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Soccer Coaching Tips-5 Steps To Better Coaching

What makes a good soccer coach? A better question might be, what makes a great kids soccer coach? Is it the results or is it the fun and the enjoyment?

Author: Thomas K
Date: Oct 19, 2009 - 6:06:44 AM

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Before you volunteer to coach kid's soccer you must first try and understand the role of a soccer coach. It's easy enough to put your hand up and take responsibility, but do you know what you're actually signing up for? Below are 5 Soccer Coaching Tips that can help you stay ahead of the game.

Role model

Young kids these days are in need of a good role model. Before you coach any youth team make sure that you are willing to become a role model for these kids. Remember that you are there for the kids and not for personal glory or self gratification. Always listen, be patient, show warmth to your players and master the art of appreciation. If you are not capable of this, don't coach soccer, it's that simple.

Appearance

Many soccer coaches overlook the importance of their appearance. For starters all coaches should look neat and tidy. This goes without saying, its called hygiene and cleanliness. A new tracksuit and a clean pair of boots usually does the trick. Looking clean and professional also helps gain the trust of the parents. If the parents don't trust you they will not leave their kids with you even if you are Sir Alex Ferguson.

So look the part and never smoke or drink in front of the kids. Remember now that you're a coach you have become a role model to all your players. Don't let them down.

Punctuality

Always be the first to training or make an effort to be there early. Have training set up before your players arrive. This way you eliminate time wastage and can get stuck straight into training. This also eliminates that window of opportunity that kids look for to misbehave. If they are waiting for you to organize training, chances are they will play up because they will get bored of standing around.

Getting to training early also gives parents piece of mind knowing that their kids will be supervised from the start. At the end of the day you're responsible for your team's safety. Don't put any of your players in danger by not being punctual.

Fun

If you cannot provide training that's fun, maybe you're not cut out to coach kid's soccer. Kids play soccer because it's fun. It's important to establish that you're not coaching adults or a professional team. You're not trying to win the World Cup are you?

Provide training sessions that are fun to guarantee that your players attend all the training sessions. Your players cannot improve or develop if their not attending training, can they?

Education/ Development

As a coach and role model, it's your duty to teach these kids the basics of the game. Skills like passing, shooting, dribbling and tackling should be taught at a very young age. Make sure all young players are learning and developing their skills. Tactics and winning are not as important as developing your players. You should be trying to produce tomorrow's superstars, not worried about your win-loss ratio.

Part of your player's development should also include the teaching of social skills. The importance of discipline, friendships, sharing and goal setting. Always keep in mind that you want to develop men first and then soccer players

If you can manage to apply these five steps, you will be in the top 5% of all youth coaches. Even if you have limited experience, start with these five principles and the rest will follow with experience.

Give all your young players the chance to reach their full potential. It's a crime if you deny them this. Soccer is the beautiful world game so always make sure your players enjoy themselves.

View all articles by Thomas K

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