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How to build teamwork among kids

By on May 23rd, 2013

In the entire youth soccer coaching process, team building is a very important and a logical stage. Formerly soccer teams were run by the kids with the leading players always taking the initiative. Games were primarily played and organized keeping in view the participants and the coach came later. He was considered as someone who remained out of the field as well as the team structure in order to bring order and design a plan. But nowadays it takes a greater harmonized effort to achieve the best results in youth soccer as more and more people have a voice in decisions. This has brought a change in the nature of challenges that the modern coach and players are facing today.

It is important that all coaches include team building techniques into their practice sessions and take the advantages that a better understanding of this process offers. The practice of any team-building exercise is a tool that a coach can use to develop player’s soccer theory and their technique of play in the best possible way as a coach can with the goal to accomplish their goals. Following are a few key elements of a constructive team building process.

1. A clear and complete understanding of the team’s performance of field in order to accomplish the desired outcome. This further includes an understanding of the duties and responsibilities.

2. The team administration should be fully supportive of the coach and his vision for the team. When it comes to youth soccer, support from the kid’s parents is also a part of this process.

3. The coach’s vision should be in agreement with the overall club culture and only complement it.

4. The techniques used and the methods applied should be age appropriate for the kids, practical and functional.

5. Design practice plans that connect individual and small group techniques to team tactics. Practice should not be seen as something to fill time and keep the kids occupied. There must be a positive relationship between an individual player’s action and realization of a team objective.

6. It is of utmost importance to develop a decent level of interaction between the team members themselves and between the coach and the players too.

7. It is for the coach to first observe team building as a course rather than a trend and then to pass on this understanding to the players. It cannot be taken as another team-building activity just like a chicken burger treat. Instead it influences every aspect of the team’s atmosphere, either positively or negatively, right from the first practice session to the final soccer game.

8. The advantages that a team building practice offers are long-standing. These advantages or disadvantages cannot be specific for one particular season or a team. These are passed along all through a player’s career.

9. The objective of practicing team building exercises for a soccer coach is winning games. Personal and professional development of players without the objective of winning is similar to reading a book without the knowledge of its contents. It explains the players and sometimes the coach as to why they are doing what they are doing. During the developing years, winning should only mean kid’s performance on the field. It is imperative that kids work upon developing their playing abilities and it is this endeavor is what makes a winner.

Team spirit is often seen as a means to success in team sports including soccer, and youth soccer team-building exercises are key elements for the young players to spend time and bond. Being the coach, one should include soccer team-building exercises during the pre-season to allow your kids to get to know each other. With the passage of time, a coach should also lay emphasis on team building and the development of players as a group.

The process of building team spirit and having kids to bond and become a unified unit is imperative to making sure that the team delivers its finest performance and as a youth soccer coach, your role in building team spirit among the players is the greatest. When players bond well with each other, they would never want to let their teammates down. In fact, they’ll make every effort to help and support their team mates as much as they can. They always try and do the best thing for their team.

Group Union: When kids are young, they generally come for practice sessions on time and leave soon after the session gets over. Well organized soccer practices call for focus and so kids normally find little time to hang out with friends. Team bonding activities such as team trips and pizza parties help increase social bonding among players, off the field.

As a soccer coach, you should encourage kids to frequently host team meals where each kid brings some home-made food for players to sit and enjoy each other’s company. The more time your players will spend in each other’s company away from the field, the more friendly will they become and start communicating freely on the field during practice matches as well as live tournaments. Also, the players will have confidence and take more pleasure in being a part of a team that is full of their companions.

This article lists a few simple ideas in the following paragraphs to help coaches accomplish a great team spirit.

Be punctual and reliable, always: Your players will always respect you and react to you in a positive way when they know you’re practicing what you’re preaching. The fact that you behave in a responsible and professional manner will invoke a feeling of appreciation for you and would want to give their best performance to make you happy.

