Coaching Beginning Soccer Players
          - excerpted from the book, Coaching Beginning Soccer Players, by Chip Reed, Buy the Book Here!

• A good philosophy of coaching is:
  • Make sure the kids have FUN.
  • Develop good sportsmanship.
  • Teach fundamentals to improve the children's skills.
  • Give every player an equal chance to play all positions.

The Practice Session

• There are six basic ingredients to a successful practice:
  • Keep the practices short to hold the children's attention.
  • Keep the children active all the time.
  • Make the practices varied and fun.
  • Plan your practices ahead of time.
  • Keep standing in lines to a minimum.
  • Maintain focus on a central theme or concept.
• First priority in red.
• Second priority in blue.
• Third priority in green.
   
• If you follow the six guidelines above your practices should go smoothly. If you keep the practices short, lively, and fun you shouldn't have to deal with any disciplinary problems. The players won't be goofing off, because they will be too involved having fun.
   
• To insure that practices go smoothly plan out your practices in advance. The basic practice schedule that you could follow is:

  Traditional Practice - Option #1

  • 05 minutes Warm-up and exercises
  • 10 minutes Practice Drill #1
  • 10 minutes Practice Drill #2
  • 10 minutes Practice Drill #3
  • 05 minutes Water Break
  • 20 minutes Scrimmage

  Progression Practice - Option #2

  • 02 minutes Warm-up and introduction of concept
  • 02 minutes of examples
  • 03 minutes of Step #1 Progression
  • 02 minutes of stretching
  • 04 minutes of Step #2 Progression
  • 02 minutes of stretching
  • 05 minutes of Step #3 Progression
  • 02 minutes of stretching
  • 10 minutes of Step #4 Progression
  • 05 minutes Water Break
  • 10 minutes small sided games
  • 10 minutes large scale game

  *Progression refers to building one skill on top of another. They are typically small steps so that you can allow each player to build confidence. All items discussed in a single practice refer to a main theme that is trying to be developed.
   

Ten steps to a Successful Season

1. Get organized, and be prepared at practices and games.
2. Plan your practices in advance.
3. Have short, fun practices.
4. Let each player have a chance to play every position.
5. Have oranges at half time, and have drinks after the games.
6. Let the children choose the drills for one practice.
7. Have a parent versus child soccer game.
8. Hold a pizza party at the end of the season.
9. Teach the children good sportsmanship and team spirit.
10. Be positive, and have fun yourself.
     

• Enjoyment is the unifying motive. Some children don't want to learn. Some don't care about winning. A few have no interest in hard work and one or two can't remember which goal they're attacking. In spite of all of their different agendas they all want to have fun and play a game – that is what brings them there. They also want to be children. Too often the coach sees them as an extension of his vision and they become puppets to it. The time spent at practice and at the games is a part of their childhood. It should not reflect the adult world. Some adults forget this and their expectations take the fun out of the experience.
   
• The five sites below will offer you more information than you can use.
  I recommend the last site listed for information on the younger kids and some older kids with less developed skills.
   

  	The IYSA (Indiana Youth Soccer Association) Coaches Corner
  	Decatur Sports Home of Thousands of Soccer Drills
  	The Soccer Drills Home Page
  	SoccerClub.Com's Drills Page
  	Better Soccer More Fun - This site contains information to help beginning as well as some of the most advanced coaches anywhere.
  	SOCCER-COACH-L Soccer Coaching Manual - This particular site has a great deal of information on coaching very young players.