Andre Botelho’s Soccer Coaching Blog

If you are like me, you probably understand that to coach youth soccer is not an easy task. It requires a great deal of energy, creative thinking, and a sense to do things differently. When you are teaching kids soccer techniques, there are a whole lot of drills and exercises that you can use.

There are different schools of thought on this. One says that drills are the best way to teach soccer whereas others believe that the game itself is the best coach. The perceptions vary across coaches as well. However, it is certain that unless you mix all the activities well, a monotony will set in. The kids will get bored and soon get disengaged from soccer.

So, if there is a good blend of activities, there is a certainty that players will learn new things from drills and apply them during practice. To teach youth soccer, try the following suggestions and you will know what works best for your kids.

The problem with Drills-only sessions: To coach youth soccer, coaches focus a lot on drills. Not that it is a bad thing. Drills are an essential part of a good practice session. However, if you include only drills in your plan, there is great chance that the kids will stop enjoying the sessions. Worse still, this may drive them away from the practice sessions altogether. Make it a mix of games, chat sessions, and drills. Introduce as much variety as you can. When the kids get to do something new at regular intervals, it thrills them.

For example, having a player hit the ball several times using the same feet is pointless. Moreover, he will not be able to relate the exercise with the actual scenario on the soccer field.

Teach the right technique: While teaching soccer, always focus on the right techniques to do things. they can then practice these during their sessions. Supplement these with properly organized scrimmages, small games, and a few outdoor excursions such as trekking, biking and so on. After that, you can make them move on to playing a regular soccer game.

It is important to focus on the techniques because they are the stepping stones to good performances. If the players start practicing wrong techniques, they will never really be able to correct themselves later. It is also a good idea to split the group into teams and even the games into different phases.

Make sure that you impart instructions correctly and carefully. This is possible when you have done your homework. Always get to the field prepared with what you want the kids to do.

Remember always, kids will play soccer only when they enjoy it. If their interest is not developed, they will soon move to something else.

So there you have it. Know what it takes to coach youth soccer, create a fun-filled and engaging practice session and implement it. You can get access to thousand of such tricks and knowledge resources on youth soccer by subscribing to our youth soccer coaching community. Enroll today.

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

Let me ask you a simple question. To coach youth soccer, what are the 3 things that a coach can do? Before you answer this question, it is important to know that youth soccer is all about letting the kids have fun. The focus should be on making drills and sessions so exciting that they are always full of of enthusiasm.

So, to teach youth soccer, keep in mind the following three tips. They will help you guide the young kids to becoming professional players.

Let the kids have fun: As I said, youth soccer is all about having fun with the game. As a coach, you must plan each session well in advance. For example, make them start with warm-up drills that prepare them for the sessions. Then move to advanced drills such as passing, dribbling, trapping the ball etc and so on.

Also, allow the kids to be creative in their approach. Encourage them to try new things and even of they are doing something wrongly, do not interrupt them. Talk to them about it after the session. The support of the parents is also extremely crucial in achieving the fun objective.

To coach youth soccer, it is important since the kids will spend a considerable time with their parents off the field. Ask the parents to inspire the kids, keep a track of their diet, and be regular in their training sessions.

Adapt to the age level: Teaching soccer to the youth is generally for kids between 7-14 years of age. At this age, it is a challenge to define the drills that actually catch their attention. 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 make two or more teams and giving them names. This inculcates a sense of team spirit. Also, do not experiment a lot. A good session is one that has a mix of new and old time-tested techniques.

Document the Drills: You must always write down the sessions, drills, and the goals associated with them. It aids in providing a direction to the team effort. The documentation also helps you in evaluating the progress of the players. If something needs a change, written plan will assist you in assessing it.

Also, with everything documented, it is easy to track your goals. It is obvious that some things will not work out as you expected and you can always get back.

It is safe to say that youth soccer is a dynamic, fun-filled, and yet a responsible job. However, with proper planning and these essential tips handy, you will succeed at it without a doubt.

Put this to test right away! These tips on coach youth soccer are guaranteed to bring you marvelous results. For more such tips on youth soccer, join our youth soccer coaching community where you will find many resources and like-minded individuals from the soccer community.

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

Tell me, does this describe you? When it comes to coach youth soccer, there are certain essential elements that kids look forward to in their coach. If you have all of the following traits, there are chances that your kids rate you very high as a coach.