Set team’s objectives so that it helps in binding the team to a common goal. When you involve kids in game related decision making, they are sure to take ownership of the team’s goal realization and in doing so, your players will tend to learn working towards a common goal. Although, it is a very simple thing to do and takes very little time, try including team building exercises by setting team’s objectives. It will allow your team to bond and eventually perform much better.

When you make the kids practice under extreme conditions, it’ll help bond the kids well.

Have the players follow a special dress code and always confirm to it while coming to practice. Also, request their parents to take them along while buying the teams gear such as tracksuits, shoes and equipment bags etc. This will make them feel like a part of a team especially when they’ll sport a similar gear.

One method that you can use is to make sure that each player’s birthday is acknowledged, and no matter where or in what position your team may be, wish the player and sing happy birthday along with the cake cutting ritual. This not only breaks the routine sessions of strenuous workouts and practice but also make the players feel special. They naturally bond with others better when they share their special moments with them.

The importance of developing teamwork is essential soccer because this is a sport that does not depend on any predetermined ways to tackle the opposing team, and the decisions and field movements are spontaneous. This type of lateral thinking required in soccer calls for thoughtfulness and commitment amongst the team-mates.

Work upon developing a good and a friendly relationship with your players. Always remember that in youth soccer, players have an equal responsibility of showing a great game, not just for the coach and the team but for the teammates as well. When you show a sincere interest in their individual growth and development, it acts as a great motivation for them to understand their own self as well as their teammates.

After the kids have realized the importance of teamwork with reference to their individual development and have reached a level where the priority becomes teamwork and personal growth becomes secondary, allowing them to play in soccer positions that offer the maximum opportunity of scoring will increase their confidence in their game in addition to in their co-players’ game.

The most important thing for a coach to always remember is treat every player equally. Partiality is an absolute no-no that upsets harmony and creates tension on and off the field. So give equal time and show genuine interest in each player’s game as it is critical to developing teamwork in soccer.

Whether the objective of your team is to be the best soccer team, win a trophy, or improve upon previous year’s position, anything that brings a set of players together as a group will play an important role in maintaining bonding all through the path of a soccer season.

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Fun Soccer Finishing Drills

By on May 16th, 2013

For soccer coaches coaching young players, it is important to understand that kids are keen on performing finishing drills because these drills help them score more goals. For kids, the feeling of scoring goals is the best feeling and no other emotion can even come closer to it. Following are a couple of finishing drills that you can include while designing your soccer practice plan.

The first soccer finishing drill is called hitting the ball at the first tap. The purpose of this drill is to allow your players to practice and improve their accuracy in shooting the ball when trying to finish by the first tap.

To perform this drill, all you need to do is arrange for two teams having equal numbers of players on both sides of the goal. Put two cones at a distance of about 1/2 yard from the 18 yard stripe. Each of the players positioned on the sides of the goal posts should be given a ball each that they’ll keep at their feet.

To begin with the drill, instruct the opening player positioned on the red line to quickly run in the direction of the cone placed right in front of that line. Once the player has taken a round of the cone, a player from the blue line passes the ball a little towards that player. The player on the red line should then conclude the attack instantly but after losing the ball’s control. Now, the player on the blue line should be doing exactly what the red player did, but here, it’s the red player who should be passing the ball a little. You just need a ball for each player and two medium sized cones in order to perform this drill.

An experienced coach will have the privilege of making some variations to this drill. For example; you might let players open the drill by receiving the ball but then later on letting them conclude the drill next to the goal.

Something that must be emphasized when performing this drill and it is that a coach should teach the young players to knock the goal out though the shoot may be loose instead of kicking a shot that will finish thirty yards at the back of the goal. This means that in a situation like this, players should know that accuracy with which the shot is played is way more essential than the force or the power used to hit the ball.

The second soccer finishing drill is called as the 3 versus 3 with Factions drill. The purpose of this drill is to teach and improve upon finishing ability of your players by training them to use different body parts like the head, or inside foot, and the instep foot.

To set up the drill, divide the players into small teams with 3 players in every team. Have the players belonging to different teams wear different coloured jerseys so as to identify them on field. Mark the field with 4 cones as in the image below. Place 4 to 5 balls close to 2 cones and position two players who will perform as wing players at both sides of the eighteen yard box.

