Coaching tips
Successful youth soccer coaching
Coaching U8 soccer players
Coaching mentality
Supercharge your team and win more matches
How to help new or weaker players
Analysing performance
How to coach a youth soccer team
Let the game be the teacher!
How to get the best out of your players
The right way to coach youth soccer?
How to deal with a soccer team that cheats
The importance of the cool down
Food for thought – how to boost your players’ IQ
Why children play soccer
Coaching tips and advice
Successful youth soccer coaching
Coaching U8 soccer players
Coaching mentality
Supercharge your team and win more matches
How to help new or weaker players
Analysing performance
How to coach a youth soccer team
Let the game be the teacher!
How to get the best out of your players
The right way to coach youth soccer?
How to deal with a soccer team that cheats
The importance of the cool down
Food for thought – how to boost your players’ IQ
Why children play soccer
On your bike!
This drill was adapted from a game in The Ultimate Football Warm-Ups Manual.
Objective: To practice passing and receiving skills.
Set-up: Put your players into pairs. One ball per pair.
Place three flat cones in a short line.
How to play:
One player is a server and his partner works round the cones.
The player working must go forward to receive a pass then back-pedal up and around the cones in order to receive another pass on the opposite side.
The players work for 30 seconds on the following:
1. First-time pass back with left foot.
2. First-time pass back with right foot.
3. Bouncing serve and a half-volley return with left foot.
4. Bouncing serve and a half-volley return with right foot.
5. Aerial serve and a volley return with left foot.
6. Aerial serve and a volley return with right foot.
7. Aerial serve and head the ball back.
When the sequence is complete, swap the players round.
Coaching notes: Players should work at speed but accuracy is also important.
- Make the game competitive by seeing which pair can get through the entire sequence without making a mistake.
For more soccer coaching tips and products visit Soccer Coaching Club.
Walking the dog
Walking the Dog is a great way to introduce ball control and dribbling to very young football players.
It also encourages the development of spatial awareness and soccer vision.
Even children as young as two or three will learn how to keep the ball close to them while running and I’ve used this game with children as “old” as 10!
Set up: Scatter lots of flat cones in two different colours in a large playing area. In this example, I’ve used green and white cones.
Every player has a ball.
How to play: Tell your players their ball is a dog.
Now ask them to give their dog a name. Have some fun with this! Who can think of the silliest name for a dog?
Now it’s time to take the “dogs” for a walk.
Tell your players the white cones are lamp posts and the green cones are trees.
To begin with, the dogs want to sniff every lamp post. This means players have to run with the ball and pause beside every white cone.
Then: “It’s raining! Get your dog under the ‘trees’!”
Now the players run with their ball to the green cones.
Variations:
- Dribble with both feet (or just their weaker foot).
- Who can get under a tree the quickest? You don’t want to get wet!
- Who can let their dogs sniff the most lamp posts in 20 seconds?
For more soccer coaching tips and products visit Soccer Coaching Club.