We often discuss as to how kids and their parents should be informed about the training drills. However, it is almost always neglected as to what kids expect from their coach. To teach youth soccer, it is imperative to have the following skills which will decide how well and soon can you create a winning team.

Sensitivity: Listen to kids and understand their needs and aspirations. Respect their thoughts, ideas, and goals. Be tolerant and ever-ready to lend them your ears. Also, it is important to note that the best way to handle kids is being humorous with them.

Knowledge and Experience: While teaching soccer, it goes without saying that the kids look up to you for information and tips. So you should be someone who has played soccer extensively,  knows its intricate details, and has a huge experience to share.

Praise and Feedback: When a kid does well, ensure that you appreciate him. Along the same lines, when someone makes a mistake, provide feedback. However in both the situations, do not go overboard. Also, it is important not to  pull someone up in front of his teammates. Cheer the team up from outside the field. This is important to coach youth soccer.

Trustworthiness: Young kids often get caught up in situations where they cannot take a decision. In times such as these, they look up to you to guide them. Talk to them, share your ideas, listen to their problems and this will develop a bond. They will trust you for taking their decisions.

Managing: Kids like their soccer coaching sessions well organized and planned. So it is mandatory that you have great managerial skills as well. Whether you are organizing on the field drills, outdoor excursions, or even a small chit-chat session, ensure that the time is well spent.

A competent teacher: A coach and a teacher are not very different. Try to impart correct and accurate instructions, be compassionate to their problems, be appreciative and never ever reprimand, unless absolutely necessary.

Be a Friend: More than a coach, be a friend. The kids will need to share a lot of things with you and they will do so only when they trust you. Generally, kids get intimate only when they believe that their coach is friendly and open with them.

Remember, youth soccer is all about fun and learning together. If any one element is missing, the kids will loose interest in the support. You, as a coach can make a difference by imbibing all these qualities in yourself.

So go ahead and coach youth soccer by making these changes to your daily coaching routine. If you think, any of the above traits is lacking, work towards developing them. Our youth soccer coaching community has tons of useful resources, tips, articles, and newsletters to help you rise in your coaching profession.

Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free Coach youth soccer 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 Coaching Youth Soccer ebook at: Soccer Coaching Drills.

Let’s face it. When it comes to coach youth soccer, every coach runs short of ideas on how to make practice drills interesting and enjoyable for the kids. The biggest challenge in teaching soccer is being creative enough to come up with great ideas so that the interest of the kids is sustained in the game.

Following 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 kids line up on the single goal line. Now, scatter a lot of balls all over the field. Then, ask the kids to go after the balls  and move as if they are attacking the opponent goal post. They must also shoot the ball when they get a chance.

This drill helps them build stamina, confidence, and also improves their dribbling skills. Since the kids do not have any opposition while they dribble, it also brings out their individual style.

Passing the Ball: In this game, make the kids stand in a queue at a distant corner of the field. Count till 3 and as soon as you finish, instruct them to run towards you as fast as they can. While they are running towards you, they also need to steal the ball from the other player who is kicking the ball. When you say Stop, the player who was kicking the ball must pass to one of the teammates.

When you coach youth soccer, these drills bring out the best in kids when it comes to passing and dribbling. They also learn the art of stealing the ball from other players which is very important.

Touch and Go: This is a very enjoyable game which the kids love. Make the young players stand in two queues not more than 40 feet from the goal post. Also, the goalie should defend the goalpost. Place yourself somewhere between the two queues.

Now pass the ball to one of the queues and instruct them to shoot or pass the ball using only one touch. The objective should be to attack the goal. The goalkeeper must then return the ball and the practice continues.

If you have more than one goalkeeper in the team, keep them alternating between different sessions. This game involves team effort and also improves the shooting skills. Also, the goalkeepers learn to save the ball from hitting the goal post.

Retaining the possession of the ball: This drill helps the players learn to move forward with the ball saving it from opponents. Take two players, one acts as the defender and the other attacker.  Instruct them to start moving the ball as per their roles and when a player dominates the other, reward him with a point.

These are the easiest ways to coach youth soccer. Make your kids practice them and you will help them learn and have fun at the same time. If you would like more such tips and know about drills, join our youth soccer coaching community.

Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free Coach youth soccer 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 Coaching Youth Soccer ebook at: Soccer Coaching Drills.