At the start, one of the wingers will move the ball towards the cone; the one that has been put on the line alongside the goal. After this player has moved around 1/2 yard from the cone, the next step should be to pass the ball a little inside the eighteen yard square. The players positioned within the box would then attempt to draw the attack to a close with a single tap on the ball. Those players who manage to score maximum points will be declared as the winner. Let the kids take a break for about 3 to 4 minutes and the start the second round of the same drill among 2 newly formed teams.

In order to carry out this drill, all you need is some balls, four cones and different coloured jerseys.

You may bring some interesting variations to this drill by allowing the kids positioned within the square to finish the drill using his head. The best part is that this drill can be incorporated while designing a practice regimen for your kids to improve their skills to defend and offend.

This drill has proved to be an excellent soccer drill, over and over again, to prepare young players to score goals in live tournaments since this drill is all about improving upon a kid’s shooting and heading skills. Besides, kids tend to have a lot of fun performing this drill.

Improve soccer scoring

In order for your players to become expert at scoring goals, you need to train them in a way that they develop an instinct in front of the goal and take chances whenever the opportunity comes. If you follow the points given below, you’ll feel that teaching becomes a piece if cake for both you and the players in learning and executing the goal scoring techniques. Penalties, shots from the edge of the box and close range headers are very important in the game of soccer.

Train you players to learn and adapt to take these chances while you are coaching them to develop the appropriate goalkeeping skills to win soccer matches. The above mentioned three opportunities if identified at the right time can make all the difference in the game and has the potential to turn any game into win. If you train your players by incorporating these soccer drills into your practice regimen, you will effectively encourage your players to remain alert and be intuitive in front of goal.

There are three different ways to score in a soccer match where young players are involved.

The first one is where you tell your players to score hat-trick wins. For training this, set the drill up in such a way that you have a goal with a goalkeeper. Position yourself on one side of the goal and your assistant on the other side. Give each player at least three chances to score goals. Tell them to concentrate and decide in their minds to aim at scoring a goal on all three chances to become the first player to get a hat-trick.

Tell the players to start with a penalty. As soon as they play the shot, you, the coach, should play the ball to the edge of that area where the player has to run towards the ball and shoot. As he turns back towards the goal, your assistant should throw the ball in the air towards that player so that the player gets the opportunity to score a goal using his head. The important thing here to tell your players is that they must think and then move quickly so that they can be in a position that allows them to score goals.

This is an interesting, effective, and a quick soccer drill that helps in developing instincts of young soccer players in front of the goal. Once you’ve guided your players’ right, they’ll remain motivated to continue practicing this drill even during the whole night if they’re allowed to in an attempt to get that elusive hat-trick.

Soccer tactics that help young soccer players win the game – Finishing Skills

The majority of players who come to practice sessions have an inclination to learn and prepare for soccer moves that will equip them with the skills to score goals in a competitive match. Finishing skills play an important part here as learning goal scoring skills require plenty of practice. At this point, it is vital to make the players understand the importance of possessing the ball with them in relation to finishing and shooting.

Players should try their best to score a goal: First, teach the players that in order to score goals, they need to try scoring them. Unless they make an attempt to score, they won’t be able to do it. This is the reason that you must help players in developing their finishing skills. This can have a major impact on the result of the game because good finishing skills have the potential to win the games.

You should therefore identify and arrange for some effective soccer strategies to help your players in deciding when is the right time to execute this soccer move? What is also required is to work out the minimum number of players who will be the attackers as there must be a balance in player’s position. The defence cannot be weak in comparison to the offence.

The importance of finishing skills: When it comes to the use of finishing skills, the right time to take a shot at the goal is when the player is pretty sure of scoring. Or else, they’ll lose the ball’s possession and it’ll be open to the opponents. This requires the entire team to take part in scoring a goal and only if the team badly needs a goal or is hundred percent confident about scoring, it makes sense to take the risk.

