.....at the younger ages (6 to about
10), soccer is not a team sport. On the contrary, it is a time for
children to develop their individual relationship with the ball. The
fact that younger children are placed into team environments is not
their fault. Do not demand that the more confident players share the
ball. Encourage them to be creative and go to goal. Do the same with the
rest of your players. Work to bring all your players up to that level of
confidence and comfort with the ball. Coaches should avoid the impulse
to “coach” their players from “play to play” in order to help them win
the match.
Coaches should not be telling their young
players to “pass rather than dribble,” to “hold their positions” or to
“never” do something (like pass or dribble in front of the goal).
Remember that
the level of skill and competence that a 9-year-old exhibits is no
indication of the skill and competence that he or she will exhibit at 16
or 18 years of age. You cannot predict which 9-year-old will develop
into a real player. Therefore, work to encourage all your players to be
competent and comfortable with the ball. This will give all your players
the same opportunity to reach their potential.
Work during practice to move all your players forward at their own pace.
Do not be concerned with match results. Be concerned that all
your players want the ball at their feet and they want to score. If you
can accomplish this, you have successfully allowed your group to grow as
soccer players. Unlike practice, you cannot add more balls/goals during
games to give kids more chances with the ball. But you can emphasize
certain themes for the players to focus on, such as getting involved,
attacking the goal, taking chances, and then spend the length of the
game reinforcing these points.
There is not just “one way” to teach
soccer to players, nor is there just one style of coaching.
There is a broad spectrum of styles and
methods for how each of us experiences the game. Some of this comes from
our backgrounds, while some of this also is the product of our own
personalities. At the youth and junior levels, however, there is a set
of fundamental principles that must be considered by anyone involved
with soccer. In general, young soccer players require a certain amount
of uninterrupted play. This allows them to experience soccer first hand.
They should be allowed the opportunity to experiment, and with that,
succeed and fail.
This approach will give your players the green light to experiment and
be creative - qualities that, unfortunately at the younger ages, are
often discouraged on game day, in the name of being safe and winning.
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