Let me ask you a simple question? When it comes to coach youth soccer team, what is the most important skill? There can be many varying answers to it but the truth is that controlling and tackling the ball is the most crucial. The success of a team depends on how well an individual player handles the ball and how well the team supports him on the field.

To teach youth soccer, start with teaching the players various positions on the field. This coupled with the rules of the game as well as how how they should move around in the field making the optimum utilization of the space are important first lessons. With time, they must also get to understand each others strengths and weaknesses.

It must also be understood that the player who has the ball is dependent on the support of his teammates in converting it to a goal. There is a great deal of coordination required to achieve this and as a coach, you must instill this in them.

When you coach youth soccer, it is important to observe how long players can keep the possession of the ball. The longer they can do that, the better it is. Also, teach them to pass the ball cleverly and efficiently by considering the different positions of the ball. As discussed earlier, the role of the supporting players in critical here.

When passing the ball, instruct them not to get in the route of the ball. Also, ensure that when the pass is about to be made, the players should have 3 different choices to pass the ball to. Before receiving the pass, the players must rearrange their spaces so that they are in a good position to handle the ball.

While teaching soccer, imagine a situation where the player does not have the required space to play the ball once he has it. Also, if possible, it is ideal to have at least 2 more players supporting the pass so that after the pass is made, it can be moved about in an attacking position.

Another great trait of a winning team is how they prepare themselves to tackle the ball in unexpected situations. Such situations do occur and the team that makes the best of them wins. On the contrary, when you ignore this ability, even the best teams can end up on the loosing side.

Lastly, any practice session will surely fail if it is devoid of any fun element. No matter what the level of players be, beginner or advanced, you must include a lot of drills and fun games that take away the monotony of rigorous daily sessions. There are many such drills that help the players learn the art of controlling the ball. The best part is that they learn while having fun.

So go ahead and make the best of these tips and techniques to coach youth soccer team. These will surely put them on the winning path. Our youth soccer coaching community has tons of resources, articles, videos, newsletters and so on that will teach you elements of youth soccer coaching. Join it today.

Andre Botelho is a recognized expert in Coach youth soccer. 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 Coaching Youth Soccer guide visit: http://www.soccerdrillstips.com.

Ever wondered how difficult it may seem to coach youth soccer team? Actually it is not, if you have the right attitude, flair to deal with the kids, and some handy tips.

It is always logical and best to start with the basics. At this stage, all they need to do is enjoy the game and eventually, they will begin to get professional in their approach. Also, getting familiar with the fundamentals of soccer will make them confident and get accustomed to the essentials of the sport.

To teach youth soccer, the first things to do is to do nothing. Yes, be very very observant but let the kids be on their own. Do not try to organize things a lot or instruct a lot. This way, the kids will just enjoy the game and that is most important.

Provide short and accurate feedbacks on which the kids can act instantly. Give these feedbacks only at the end of the session, not during them. Remember that they are just kids and so it is important to communicate with them in their language.

Parents of kids take a lot of interest in their progress. So it is a great idea to involve them early. This will also help you in making sure that kids sustain their interest in the game even when they are at home.  Make sure that you understand their queries and answer them appropriately.

Keep all the communication channels open. Personal meetings, telephones, email are all acceptable and effective modes of dialog. However, a word of caution! Do not instruct the kids or allow parents to do the same on the field. Also, the feedback, especially negative, should never be discussed in front of the the young player.

To effectively coach youth soccer, interacting with your fellow coaches is also essential. Every one has unique experiences of their own and sharing them with each other opens new doors to communication and ideas.

Prepare your plans and 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. Professionalism and courtesy is as much relevant in youth soccer as it is in professional soccer.

Andre Botelho is a recognized expert in Coach youth soccer. 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 Coaching Youth Soccer guide visit: http://www.soccerdrillstips.com.

Ever wondered what makes kids so enthusiastic about soccer coaching drills. They do not necessarily look at it like a game but a session full of excitement and energy. So it becomes a sort of challenge for a coach to make youth soccer drills so interesting that kids just cannot wait to get to the field.

This can be achieved in a variety of ways. You can introduce a lot of games, fun drills, and even activities that promote a sense of competition among them. You must understand that soccer is a team-game. Therefore it is critical to introduce games that promote team spirit among the boys.

One of the best soccer coaching strategies to get started with kids is fun soccer conditioning. It helps you to utilize their tremendous energy as well as make them focus on the game.