Since there can never be a hundred percent guarantee of scoring a goal while attempting to do it, the player should make sure that the effort and the shot at the goal does not land in unsafe areas. That is why it becomes necessary for you to work out a strategy of where and when to shoot the ball. For example; when the ball is shot over the net, it does not result in a rebound.

Kick the ball at the right time and in the right place: Shooting the ball is a skill that is performed when the chances of scoring a goal are especially high. It is the test of a player’s ability to study the situation and make a decision whether he or she should maintain possession of the ball or risk shooting the ball into the goal.

Again, it emphasizes the need to keep your players informed about the importance of maintaining the possession of the ball, particularly in a soccer match. After a match is over or once the practice session comes to an end, help them analyze a scenario in the match or the session that did not work out well, the reasons why it did not work out and how it can be avoided in future.

As a youth soccer coach, you must also teach your players some simple and interesting soccer moves like finishing runs. This basically involves teaching the players to try and sidetrack their opponents by movements that act as if the player is going for the ball. The ideal way to do it is by selecting a few players who’ll perform this strategic move which shall be unexpected and will add strength to the team’s attacking skills.

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Soccer Tryouts – How To Evaluate Soccer Players

By on May 9th, 2013

Every year, youth soccer coaches initiate the process of evaluating their players well at the launch of the soccer season. The purpose is to find out their weaknesses, strengths, positives and negatives to identify the areas that need to be worked upon. By doing this, the coach tries to create a training/ practice program that concentrates on the overall developmental needs of every soccer player, in addition to a game plan that makes the best use of each player’s capabilities. This lets the kids to enjoy and have fun while giving the youth soccer teams the best opportunity to win.

One thing before starting on the journey of evaluating young soccer players you must be aware that it calls for a lot of skill and insight to assess a soccer player’s performance based on his strengths and weaknesses, both on and off the field. The purpose of doing a detailed evaluation is to discover the strengths that can be especially useful under certain playing situations and observe weaknesses that need to be dealt with through practice and coaching.

Let’s take a closer look at some main points.

Try and find in each child, the level of soccer knowledge that he or she has. Know if the young players have taken part in any competitive game and are familiar with the soccer rules. This will let you know if kids understand the soccer positions and their roles on the field and will save you the time and energy in practice and coaching.

It’ll let you find out what a player’s speed, stamina and promptness levels are. As a coach, you know that running is fundamental to soccer. Assess these things by having the kids run laps around the playing field, run wind sprints and observe them during practice drills and game play.

 When you have this kind of information with you, it becomes easy to conclude the best way to utilize your players speed whether in offense or in defence.

You should only concentrate on the basic soccer skills. When you have the kids perform a few simple drills, a coach can right away determine the level of skill in a kid.

Once you’ve figured out your kid’s ability to pass, dribble, shoot trap, and head the soccer ball, you can decide where you should focus more to bring about improvements and enthusiasm. It will also help you to determine various soccer positions for the players based on their skills, energy levels, interest, preference and suitability.

Spend time with kids on and off the field to assess their desire to learn and improve and in which particular direction to they intend to grow. This kind of interaction will bring to light the fact that some kids may not be out there to develop into a professional soccer player, but to have fun and enjoy with their friends. So, direct your time, experience and energy to foster this desire in kids to learn and improve and get better.

Make a note of how quick and efficient the kids are in picking up the instructions and strategies that are being taught to them.

 You can then alter the methods of instructing the kids and the details of drill on the basis of kid’s responsiveness to the instructions.

In youth soccer coaching, each soccer trial brings different results and findings for a coach. This is because every coach has his or her own way and different standards of performance for assessing their players. For instance; some youth soccer coaches may carry out a string of trials ahead of a final assessment of their players. There are certain fundamentals while conducting the evaluation of young soccer players and they are described as under.

Running Drills: Before we start the discussion about what should be evaluated and how it should be evaluated, one thing that every player should be taught is that they need to be in their best physical state when they turn up for a trial. This is because they’ll need at least 10-12 weeks or may be months of physical training and conditioning to get into shape at the tryouts.

