Coaching Youth Soccer - The Unwritten Rules of a Soccer Coach

Whether you're coaching the local club or you'vedrills and don't let their minds drift off to mischief.
been assigned to an up market soccer academy, theEmphasize social skills such as sharing, friendships,
rules of engagement are the same. As a soccerrespect and team work. Don't just produce soccer
coach your duty is to provide a safe workingplayers; produce men of the future. Under no
platform where the kids can learn the fundamentalscircumstance are you to yell or abuse the children.
of the game.Kids play soccer because its fun and they are
Always be organized and punctual. Having the trainingcertainly not playing to feed your ego. Give them the
sessions set up before the kids arrive is a big plus.respect, care and patience they deserve. Patience is
Kids ultimately become disruptive and start to foolthe number one requirement for a good coach.
around when they are bored and waiting around.Remember that children are not adults and their
Being prepared also shows that you are committedjourney and lessons in life have not been taught yet.
to the cause and the parents will appreciate theLast but surely not least, master the art of
extra dedication you are showing.appreciation. Always encourage your team to strive
Always look the part of a professional coach. This isfor the best. Let the kids play freely and let them
easy to achieve and only requires you buying alearn from their mistakes. A coach that tries to
decent tracksuit and sporting a clean pair of boots.instruct his players every second of the game denies
Your appearance is important and should always behis players the chance to learn and develop. Kids can
kept clean around the kids. The kids don't mind, it'sonly learn from their mistakes and experiences, so
the parents trust you want to earn.don't let your ego or the win-loss ration determine
If the majority of your team is being disruptive,your coaching techniques.
chances are your training sessions are boring or tooSo before you volunteer to coach kid's soccer,
advanced for the age group you are coaching. Makeensure that you are capable of instructing and
the training session's fun while trying to teach thedeveloping the kids. Also make sure you are a 100%
basics of soccer. Kids will only play up if they are notcommitted to the task because inevitably you are
entertained or utilized. The attention span of kids ismolding the youth of tomorrow.
roughly 2 minutes, so be quick in between soccer