Before you create your training session, you need to take into account the players you will be coaching. Player’s age and capabilities are extremely important factors that need to be considered. However, most sessions should have the following structure.

Before you can commence any training session, you need to allow the players to warm up and stretch. This will allow the players to increase their heart rate and prepare their muscles for training. Also allow some time for the players to stretch before commencing the heavier loads of the session. The extra time will also allow your players to get focused on the session.

Once your players have warmed up and stretched, you can proceed with the session. Depending on the drill, you should personally show them a simple demonstration of the drill. That’s right, show them. If you can’t give a simple demonstration of a new drill or skill, should you be coaching? How do you expect young kids or players to perform the drill if you can’t? Is your training session suitable or too advanced?

Always try and make your drills fun and entertaining. Train hard but make sure all your players are smiling and enjoying themselves. Also provide adequate breaks between drills to allow for drinks and player feedback. Most of the times the players will let you know if the session or drill is too easy or too hard. At the end of the day you’re not Guus Hiddink are you? So listen up and try and understand the youth and respond accordingly.

• Once you’ve completed the technical side of training, always remember to try and incorporate the new skills learnt in a game situation. Always try and end the session with a small sided game that will allow your players to experiment with their new found skills.
• Never make your training sessions or plans too rigid. Your sessions need flexibility because some players might not be able to adapt to the new drills. Can you tell me what usually happens on those cold winter nights? That’s right! Half your team will not attend so you always need Plan B.
• Have you ever heard the saying, “variety is the spice of life”? Keep training interesting by mixing it up and using different variations of the same drill. By changing things you keep your training sessions fresh and eliminate players becoming complacent. Keeping your players on their toes and continually learning will guarantee you a hassle free and mischief free session. If you want trouble and problematic players make the training sessions boring and allow for 5 minutes. It’s your choice.
• The greatest mistake you can make as a youth coach is to starve them of the ball. Your role is to teach by showing and allowing your players to practice. Don’t preach or lecture them otherwise you might as well send them to school. But most importantly, allow your players to play without you trying to coach every second of the play. Also remember that more doesn’t necessarily equate to better. Don’t pack too much into your training sessions and concentrate on a few fundamentals at a time.

Okay, let’s use a scenario to illustrate the next point. You’ve carefully planned the next training session and you feel that it will serve your team well. Training begins and you can clearly see that your session is not productive. What do you do next? Most youth coaches will persist and try and enforce the session. After all the coach knows best, right? It’s not brain surgery, don’t preserve a plan or session that isn’t working. So the question still stands, “what do you do next Guus?”

The fact that you’ve planned the session doesn’t necessarily make it a good one. Always make sure you have Plan B and even Plan C. By observing with your ego-free hat on, the session assesses itself. Can you honestly judge yourself and your coaching abilities? I don’t think so! If you asked me to judge my own coaching abilities I wouldn’t hesitate to tell you that I’m the best. See what I mean.

Have you stopped laughing yet?

Another important aspect of youth coaching is respect. Treat all your players with respect! I don’t care if his the worst player in the world or the most frustrating. If you cannot guarantee respect as a minimum you have no right to coach. As far as I’m concerned you shouldn’t even be allowed on the green pastures to watch. Enough said.

Last but not least, don’t train your team on your own. Always get the services of an assistant. This doesn’t imply that your not good enough, but it sure is nice having those extra set of eyes, don’t you think?

The best opportunities to provide feedback to players is during training, before a match, half time, after a game and to some extent during a game. Although most players can improve by themselves through repetitive training and practice, the rate of improvement can be significantly increased by a quality coach.

The objective of most coaches is three-fold,

• Obviously to win games and silverware.
• To improve the overall performance of his team by improving and increasing the rate of development of the individual players.
• And to impose his style of play, ideas and tactics on the individual players that should effectively increase the overall performance of the team.

For a coach to be sucessful he must be able to give clear, concise, specific and positive feedback (encouragement) to allow the players to mould into the system he is trying to utilise. Bad coaches or ineffective ones have little impact in the overall performance of the team. Signs that a coach is being ineffective range from,

• Inconsistent performances and a low win/loss ratio.
• A lack of team cohesion.
• And relying heavily on certain individuals to get results.

The best place to provide positive feedback is during training sessions. The best coaches in the world have their own system and style of play. The system is addressed to the players and then the coach will inevitable sit and watch the overall function/performance of the team. By watching from a distance the coach can evaluate and observe whether the players understand the objectives of the team. From a distance, the coach can see if any players look confused or are taking up the wrong positions. By observing, thats right, just by watching you can see where problems might arise in your system. This first step has nothing to do with coaching but involves the use of sight to observe. Pretty simple right.

Observation also allows you to replicate and enforce the system of play. Once the coach is satisfied with the sequence of play and style, he can then proceed to give feedback and make the required corrections.

When coaching at any level, the sequence of feedback is crucial. Feedback and corrections should be made in this sequence,

• Make sure the team is playing your system and have correct shape.
• Address the style of play and the movement of the ball.
• Last but not least, correct the decisions on the ball.