When a kid performs running drills, their body temperature rises and displays to the team members their stamina and aptitude. The trainer normally gives lessons on various ways in which the drills should be performed for players who do not know how drills need to be carried out. But if you’ve been a soccer player and have participated in professional soccer games before, you would be familiar with drills like step-over, foot-fire and the heel kick.

Dribbling: Players may be required to dribble around cones or their fellow players while performing various soccer drills with a view to demonstrate their dribbling ability. This way, the coaches try to make out whether a player can resourcefully move the ball without the need to look down at their feet. A player’s quickness, mobility and his or her control over the ball and several other aspects have the potential to build the trainer’s judgment.

Passing drills mostly go together with player’s dribbling skills. For example; when a kid plays on a winger’s position, he or she has to show his or her ability to switch and cross the ball. Players who are positioned at the sweep often have to perform comprehensive drills to master ball passing and dribbling skills right before the goalkeeper. The coach rates a player as the highest who makes front passes to his team members to set out into open spots.

Execution of the ball: It is mandatory for the players positioned on the midfield and forward to take part in drills that teach correct execution of the ball. These players are instructed to face free kicks directed straight towards the goalpost for other team members to translate into a goal. The players may also be required to show their ability to dribble the ball along the defender, take a pass and then kick the ball straight into the box. Some trainers would want to observe player’s ability to take a penalty kick and may ditch defenders against a goalkeeper to test their nerves.

Goalkeepers: When it comes to performing in soccer tryouts, goalkeeper’s experience is completely different from other positions that they play in. The reason is obvious. A coach assessing a goalkeeper will run some specific drills which examine a goalkeeper’s fundamental skills, for instance, basics that a goalkeeper might have to demonstrate include skills such as flinging the ball right into the playing field, goal kicks, directing the defence during a free kick or a corner kick, pitching ability to cover the goal corners with the ability to stop penalty and free kicks.

In the evaluation sheets/ forms of young soccer players, the coaches are required to evaluate the skill level of their players by using the following criteria:

A coach needs to assess the dribbling and ball control skills of a player; their technique of moving the ball quickly while being under complete control and combining speed, skills and deception, their use of both feet, inside and outside, under pressure and under control in a composed manner, shielding and rarely losing possession.

The coach is required to assess a player’s ability to accurately and promptly pass the ball at the correct speed to a teammate, use of proper passing and receiving technique, to see if they make passes to feet, on the ground, to space and lofted and makes use of both feet and all parts of the feet.

The evaluation form should include information on whether the players use either the right or the left foot to entrap and receive the ball, use their body successfully to trap air balls, don’t wait for the ball and run towards the ball to get it.

The coach must ascertain the player’s ability to strike on the goal with a range of techniques from contrasting ranges and angles with self-control, presenting the touch to score goals, the ability to steer long passes from goal and corner kicks, accurate shooting technique on goal, volleys and off passes. The coach observes the ability of players to finish the drills quickly with professional and fast movements in every area on the field, maintain his or her overall speed with and without the ball, his speed, promptness and reaction time.

Is the player fit enough to play an entire match? Has he got the physical abilities to run, effect a quick change in pace and direction, leap and force on and off the ball. Does he understand the basic defensive techniques and transition to defence? Does the player demonstrate the ability to contain attackers and know when to confront the opponent? Has he got the potential to win the ball under control? All these questions need to be answered clearly and completely in this form.

As a coach, it is your responsibility to evaluate your player’s ability to interpret the game as it develops and to place them in the most useful area from which they can support their team effectively. Player’s commitment to the game is of extreme importance and it reflects in their day to day routine such as showing up for practice sessions in time, listening and making progress, showing sportsmanship and applying lessons learnt in practice to live games and tournaments. Asses their desire to play soccer solely for the love of the game by observing how focused are they at the games and practice sessions.

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Fun Soccer Games Your Players Will Love

By on May 1st, 2013

It is a well known fact that a successful soccer training session, especially involving young players depends more on the process in which it is carried out rather than the content of the training.  It is said that kids, young players, professionals and even experienced soccer players learn almost everything new in the moments of enjoyment, and every qualified soccer coach would agree with this. Still, there are so many coaches who have a problem with the idea of including a fun aspect in training sessions.

