A Guideline for Youth Soccer.

  • How many players start the game?

  • What size of football pitch do we use?

  • Do you play your best team or rotate the squad?

  • When do we teach positions?

Each coach will have different answers to these questions, but we have got to remember that it is the young player we are trying to develop.

A coach who coaches adults has to look at his/her players and their capabilities, to see what system they are going to play.

In youth soccer we must ensure that the young players are comfortable when in possession of the ball and not confuse them by advanced tactics. Players must learn how to control the ball before they learn positional play.

From the ages of 8 to 12 we must develop co-ordination as well as technique, as the players movement is vital in their development. The right co-ordination exercises will help players to control the ball better and help them in tight situations.
As a coach you must be patient with the players. This is a long building process, so you must lay down the groundwork for the future. Your training sessions must be playful and sensitive, and you should always praise the players.

Youth soccer is very enjoyable but it has its bad habits:

  • Non understanding Parents

  • Focusing on just winning

  • Using advanced tactics

  • Culture

To help iron these problems out you must bring in rules to your club.

Before the season starts arrange an induction meeting for parents and players and tell them your plans.

Have a code of conduct for coach, parent and player. If anybody breaks the rules they will take no further part in the clubs activities.

Parents must let the coaches do their jobs and not interfere with the team affairs. Parents should stand on the opposite side of the pitch from the coach and enjoy the game. The parents behaviour is a vital part of the players development.

The result of the match does not matter, but it helps if you are winning. You have to keep focused on what you believe in and realise it is a 6-7 year program. Teams that concentrate on just winning only, are creating problems for their players, individually, and as a team.

I coached a team that won easily every week for years as youngsters. We played a team and lost 5-1. It took me 5 weeks to get my next victory. To see the change in the players, because they never lost before, was unbelievable.

In youth soccer I would rather lose 1-0 than win 10-0. You should look at the whole picture and always remember you are doing your job for the players.

Don’t make the game more difficult by bringing in tactics they will not understand. Your sessions should be built around playful games that help the player do the things you want ‘without them knowing’. Children like to compete with each other, so have competitive games in your sessions, the kids love them, but there has to be a point to the game, make it so the players have to think. Players can’t learn from a game if it demands skills they are not familiar with. Youth players need lots of opportunities to test their abilities, if the same problem keeps occurring they will gradually learn the right way and deal with it.

The coach needs to understand which exercises can help with game situations and work on these areas by putting in the element of fun. Changing the games can influence how the players perform. Some games will just help the better players, others will help everyone, it all depends on age experience and environment. Ideally everyone can learn from every exercise, regardless of ability, but on some occasions the coach may want to concentrate on the stronger or weaker players.
   

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