What are the main qualities that make a successful youth coach? What is your passion for the sport? Are you friendly? Are you good at teaching techniques? Are you good at communicating with your players? Are you approachable? Do you have specific qualities in your top three as a coach, such as the quality of your practice plans and your knowledge of the best soccer drills? What are the main attributes that make a successful youth coach? What is your passion for the sport? Are you friendly? Are you good at teaching techniques? Are you good at communicating with your players? Are you approachable? Do you have specific qualities in your top three as a coach, such as the quality of your practice plans and your knowledge of the best soccer drills?
You need to understand that, regardless of whether you agree with or disagree with the points in this article, being a good person is the #1 most important factor in everything you do in life, regardless of whether you are working as a personal coach, a family man, or a coach for an organization. As a soccer coach, you must be a good person who is fair, conscientious, compassionate, empathetic and has good intentions. As long as you are this kind of person to your soccer players, you will gain their respect, their trust, and they will have fun playing for you. However, what causes them to have fun?
GOOD YOUTH COACHES CULTIVATE “FUN”
Earlier this year, Amanda Visek conducted the Fun Maps study at George Washington University to find out precisely what fun is. Through the investigation, players were asked to identify what is fun about playing youth sports, and the three most common answers were the following:
When the coach treats the players with respectWhen the coach encourages the teamHaving a coach who is a good role modelLet's try replacing "coach" with "boss" and "players" with "employees" and see how close this is to what you are experiencing with your current job satisfaction. You may want to replace "coach" with "boss" and "players" with "employees" and see if this is close to what you are experiencing when it comes to your current job satisfaction.
A coach's personality and how they treat their players are so important that in German coaching education courses, a majority of the grade is based on whether an instructor would want to play for them.
The importance of personality and intentions cannot be overstated. As we explore the other qualities that make up a great youth coach, it is essential to realize that if you demonstrate your players as people instead of your need to win, you will be the most successful coach in the world.
APPROACH TO SOCCER TRAINING SESSIONS
To explore successful coaching traits, please consider all teams' everyday problems. How would you address the problem? What steps would you take to help your players bypass these hurdles?
ISSUE: PLAYERS HAVING TROUBLE GETTING INTO GOOD HABITS
You’ve run multiple practices on the topic, but your players can only play how they face when receiving the ball. Likewise, you’ve run various courses on the subject, but your players can only play how they face when receiving the ball.
SOLUTION: SUCCESSFUL COACHES CAN VARY THEIR INSTRUCTION METHODS.
If your players aren’t learning what you want them to, it’s not a problem with the players; it’s an issue with the message. Think about how you can deliver instruction to your players creatively. It is essential to be aware that the players learn differentiating the same message repeatedly over again will only lead to frustration. Coaches must be aware of their soocer learning styles.
TWO CREATIVE INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS USED BY SOCCER COACHES
On a recent trip to observe the Celtic Academy training their youth players, I noticed that many were wearing small bands around their left wrists and around one of their calves. During my conversation with the player's coach, they said they were used as a visual reminder to remind the players to use their weaker foot when appropriate and to check their shoulder before they received the ball when asked about this. While running, the player could catch a glimpse of the band while practicing. This would immediately remind them to look over their shoulder and examine the space behind them to avoid injury. That's pretty clever!
In one session on "movement off the ball to create space," sports psychologist Dan Abrahams asked players to raise their hands whenever they felt they created space on the field.
It wasn't a stoppage of the game when a player raised their hand, but an in-the-flow action that showed the coach that the player was making a deliberate action and a reminder to other players to do the same.
ISSUE: TEAMS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE WEAKER THAN US KEEP BEATING US
Typically, parents and those who need help understanding what is essential in youth sports raise these expectations. Why play it? Why a world where sports were only played on paper? Coaching youth soccer is much more than simply living up to performance expectations. If coaches are caught up in performance anxiety, their players will do the same.
SOLUTION: SUCCESSFUL COACHES DON’T CAUSE PERFORMANCE ANXIETY
It is more of a mental/social game than a technical/tactical game in soccer. You can have players with fantastic technique and know-how, but you will only get the most out of them if they are comfortable and happy with their soccer. Consider the transition of Manchester United from Jose Mourinho to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. You can see the positive shift in player psychology and how it translates to the field.
DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES
A friend who coaches high school soccer in Montana says he manages performance anxiety by setting “development milestones” during his team’s preseason goal-setting session. Instead of setting lofty goals like 'win a state title' or 'stay undefeated this season,' he sets realistic goals that each team can achieve. For example, in a soccer season, the first milestone is to score a goal. Once that is completed, the following milestones are to win a game, keep a clean sheet, etc. Although several milestones can be reached in each contest, another one is always a little harder than the last.
In the preseason meeting, the team focused on improving each game, as improvement gives them the best chance of reaching their following goals. It is possible, however, to lose the first game of the season if you set lofty goals like ‘win a state title’ or ‘remain undefeated this season.’ What then? The focus should always be on the process, not the result. The process allows success to happen naturally and as a byproduct of development.
ISSUE: PRACTICE INTENSITY IS TOO LOW.
The players make the movements, but training seems boring. Good soccer coaches create an environment where players look forward to practicing, competing, and learning.
SOLUTION: GET PLAYERS TO COMPLETELY “BUY IN”
Players who are 100% onboard with a coach can answer the question, "why are we doing this?" and engagingly present the information.
In my experience, many coaches run very static practices on the practice fields to teach technique:
The lines are longThere are no defenders or pressureWaiting for a turn rather than playing the gameThink back to your days as a player. In any sport, enjoyment occurs when the environment is dynamic. A strong coach understands this and can present information in a quick, punctual, and factual way, reducing the amount of time spent talking and adding confining rules.
Choosing great small-sided games can increase engagement and gain buy-in. Here are some things to consider:
Do they relate to your coaching points?Do they bring out a certain level of excitement and funAre they suited to the age and skill level of the audienceBoost your players' competitivenessThrow out games if they don't bring excitementTwo vs. 2 Plus 2 is a dynamic passing game that encourages players to move to open spaces to support their team. Click the links for coaching points & setup for 3 Goal Counter, a defending activity focusing on pressuring an attacker quickly. Click the links to view coaching points.
For your players to understand what you are asking them to do, coaches can not just say, “this is what you have to do,” but rather, “this is what we need to do,” since that caused this to happen. Doing so helps you to paint a picture for them. If your practice activities are not dynamic, recreate the scene right before it happens and show your players what they should think about doing next time to fix it. Check understanding by re-asking your player's open-ended questions at the end of practice.
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