Trainees across the globe including youth soccer players nowadays have become accustomed to having information offered to them in a fun filled activity format.  Even the news hour, perhaps the most serious program on TV and radio is designed to be fun, engaging, entertaining and interesting.  If the facts and information is not presented in a way that truly motivates them or entices them, the possibility that it’s going be a waste of time and energy is very high.

Research on human psychology has revealed that just like every human being, young players are most likely to remember two types of things; either a shocking statistic or a funny line. The reason that they remember it is because it is different from what they know and keep hearing every now and then and deliberately keep it in their minds so that they can share it with their family, friends and acquaintances. It is therefore suggested that you link all your key coaching points to a fun game or something entertaining so that the kids are more likely to retain it.

Fun does not include something that you say or do but it is something that helps create an atmosphere of happiness, relaxation, and ease with other teammates. When this kind of atmosphere is established, the funny side is then automatically generated by others inside the training room and making the training session a lot more engaging, interactive, participative, fun and enjoyable.  So, when you plan your training session next, make sure you add a lot of fun filling activities or the kids will most likely forget what they are taught in the session.

The subsequent paragraphs in the article give you a few examples of fun filled soccer games and drills that you may incorporate in your soccer training sessions and make them good fun for you and the kids.

Shock Absorber Cars Passing Game: By including this game, you’ll be improving upon the dribbling skills and the passing tactics of players thereby encouraging them to keep their heads up.

Your entire team will be a part of this game. Mark a 20 by 30 yard playing region with flat cones and a small four-sided figure just outside the playing region. Tell the kids and the adults to dribble the ball around this marked playing area. The kids will try to bump or pass their soccer ball, or in this game, called the car, into the adult’s car. When an adult’s car is passed, the adult player will take their car to the repair shop which will be a predetermined small area marked by cones, and they will not be allowed to leave the shop until they count till 10.

The Four Angle Shooting Game is aimed at improving the shooting skills, the goalkeeping techniques and the aggressiveness in young soccer players. Divide the whole team into two equal parts. One team should wear blur and the other red. If there are ten or more players in your team, you could also divide them into 4 teams playing 2 games simultaneously.

Mark the field in about 30×25 yards in length and width respectively and a goal post at both ends. One player in both the teams should be identified as the goalie. The remaining players in the team marked as red should be made to stay at the finishing point of the playing field, where half of them should stand on one spot and the remaining at the opposite corner. The players marked as the blue team should also be arranged in the similar manner by the opposite end of the field. The coach should be standing on the middle line with the footballs.

Now tell the players that after you move the ball into the field, the first player on all 4 corners would run in and try to score by getting hold of the ball. This results in a 2 versus 2 situations. The play shall continue for as long as the ball remains inside the playing area and a player scores a goal. As soon as it takes place, the players should promptly go back to where they were positioned before while the goalies hang about, and the trainer should hit the subsequent shot into the field.

 The only point to remember here is that you should not keep the players stand and wait in long queues for long. That is why it is suggested that if the players count is over 10, you should divide them into 4 teams and have two games played simultaneously. Here, you may tell your assistant to act as the coach in the second game.

Circle Ward-off Passing Game: This is a fun game for young players and in addition to being fun, allows them to focus more on the passing skills while playing keep at bay.

Mark a circle using cones and guide each player to position themselves within the circle, with just 2 selected players in the middle, holding an alternate coloured i.e. their opponent’s jersey in their hands.

Now the two players in the middle should act as defenders and the remaining players around the circle should play keep at bay from these defenders. The drills shall start with the first pass being free, and then as soon as the defenders get the ball, they’ll keep switching places with the player that has lost the ball to the defender. Here, the defender would drop their alternate coloured jersey and join the attackers. The new defender will now take the alternate coloured jersey, holding it in their hand.

