Soccer 101 Information for the Novice Coach

So now you are a coach, what next? DDDDevelop a philosophy. WWWWhy do you want to coach? WWWWhat do you hope to accomplish? HHHHow will you do it?

Cleats previous dateprevious date | next date | send to a friend | buy a printsend to a friendbuy a print Copyright ©Universal Press SyndicatePublished Wednesday 02/13/02 Quinn & Fleck, 1995

What tools will you need?  Gear – Balls, cones, training vests, space.  Ideas for training topics.  Patience and support from players and parents.

Team Administration  Pre-season parent meeting.  Practice time, location, pick-up and drop-off guidelines, parent responsibilities, player responsibilities, sharing of your philosophy, goals for season, and protocol on how to approach coach with concerns and questions.

Team Administration (cont.)  Pre-season player meeting.  Practice time, location, parent responsibilities, player responsibilities, discussion on appropriate behavior at practice, games, and events, sharing of your philosophy, goals for season, discussion on respect for game, teammates, opponents, and match officials, and protocol on how to approach coach with concerns and questions.

Risk Management  SDSSA and League Requirements.  General concerns that you may not have thought of:  Being alone with players after training or games.  Use of social networking sites.  Names of jerseys.  Publication of photos after season, tourney, etc.  Use of alcohol or drugs around players by player parents, coaches, friends, etc.

Player Development Model Player Attributes Organization Culture & Context Coach Attributes LEARNINGPLAYING Game in the Child Quinn & Fleck, 1995

The Game in the Child  The youth soccer player is defined as any child playing soccer from pre-school through adolescence. It takes the approach that the GAME WITHIN EACH CHILD, is at the center of all beliefs, decisions, and actions taken by the child, coach, and organization. It is the ultimate goal of youth soccer development within the United States to unlock the game within each child to reach full soccer potential.

U6 Players  Lots of imagination in games.  Trainings should last 50 minutes to 1 hour max.  Need to have 4-6 games for players as they lose interest in activities quickly.  No concept of pace. Can quickly burn energy.  Body doesn’t regulate temperature well.  Equate their quality of play to the amount of effort exerted.

U6 Player – Essential Skills  Balance and coordination.  Initial introduction into different surfaces of foot that can be used to dribble ball.  Initial introduction into different surfaces of foot that can be used to kick ball.  Nearly all activities have 1 player to 1 ball ratio.

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U8 Players  Still have quite an imagination.  Love activities that they can relate to.  Relate their performance to effort exerted on task or game.  Team identity important, not great at sharing their ball.  Body doesn’t regulate temperature well.  Starting to play because they desire to play.

U8 Players – Essential Skills  Balance and coordination.  More exposure to dribbling with different surfaces of foot.  Initial concepts of individual moves, fakes, and faints.  First exposure to working in groups of twos. Passing and receiving ideas.  Trainings should involve 1 to 2 players and 1 ball ratios and intermix ideas with these ratios.

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U10 Players  Psycho-motor skills are better developed.  Can manage more difficult tasks and activities.  Have a more developed sense of self.  Love to be part of team environments.  Physical differences in boys and girls are noticeable.  Starting to think ahead.  Intrinsically motivated to play.

U10 Players – Essential Skills  Dribbling with different surfaces of each foot should be encouraged and expected.  Concepts of individual moves, fakes, and faints should be encouraged and expected.  Working in groups of twos and threes is common.  Passing with different surfaces of foot is expected and initial ideas of tactical application presented.  Receiving with different surfaces of foot and with deception is presented and encouraged.  Initial introduction to combination play (wall pass, overlap, etc.)  Initial attacking and defending concepts are introduced in trainings.  Goalkeeping is introduced to all players.  Trainings should involve 1 to 3 players and 1 ball ratios and intermix ideas with these ratios. (ex. Warm-up in individual activities and build to larger numbers. 1v2/2v2/3v2/3v3 etc.) Directional play to zones, targets, or areas should be emphasized.

Quinn & Fleck, 1995

U12 Players  Pubescence is now becoming a reality for some players.  Ability to sustain complex coordinated skill sequences is demonstrated.  Show ability to creatively solve problems, so games and activities must present problem solving opportunities.  Start to seek peers that are most like them in age, race, sex, and socioeconomic status.  Overuse injuries, burnout, and high attrition rates are associated with high-intensity children’s programs that fail to stress skill development and learning enjoyment.  Self-esteem influenced by: where they are in terms of puberty, how popular they are, race, religion, social class, clothing, etc.

U12 Players – Essential Skills  Dribbling with different surfaces of each foot should be encouraged, expected, and demonstrated.  Concepts of individual moves, fakes, and faints should be encouraged, expected, and demonstrated.  Working in groups of twos and threes is expected on offensive and defense.  Passing with different surfaces of foot is expected and ideas of tactical application presented.  Receiving with different surfaces of foot and with deception is encouraged.  Combination play is part of trainings and games.(wall pass, overlap, take over, etc.)  Attacking and defending concepts are part of trainings and realized in games.  Goalkeeping is worked on with all players.  Trainings should involve 1 to 4/5 players and 1 ball ratios and intermix ideas with these ratios. (ex. Warm-up in pairs and build to larger numbers. 2v2/3v2/3v3/4v2/5v3/3v5 etc.) Directional play to zones, targets, or areas should be used so players learn how to manipulate field space.

Cleats previous dateprevious date | next date | send to a friend | buy a printsend to a friendbuy a print Copyright ©Universal Press SyndicatePublished Sunday 04/21/02

U14 – U19 Players  Good luck…they already know it all.

U14 – U19 Players  Huge difference between those who have or have not reached maturity.  Peer pressure and perception can have huge impact on team play.  Coaches now are dealing with coaching personalities and attitudes.  Winning and losing becomes important.  Players start to identify with and choose a sport to play.  They are teenagers, what else can be said? (boy or girlfriends, driving, jobs, school, hanging out, video games, etc.)

U14 – U19 Players – Essential Skills  Still need to practice individual skills.  Tactical play is emphasized. (Forwards, central midfielders, outside midfielders, defenders, etc.)  Spatial awareness is emphasized on offensive and defensive.  Need to begin to understand roles of offense and defense.  Should introduce principles of attack and defense.  Learning to play different positions and formations is important for players.  Communication by players.

Soccer 101 Information for the Novice Coach