To begin with, instruct the kids to go for a short session of running or jogging that will warm up their bodies. Ensure that they do not overdo it. It is easy for them to go overboard since they are full of energy and would not know when to stop. Take small breaks in between. It allows them to refresh and rejuvenate themselves. You can also use this time to talk to them about the next set of exercises.

Next, involve the players in individual or group activities. For example, the player to arrive first at the training session gets to do juggling. As players keep coming by, they can join him. In this way the whole group is involved in the activity. If the group becomes large for these soccer coaching drills, make two groups and so on.

There are other nice activities as well such as soccer golf where the players aim the soccer ball at a distant object. Another great activity is soccer volleyball where the kids play in a restricted area without letting the ball touch the ground. These soccer coaching exercises add an element of variety and fun to the sessions.

In addition, teach the players to dribble with the ball as also use different body parts except hands. Do not be too pushy. Remember that they are kids and will learn with time. A great way of making this exercise interesting is shouting out the name of a specific body part such as foot, knee, elbow etc when the player is ready to tackle the ball. Then the player has to use that body part only.  This makes them attentive and focussed.

Another aspect of fun drills is circuit training. It is extremely useful with large number of players. Divide the players into small groups and give them several tasks. They should do these continuously with small breaks in-between.

Put these to the test right away. Soccer drills can be great fun if you have the imagination to create new activities every day.

Now that you have learnt these fun soccer coaching drills, take these to the kids and let them enjoy their sessions in the field. You can gain access to tons of such useful resources, tips and techniques by enrolling to 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 Soccer coaching drills. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun in less than 29 days! Download your free Soccer Drills guide at: http://www.soccerdrillstips.com - Youth Soccer Practice Drills.

Ever wondered how important throw-ins can be in soccer coaching drills? Similar to passing skills, good throw-ins allow the players to cover the ground easily and attack the opponent team. Make your kids do these drills in soccer practices and it will do wonders to their skills.

Retain possession of the ball as long as possible: As is obvious, this is very important and the primary objective of every coach should be to teach the players never to lose the possession of the ball. When a throw-in has been executed, taking its possession should be of utmost priority. If it is lost, the team has lost an opportunity.

Select the right player: Again this is of great consequence. Your players should always know that in defending third, if the opponent team attacks, it is very likely that your players will loose the possession of the ball. If you choose the right player in these soccer coaching drills, he would allow the other players to mark and cover the space correctly.

Keep your eyes on the ground: For someone taking the throw-in, it is important to scan the ground to ascertain which player the ball should go to. It could be the predetermined players or anyone who is open. Manage it quickly so that the opponents do not ascertain where will you throw the ball.

Use simple throw-in techniques: The throw-ins do not have to be complicated at all. In fact, there are 3 very simple approaches in football coaching drills that if adopted well lead to great results. What matters though is that the players practice these approaches a lot.

In approach 1, throw back the ball, away from the pressure and switch to the other side of the field.

In approach 2, encourage the players to make runs to create space and beat marking. Also the players should throw the ball to the open player.

In approach 3, the ball must be thrown to back-to-goal player who then drops the ball for the thrower.

As said earlier, these approaches in soccer drills are not difficult to understand or execute. However, what really matters is that the players practice these as much as possible to achieve perfection.

Encourage the players to throw to feet: This is another vital drill for throw-ins. It is important that you teach the players to throw the ball to feet with a great deal of accuracy. It is a mark of your expertise as a coach that you are aware that all players can excel when they receive a throw-in to feet. This is irrespective of what their individual capabilities are.

It is interesting to know that when the players are in pressure, they perform very well when they receive a throw-in to their feet.

Now that you know that there are approaches that can change the way your players handle throw-ins, teach them. There are tons of such tips and discussions on soccer coaching drills in our youth soccer coaching community. Join it today and you will get access to a wealth of resources on youth soccer coaching.

Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free soccer coaching drills ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Learn how to skyrocket your players’ skills and make training fun in record time. Download your free soccer drills ebook at: http://www.soccerdrillstips.com - Youth Soccer Training Drills.

What if I told you that 50% of soccer coaching drills should focus on enhancing the trapping skills of your players? You would probably dismiss it as a fancy. But No! Research shows that trapping along with passing and dribbling skills alone decide whether your team is capable of winning matches or not.