If the sequence is confusing, let’s break it down a little with some real life examples. Your the coach and your observing your team in a practice match. You’ve just witnessed a bad pass from one of your players. What do you do? How do you react? From my own experience, the majority of coaches would either stop play to address the poor decision or simply yell out and threaten to take off the player if the mistake happened again. Does this sound familiar?

It’s ludicrous and pointless to address the bad passing decision of one player if the team shape was incorrect to begin with. If the shape of the team is incorrect, then the decision on the ball is irrelevant. Coaches need to observe the positions of all the players in the team, especially the ones that are not in direct contact with the ball. Have they taken up the correct position? Are they supporting the ball? Are they providing cover? Once you get the shape right, the player on the ball will have better support and a variety of passing options that will allow the player in possession to make the correct pass or decision. Makes sense doesn’t it?

Once the shape is correct and your players understand your system, you must focus on the behaviour of the individual players. Are players demanding the ball? Are they positioned correctly? Are players making the correct runs to recieve the ball? Are you implementing the counter attack and so on.

Although all this sounds easy in theory, its quite challenging to replicate in real life. But once you’re happy with the shape and movement off the ball, you can then address decisions on the ball. Are players dribbling, passing, shooting or crossing at the right times? Are they making the correct passing decisions? Do certain individuals see all the available options? Only when you get the shape and formation/style right can you address individual mistakes.

So lets repeat the 3 steps to coaching.

1. Establish and enfore your shape.
2. Establish a style of play, movement of the ball.
3. Correct individual mistakes or decisions on the ball.

The best coaches just don’t tell players what to do. They explain  why they are implementing this formation or tactic. The main objective of coaching is to make your players less dependant on you, the coach.

To create players that respond to situations and adopt your style of play and become problem solvers based on your tactics. At the end of the day you do not want 11 Robots but 11 players that will adopt and uphold your playing style.

Now that you’ve come to the end of this post, you might sit back and disagree that coaching only involves these 3 steps. Basically it doesn’t. But the above is the advice that Sir Alex Ferguson gave at a coaching clinic. That’s right Sir Alex Ferguson. One of, if not the best soccer coach in the world. Get these 3 steps right and the rest will fall into place.

Let me address one more thing before I go,

If the coaching feedback at the end of the season is the same as it was at the start of the season, then you have failed as a coach in developing a team. Think about it!

Youth coaches fall into the trap of trying to coach every segment of the game. Some coaches play the game for their kids by constantly shouting instructions from the sideline. Parents are guilty of this too and never let their kids make decisions on their own. Kids being obedient usually listen to their parents even if their instructions are wrong. When developing young soccer players the emphasis should be placed on learning. A young child cannot learn or develop if he is not allowed to make mistakes on his own.

Can anyone guess why a youth coach would try and coach every segment of the match? Why would he continue to instruct his players by yelling from the sidelines? The real reason why a youth coach yells and continues to instruct from the sidelines is that he is trying to eliminate players mistakes so that his team wins. A good junior coach doesn’t concern himself with the result, but concentrates on player development and learning.

Parents are also known to coach every second of a match. The majority of parents at junior soccer try and live out their failed ambitions through their kids. Have you been to a junior soccer match lately? Parents are too involved in their child’s activities and virtually suffocate them with instructions. The child has no opportunity to express himself on or off the pitch.

So ask yourself this, what is player development?

• Player development should be about problem solving and decision making.
• Player development is about learning and learning from your mistakes.
• Learning is a life long process and challenge.
• Mistakes and consequences are just as important as winning.

Are you denying your players the chance to develop? Remember a soccer match is a short term event which runs for about 90 minutes. These events called soccer matches should be a test where the youngsters can play freely and experiment with their own abilities and decisions. Only through their own decisions and mistakes can the young players develop and learn.

So you might be looking at the screen and still wondering what point I’m trying to make. By the coach or you as the parent constantly trying to make the decisions or solving your kids problems by yelling out instructions, you are dis-empowering your children in favour of short term solutions. These short term solutions have short term rewards. A win or 3 points will not ensure your child develops. It doesn’t guarantee improvement or the capabilities of learning. It guarantees you 3 points, so what.

So what are the consequences of dis-empowering your players? Dis-empowering your players results in them never learning to become self reliant. They never acquire the ability to trust and back themselves. This inevitably leads to difficulty in making decisions and solving their own problems on the field. Can you see my point now? Soccer is about decision making and problem solving. Don’t deny your kids the chance to master this beautiful game.

Children need the freedom and support to make mistakes. The more mistakes your players make, the greater chance they have of developing and evolving with the game. When they play on the weekends, let them express themselves and let them challenge themselves. With respect, trust and responsibility your players might be the next generation of superstars.

In order for a training session to be effective, we must dissect the coach and ask a few questions first? At the end of the day, training sessions are the product of a coach. If you believe the coach isn’t creating a learning experience, why are you taking your kids there? Before allowing your kids to train with a coach, make sure the coach is worth your time and your child’s time.

If your a player or a parent, there a certain rules a coach must follow. Do you know these rules? If your a coach, it is your duty to provide an effective training session following these rules. So lets begin with these rules that are seen as the bare minimum in today’s training sessions.