If any pass gets out of the boundary of the circle, the player who made the wrong pass, or the player who failed to trap the ball properly will have to change places with the defender who has been in the middle for the longest time. If the attacking players put together 10 passes in a row, you should make the defenders take a quick round around the circle as a punishment or any other form of fun punishment that suits the style of your players the best. The attacking players should then move about the circle.

To bring variety to the drill, you may increase or decrease the size of the circle as per your player’s age and skills. Where a smaller circle will make the game tougher for the attackers to keep the ball’s possession, increasing the circle’s area wider will make the game a bit easier for the players passing the ball. So, a smaller circle is ideal for firm and quick passing while limiting the number of touches to a minimum.

Crossways Soccer Shooting Drill: This is a simple soccer drill that acts as a great warm-up before having the players perform a shooting practice or a youth soccer game.

Mark a 10 by 10 net a little away over the edge of the 18 yard box. Divide the players into two teams and make them stand over the lines on the remote cones that are facing the goal. One player from every line moves towards the cone near the player that rests the ball off to the player on the cone at the far end.

To start the drill, instruct player 1 to pass a ball diagonally to player number 4. Player 4 touches the ball and lays the ball off into the gap for player number 1 to get towards the ball and hit the first stroke on the ball into the goal. Now the player number 1 should take the place of player number 4 that set up his shot and player number 4 will shag the shot and switch lines with player number 1.

After that, player number 2 will make a diagonal passes a diagonal ball to player number 3. This player number 3 will rest the ball for player number 2 who will shoot the ball for the first time into the goal. Player number 2 will then become the target player as the first target player i.e. player number 3 will shag the shot.

By including these fun games and drills into you soccer practice session will ensure more excitement, enthusiasm, and a positive attitude among your players.

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The Psychology Inside Your Players’ Heads

By on April 25th, 2013

The role of player’s psychology in youth soccer coaching has grown in importance over the past few years. An experienced sports psychologist or a youth soccer coach trained in this field can make out the psychological weaknesses in the mental make-up of a player to counsel him or her in such a way that the player gets into a position where he can constantly play at his optimal level of performance. So it is in the best interest of young players and their coaches to look beyond physical and technical evaluation to recognize basic mental, emotional and lifestyle issues.

In some cases, it may help coaches to test the personality of their players. The coach has the maximum idea of how different is each player from the other in terms of personality traits and therefore can learn how to handle this issue better. These tests reflect that successful soccer players enjoy superior psychological and emotional health i.e. less anger, minimal stress and a lot more energy than those who may need emotional support or counselling.

Coaches and sports psychologists are also able to gauge the motivational and concentration levels of the players. Studies in the recent past have shown that youth soccer teams scored exceptionally well in trials on parameters such as determination, enthusiasm, leadership, control and mental toughness. Similarly, a young player’s performance on the field depends on his stimulation levels which mean the level of knowledge, awareness and attentiveness. As their stimulation levels increase their performance levels also increase to reach the optimum levels which should then be maintained. Here again, a sports psychologist can pitch in to evaluate and maintain a player psychologically at these optimum levels.

After a sports psychologist has identified the personality, motivational styles and thought process of a group of young players then improvements can be carried out. For example; exercises and practice sessions that are aimed at developing the goal setting skills, self-confidence and concentration can be implemented.

Along with this, it is equally important to keep players motivated, especially young players and preventing them from becoming discouraged, feeling letdown and low on self-esteem. Invent and adopt interesting and innovative coaching solutions such as reaching heights through goal setting, stimulating and exciting training exercises sessions and a sense of association within the team. As a coach you need not be reminded that team spirit is imperative for success.

You should also realize that for players, it can be very difficult to stay focused and keep at it the entire season. Even then, effective motivational techniques can make this task fairly easy. When you can effectively motivate young players in our team, they tend to learn relatively faster, improve upon skills faster, win more games, have more fun and learn life’s lessons faster, thus becoming better players and mature individuals.