Trapping is the ability of the players to intercept the ball and then keep it near their body. In such soccer exercises, they can use their feet, chest, and thighs to do so.

It is imperative that your players know how to trap the ball. If not, they will never really be in control of the game because everything else comes after trapping the ball. Some of the following techniques help in enhancing the trapping skills of the players.

Involve the Feet: Primarily, the coach must teach the players to use their feet in tackling the ball. Especially with younger players in kids soccer drills, it is important to make them use the inside of their foot. The biggest reason for this is that the inside area of the foot is broad and is most helpful in tackling the ball.

If the players are advanced and mature, teach them to use the instep or top of the foot as well as the whole foot in trapping the ball during the soccer coaching drills. In cases where the ball bounces a lot, it is best to make them use their shin or ankle to tackle the ball.

Thigh Movement: A thigh is very useful in controlling the fast and bouncy approaching ball. Instruct the players to get in front of the ball, stand on one feet and rise the other thigh to stop the ball. It is important to learn that as soon as the ball meets the thigh, the knee should be dropped so that the ball drops right there and does not move away from the player.

This exercise of dropping the knee needs to be done repetitively so that the players master the art of first stopping the ball using the knee and then drop it so that the ball trickles down the feet.

Use the Chest: Similar to the role of a thigh, the chest also plays an important part in trapping the ball that is high up in the air. Make the players stand in front of the ball and then ask them to take their chests out as if to confront the ball. When they do so, the ball will instantly loose its speed and easily get down to the feet.

However, in the soccer training drills, it is important to realize that young players should not be exposed a lot to this technique. When they try to tackle the ball using the chest, it is their normal tendency to use their hands. This can prove to be dangerous as the kids might develop a habit of using their hands while tackling the ball.

Now its time to start putting these soccer coaching drills into action. Make the players practice these more and more. If you wish to learn a great deal of such tips and tricks, subscribe to our youth soccer coaching community.

Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free soccer coaching drills ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Learn how to skyrocket your players’ skills and make training fun in record time. Download your free soccer drills ebook at: http://www.soccerdrillstips.com - Youth Soccer Training Drills.

Its unbelievable how some coaches ignore passing drills during the soccer coaching drills. Passing is an integral part of soccer and without mastering this skill, your team can hardly expect to win matches. There are several games and interesting activities that can be introduced in youth soccer drills that go a long way in improving the passing skills of the boys.

Teach the Basics: Start with the fundamentals. Divide the team into two parts and give each of them a ball. Ask them to pass and control the ball among themselves.

This will give you a good idea of what the strengths and weaknesses of various players are. Also, you will be able to judge the level of passing that each player possesses. Then you can monitor individual progress of the team members.

The Moving Circle: There are a lot of games that help players learn effective passing. One such soccer coaching drills is where two players stand in a circle and the other team members outside it.

Then the players inside the circle attempt to intercept the ball thrown at them by the players outside. The one who is able to successfully intercept the ball is replaced by the player outside the circle and the game continues. A great feature of these soccer practice drills is that they introduce an element of fun along with learning and practice.

The Three Soccer Balls: This is another interesting game that teaches a lot of things to the kids. In this game too, the team is divided into 2 groups. 3 soccer balls are placed between the teams and when the coach says Start, the teams must compete to take the possession of 2 or 3 balls and when a team does, it is declared a winner.

The fight for the balls continues till the coach says Stop. In order to maximize the gains from this game, it must be repeated several times. Since the number of balls is less, the game brings out the best in both the teams as they play to win the possession of the balls. You can instantly know which team has better passing skills and accordingly focus on the weak group.

In addition to passing the ball, this game also teaches several other tactics. These include decision making skills like which position is the best to take the possession of the ball and how to move quickly in the field. They also learn how to keep the ball in possession through passing and dribbling. Finally, they develop the ability to think instantly which is crucial to success in real matches.

The key to developing winning habits is more and more practice. Soccer ultimately is about fitness, agility, and sharp skills. While teaching soccer, you must implore the kids to practice these games again and again.

Your goal, now that you have learnt these soccer coaching drills, is to go ahead and teach them to your kids so that they can make the most of them on the field. If you would like to subscribe to more of such useful tips, techniques, and knowledge on soccer, subscribe to our online 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 soccer coaching drills. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun in less than 29 days! Download your free soccer drills guide at: http://www.soccerdrillstips.com - Coaching Youth Soccer Drills.