on the ground, and trying to climb up a tree.

The only time I HAVE seen that is when my son did the "soccer class" type thing that was indoors. Once they are on the field, there really isn't anything else to do besides dribble the ball around so that's what he did. Still though, kids wouldn't just start playing unless someone was instructing them.
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by White Coat Investor »

While this is all very interesting, and my wife (who's coaching 3 soccer teams right now) can probably help, I'm always surprised to see how quickly some off-topic posts get shut down compared to others.

Personally, I think the key to this age group is tiny teams, like 3-4 to a side. If you're playing 6 or 8 to a side the slowest/least talented kids never touch the ball, lose interest, and go pick dandelions. I like the 1v1 idea.
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davebo
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Re: Coaching Youth Soccer

Post by davebo »

EmergDoc wrote:While this is all very interesting, and my wife (who's coaching 3 soccer teams right now) can probably help, I'm always surprised to see how quickly some off-topic posts get shut down compared to others.

Personally, I think the key to this age group is tiny teams, like 3-4 to a side. If you're playing 6 or 8 to a side the slowest/least talented kids never touch the ball, lose interest, and go pick dandelions. I like the 1v1 idea.
The organization recommends 3v3 for this age, but we play 4v4 because they can't get together enough coaches for 3v3. It's definitely preferable compared to what we used to see with a full team of kids swarming the ball.
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