Let’s take a look at few of such techniques that can help you motivate your players effectively and keep them motivated for a long time to come. Before we move any further, you must remember that there is no one-size-fits-all technique and you’ll have to adjust every tactic to suit your player’s mental make-up, their physical strength, their emotional state. Only then will it start showing the desired positive results.

Your tactics will be based on the age group of your players, your professional coaching experience, your training style, the resources you have access to, and the type of players in your team. And needless to say, each player will respond differently to the same motivational techniques. For example; one player might get motivated by the playing time while another kid might feel great to be a part of a growing team. So don’t expect that each of your motivational exercise may not produce same results with each player because not all players are the same.

The first tactic in player’s motivation is to recognize and accept the importance of motivation in a young player’s soccer journey. If you can do this with all sincerity, it will go a long way in your team’s success. Concentrate on two things: teaching and motivating players. Chalk out a plan in which you set aside particular time and days to do the things necessary to motivate young players. It includes spending time with players to know them, their likes and dislikes, what excites them and what puts them off and what they expect from the game and you, their coach.

With time, you’ll start observing the difference that hard work and motivation can make in improving your player’s skills and training, execution, learning, and every single attribute that a soccer team needs in order to be successful.

Doesn’t just be a coach to your players; be a mentor, a guru. Though this is the most difficult task but if adopted with a positive attitude, it can be the most powerful concept for you. When we talk about not being a coach but being a teacher, you should know what’s the prime concern of a teacher? Is it the progress of the student or the number of wins and losses in student’s kitty? This is a deep and a thoughtful concept that you need to learn.

There is no denying the fact that when the coach treats the player not as an athlete but as a student, players show tremendous individual improvement. This is the easiest way to motivate your players. Players will act in response if you teach them and they do in live matches exactly what they learn and do in practice. Moreover, when players start noticing that they have improved, it motivates them even more. When you embrace this simple technique, it will make you more efficient and successful in the coaching field than you ever thought possible.

Ask yourself, do you openly reward your player’s hard work on and off the field that can offers positive reinforcement. In soccer, you get what you pay for. You should openly praise your young player’s improvements, achievements, and their enthusiasm while rewarding them with a big heart. This is a very important to understand and should not be misinterpreted. A positive reinforcement is different from routine reward in that it is given to a player immediately when he or she performs a certain act or behaves in a particular way with the intention that he or she is encouraged to do it again and keep on repeating it.

When a player gets a reward for performing in a certain way, he will focus on performing just the right way and repeating that behavior. This could be a simple pat on the back or big words of appreciation but a more material reward like a trophy or a souvenir would be a better choice. Players can then take these souvenir’s home or to school to show them to their parents and friends. Consequently, when other players see that a certain type of behaviour or performing in a particular way is getting rewarded, they will also follow that player’s footsteps with the hope to get rewarded.

Mental toughness of a soccer player, to a great extent, is attributed to a number of individual qualities. These factors include a definite rationale, a great degree of determination, emotional calmness, a positive attitude, and lots of energy.

You should incorporate these training tips in your player’s training that focus on developing and strengthening the intellectual toughness.

We’ve already discussed that a player’s game is significantly improved when he is adequately motivated. It stimulates a player’s enthusiasm, boosts and promotes psychological toughness that is extremely important for a player to achieve the highest levels of youth soccer. Initially, it’s the peers, parents and friends that become a source of motivation in a soccer player’s life. Then during their professional life, it is the coach who guides them in the right direction by providing the much needed motivational push. And towards the end of his youth soccer life, the player should become a go-getter and self starter to progress in his game. This is where mental toughness becomes relevant.

If you can help your players stay motivated even through the later years of his career, he matures professionally and develops positive mental toughness. He stays motivated all the time to break his own records while keeping his balance.

In a nutshell, you should develop your players in such a way that they are able to meet the expectations of soccer. By being aware and comfortable in his own strength, dexterity and speed, he will not be susceptible to nervousness and self-doubt.

When your kids play with a conviction that they can win, they use all their game skills and personal talents to accomplish the eventual goal of achieving mental toughness as the only target. This is because players who can recognize opportunities and foresee traps can only be called as the mentally tough players.