Soccer Drills For Youth

Let this be known! In order to coach youth soccer, it is always difficult to think and create new drills that are interesting as well as useful for the kids. While teaching soccer, the biggest problem is to keep coming up with new ideas so that the kids are always interested in the game.

What follow are some drills that you can teach youth soccer players. These help them not just focus on the game, become proficient in soccer, but also enjoy the game.

Get the kids going with dribbling and shooting: This is a simple drill that involves all the players at the same time. Have the kid’s line up on the single goal line. Now distribute the balls all over the soccer field. Then, ask the kids to go after the balls and move as if they are attacking the opponent goal post. They should also shoot the ball as soon as they have an opportunity.

This exercise does a lot of good to the energy level, and confidence of the players and at the same time perks their dribbling skills. As the kids do not face any opposition while moving forward, it reflects their style of playing soccer.

Coaching Youth Soccer

Teach them to pass the ball: Tell the kids to position themselves at the far end of the field. Make them run to you fast as soon as you finish counting till 3. While they are running towards you, they also need to steal the ball from the other player who is kicking the ball. When you yell stop, the player in possession of the ball must pass it instantly to one of his mates.

In order to coach youth soccer, these games help the kids display their abilities in passing and dribbling. At the same time, they learn the skill of clinching the ball from others which is also vital.

Touch and Go: It’s a very interesting game which kids love to play. It requires the kids to stand in two rows under 40 meters away from the position of the goal. Besides, the goalpost should be defended by the goalie. Situate yourself in between these two queues.

You pass the ball to one line and subsequently coach them to shoot or pass the ball with one stroke only. The purpose must be to convert it into a goal. Once the goalie returns the ball, carry on with the practice.

When you’ve got two or more goalkeepers in team, make sure you keep include them in alternating sessions. This sport enables players to perk up their shooting skills through team effort. Also, the goalkeepers learn to save the ball from hitting the goal post.

Keeping the ball with you: Players get to learn the skill of moving ahead with the ball protecting it from the opposite team. Get two players so that one plays as attacker and second guards the ball. Instruct them to start moving the ball as per their roles and when a player dominates the other, reward him with a point.

These account for some easiest practices to coach youth soccer. You can make your kids perform these as they help them learn along with having loads of fun. If you’re interested in knowing more about such tips, be a part of our youth soccer coaching community.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Learn how to skyrocket your players’ skills and make practice sessions fun in record time. Download your free ebook at: Soccer Drills.

Permit me a straight question. To coach youth soccer, what are the 3 things for the coach to do? Before you jump into answering this question, realize that youth soccer means that kids should enjoy the game. The concentration should be on turning the drills into enjoyable exercises so that the players get motivated.

Therefore, to teach youth soccer, take care of the following instructions. These will allow you to guide the kids to become advanced players.

Make the kids enjoy the game: As we talked about it earlier, having fun and enjoyment is the key to youth soccer. As a coach, prepare each of the sessions beforehand. For example, make them start with warm-up drills that prepare them for the sessions. Once completed, make the kids move to more advanced drills, for example, passing dribbling, and controlling the ball.

As an addition, motivate the players to think out of the box. It is important to inspire them to try new things and if they commit mistakes, do not interrupt blatantly. Have a word with them after the session. It is also essential that parents are totally involved so that they can help in making the game enjoyable for the kids.

Coaching Youth Soccer

To coach youth soccer, it is vital because the players are more at home than on the field. Request the parents to help you in monitoring their diet, motivate the kids, and maintain regularity in trainings.

Get familiar with the age of the kids: Teaching soccer to kids is between the age of 7 to 14. At this level, it is very painstaking to find drills that actually make the kids happy. So, research a lot over what games you would like them to play. Also, communicate carefully with them as they may not understand your intent behind the exercises if you are too formal in your approach.

It is a good idea to divide the group into teams and name them. This instills brotherhood. It is recommended not to conduct a lot of experimentation also. The idea of a well-balanced session is to have both tried as well as new activities in it.

Write the exercises: It always pays to write the exercises on paper along with the results that you are expecting from them. It helps in developing a strategy for the team. A written document is always useful in determining the objectives of the team. If something needs a change, written plan will assist you in assessing it.

You can also follow your objectives easily. It is perfectly usual for a few things to go wrong and in that case, you can always get back to the original plan.

It is safe to say that youth soccer is a dynamic, fun-filled, and yet a responsible job. With this information at your disposal, you will without doubt be able to do full justice to your job.

Put this to test right away! These tips on coach youth soccer are sure to bring positive results for your team. If you would like access to a mass of resources on youth soccer, join our youth soccer coaching community.

Andre Botelho is the author of “The Expert Youth Soccer Coaching Guide” and he’s a recognized expert in the subject of youth soccer coaching. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make coaching sessions fun in less than 29 days! Download your free pdf guide at: Soccer Coaching Drills.

Have you ever imagined the amount of complexity involved to coach youth soccer team? In fact, it’s much easy if you’ve got the right mind-set, the skill to tackle kids, and some practical tips.

Starting with the basics is always helpful and practical. During this stage, the kids are offered with the opportunity to enjoy thoroughly, thereby developing a professional attitude. What’s more, once the players know the basics of soccer, they will be more comfortable and confident about the nature of the sport.

To teach youth soccer, the first things to do is to do nothing. Observe the kids very closely while just letting them be. Don’t make huge efforts to systematize things or train too much. In this way, kids will only take pleasure in the sport which is of essence.

Offer short and precise feedback to the kids to improve upon themselves. However, these feedbacks should not be given during the session, but only after them. Because they are only kids, you must consider it and communicate with them in their language.

Coaching Youth Soccer

Parents are more involved in their kid’s improvement. So it is a great idea to involve them early. This way you’ll be sure that kids remain interested in the sport even when away from the field. Ensure correct understanding and addressing of the kid’s queries.

Keep all the communication channels open. Personal meetings, telephones, email are all acceptable and effective modes of dialog. But be careful! See that you or the kid’s parents don’t instruct them while they are on field. Moreover, negative comments, if any should always be shared when the young players are all alone.

To coach youth soccer successfully, one must communicate regularly with the fellow trainers. It provides an opportunity for the trainers to interact effectively as all of them have a lot of exclusive and important experiences to share.

Set up and arrange the drills in advance. This essentially means that you do your homework well in advance. Sometimes coaches take an easy approach thinking they are dealing with kids. That is not right. Expert coaching and respect for budding players is no less relevant as is in case of soccer as a sport.

Make the kids do drills that are enjoyable and yet teach them the basics of soccer. For instance, plan and go out for an outing with them. Tell them to take this opportunity to exchange their ideas and feelings with each other. It helps them trust each other more.

When teaching soccer, help the kids understand the value of regulation in soccer. It is vital that they understand in the beginning itself about the good practices in soccer.

In conclusion, help the kids understand and learn the game while at the same time enjoying it. Implement these tips in coaching your players and the results will be amazing.

For more such tips to coach youth soccer, subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community. What you’ll get here is wealth of resources to coach youth soccer along with a cooperative and string coaching community.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Andre Botelho is a recognized expert in youth soccer coaching. He influences well over 35,000 youth coaches each year with his unique coaching philosophy, and makes it really easy to explode your players’ skills and make training more fun in record time. To download your free youth soccer coaching guide visit: Coach youth soccer.