Coaching Tips
Article by Steve Richards
Volume 1
Tips for the New Soccer Coach
Some coaches are skeptical when they are asked to coach their child’s soccer team.
The fear lies in the unknown. There are some important tips that will make your first time as a soccer coach a pleasant one for players, parents, and most of all you.
- Have FUN! Have a good time and make it FUN for the players. A coach’s interaction with the players should always be positive and the more the coach engages with the kids, the more they will respond.
- Be FAIR. Being fair is very important too. It’s a coach’s job to make sure each player has equal playing time, make sure players play each position, and be sure to include everyone.
- Be POSITIVE. Being positive includes every interaction with players, parents, officials, and other coaches. It’s always good to set this standard at the beginning of the year so that your parents and players are all on the same wave length.
- Ask for Parent Involvement. At the beginning of the year, ask for parent assistance during practice. This will help get parents involved with their child’s play and will help you reduce the player/coach ratio. This is especially helpful in younger players. For young players, try to keep the ratio about 4 kids to each coach. As the kids get older, the ratio can grow as much as 8 kids for each coach. This ratio will depend greatly on your kid’s age and skill.
- Focus on TEAMWORK. As a coach, you often will have one or two star players on your team. It is important to grow these players and make them even stronger players; however, it is important to focus on teamwork to get the work done.
- Set GROUND RULES. Before the season starts, meet with the team and parents and establish the ground rules. You will want to cover things such as:
- sideline behavior – make sure they know they are welcome to cheer, but it is up to the coach and the assistant to do the coaching;
- have players arrive to practice and games on time;
- notify the coach if absent or late to game or practice;
- players are to sit with the team while not in the game and not in mommy’s lap;
- Know what to practice. As a new coach, it is hard to come up with games that are appropriate for that level of player. Make sure you create a smooth progression in your session with fun games and ideas for your level of player. Make sure you are playing small-sided games with younger kids which will focus on game-like situations. NO LINES. Make sure you prepare properly and have everything you need to coach soccer. Cones, pinnies and appropriate age soccer balls. >
- Take Coaching Courses. Many associations will offer coaching education. I encourage you to spend the extra time to become educated and seek help from experienced coaches.
In closing, I simply encourage you to accept the coaching position if you are given the opportunity. It might seem scary at first, but there are many resources in which you can learn to become an effective coach. It does take some practice, so don’t expect to be perfect your first go-round. Every season will be a learning experience and make sure you learn from your mistakes.
Assigning Positions
One of the most important jobs as a coach is putting the right players in the right positions.
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At the younger ages, set the initial lineup is only a starting point for the game. It is up to the coach to find each players “self-identity” and place players in the position that best matches them. I am a strong believer that players must have the opportunity to try other positions during the course of the season as your team should be flexible enough to make adjustments as necessary to match up with your opponents.
Some younger age groups might play without goal keepers, or not play with eleven aside, however, I will go through each of the positions on the field.
The Goalkeeper (keeper)
The coach must be very careful when assigning a young player to this position, and should only assign players who have had several practices playing this position and has proven qualified to play keeper. The goalkeeper should be coordinated, athletic, hands of a wide receiver and the courage of a hockey player. For younger players, players who play basketball often have good hand-eye coordination and can be a very good candidate as a keeper.
Outside Fullbacks
When assigning a player to this position, the coach should look for players who are defensive minded but pose a great attacking threat as well. The coach should clearly state the most important job of this position is to defend their goal. Their responsibilities often include man marking, closing down attackers, supporting other defenders, watching backside runs, and winning balls. These players must have strength, speed, concentration, aggressiveness, decisiveness and a good understanding of how to defend.
Sweeper
The sweeper’s position is basically to be a clean-up man. This player’s job is to be the last player on the field (not including the keeper) and is used as the last defensive measure. This position requires a VERY special player who must have a natural talent for defending and being positioned in the right place at the right time. This player should have speed, strength, stamina, awareness, decisiveness, confidence and a natural tact for defending.
Stopper (center halfback)
The stopper is another defender who plays in front of the sweeper. This player’s responsibility is to “STOP” any attack coming down the middle of the field. I generally look for players who are aggressive, strong, confidence in the air, and a clearance for relieving pressure on the defense.
Center Midfielders
This player should be assigned to your play maker. The center midfielder’s primary function is to support EVERY player on the field (excluding the goalkeeper). They must be offensive and defensive minded, thus they must have outstanding fitness and good at possessing the ball. These players must have stamina, strength, speed, determination and confidence on and off the ball. I often explain this position as being the center of a wheel with an outlet to each player being a spoke on the wheel.
Outside Midfielders (winger)
This player is both offensive and defensive minded. The outside midfield player does not require physical strength, so finding a player that has good ball control, the ability to take players on and great fitness will often make great outside midfielders. This player is expected to be involved on the attack as well as defending, so this player must be fit.
Forwards (strikers)
This player is considered the main thrust of the attack and should be the player that naturally scores goals. These players must work closely together and share in the responsibility as feeder and goal scorer. When assigning this position, look for players who demonstrate good attacking ability but not much inclination towards defending. This player needs speed and strength.
Want to Join The Club?
Our home fields are located at the Dennis Viollet Soccer Complex at Eagle Harbor in Clay County, and is one of the largest soccer clubs in Florida. CCSC serves over 2500 youths of Clay and neighboring counties for Recreational, Academy, Premier and Semi-Professional Soccer.
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