RULE 1: Training Sessions must be prepared before training starts.

The coach must plan the structure of the training session before it starts. This includes time spent on various soccer drills, the amount of time spent on skills and the portion of training spent on conditioning. If your the coach, having your training session written down on a little piece of paper is a great way to remember your structured session. Each session should have a goal and a focus. Place the kids on the long path of development. Don’t leave anything to chance.

RULE 2: Be Organised!

Never let your players stand around. Always keep them active and productive. If your the coach, why not attend training early and set up the field of play before the kids arrive. This will not only save time during training, but it gives a powerful reinforcement to the parents that you mean business. That you are dedicated to training their kids. Also during training, set up the next activity while the players are finishing the previous activity. Keep the momentum and never let the kids stand around.

RULE 3: Be Positive!

As a coach, you always have to be in control. This doesn’t mean you go around dictating to the players. It means you provide direction in the session and provide a medium for learning and developing. This direction should always be enforced with a positive and purposeful attitude.

RULE 4: Appearance is Everything.

Even if your a bad coach or a coach that lacks experience, all this can be forgiven if you look the part. Invest in a tracksuit and a pair of boots. Remember first impressions and the art of perception are very important. Look the part because at the end of the day you are a role model to your players. Under no circumstance are you to smoke and drink during a training session. Also the use of foul language is a big NO-No. Look Professional and everything else with time, will fall into place.

RULE 5: Correct Equipment.

In order to create an effective training session, the correct equipment is paramount.

• Each player must have access to a soccer ball.
• Cones and markers
• Bibs or different colored training tops
• and a decent sized pitch for training.

If you do not have the above as bare minimum, then your training sessions need some serious overhauling.

RULE 6: Enthusiasm.

If the game of soccer doesn’t excite you and the development of young players doesn’t interest you, then stay away from the game. Whatever you do, don’t volunteer your time as a coach if you do not possess enthusiasm for the game and coaching. Enthusiasm is the most important rule. You must have the ability to create enthusiasm and excitement amongst your team during training. Never underestimate the value and the power of ENJOYMENT.

You might be reading this and thinking I’m not a coach, how does this relate to me? If you invest time and money in the game of soccer and your current coach can’t provide and uphold the above 6 rules, then your simply wasting your time and your childs time. Simple as that. The above are bare minimum, just like eating and drinking water.

A survey was conducted in 1987 by the Australian Sports Commission- They interviewed and surveyed young children that were participating in the game of soccer. The questions varied, but here are some crucial questions asked.

• What do you enjoy about participating in sport (soccer)? The answers were provided so they had to select the most appropriate and place them in order.

1. Improving their skills.
2. Playing the game.
3. Having a good relationship with the coach.
4. Playing in the team (not sitting on the bench).
5. Being with friends
6. Having an exciting close game.
7. Competing and trying to win.
8. Wearing the correct uniform and gear.
9. Beating their opponents.
10. Winning medals or trophies.

• Children were asked to complete the sentence, “The most important thing about soccer is…….”. The children answered by placing the following statements in their specific order

1. To play as well as you are able.
2. To have fun.
3. To be fair.
4. To beat your opponent.

• Children care and feel strongly that:

1. All players in the team should have an equal opportunity to play in matches.
2. It is more important for all players to play than for the team to win.
3. Learning to play the game is much more important than winning matches.

• If the children were allowed to give some advice to the coach, this is what they would say…..

1. Don’t yell so much.
2. Teach us more.
3. We want more involvement.
4. Let us express ourselves.
5. Encourage us more.

Throughout this case study it is clearly evident what the children want. The common theme from all the answers was, the children wanted to improve their skill and develop as players. They wanted to be active and have fun with their friends, rather than win soccer matches. So whats the problem and the main reason why children stop playing the game they love?

In countries, such as Australia, soccer is not seen as the number one sport and the children don’t organise themselves as much and the game has developed in a more structured manner based on an adult system. The problem stems from the high level of adult involvement! Can you tell me why this is a problem? Above we have the answers to why children play soccer, straight from the children’s mouth. Adults, although with the best intentions, apply pressure to their children and enforce an adult definition of success. Success can have many definitions and outcomes, but in this case, “you are successful as a coach and as a player only if you are winning games.

“Winning games!” The children aren’t worried about winning games at a young age. Check the above list, it ranks last in every question. There is nothing wrong with winning, but having this as the sole criteria and objective in junior soccer is very limiting and harmful. Do you ever wonder why parents yell and scream abuse at junior soccer games? When winning is the only objective, it leads to some of the ugliest scenes in junior soccer, such as hysterical and abusive shouting by both coaches and parents and even club officials.

When children are exposed to abuse like this it results in too much pressure being placed on them. What was supposed to be fun and enjoyable, now becomes scary and highly emotional. The drop out rate from junior soccer is far too high and this is due to the over emphasise placed on winning games combined with the bad behaviour of coaches and parents.

Just remember next time your watching junior soccer, the children playing are not little adults. What they want is clear for everyone to see. Read through their answers again and try to enjoy the experience.