Soccer Fitness

In coaching soccer drills, there are certain training tips that I’d like to share with you before you initiate your training program even if you have been doing this for quite a long time. In your soccer practice, identify one goal that is common to both the team and the coach for example; to have a lot of fun while playing the game.

Herein, you must remain careful otherwise you’ll not be able to follow the fun part. Consequently, identify such objectives that are particularly important for you as a coach and also equally important for the team. For instance; constantly remind the players to remain physically fit, develop them into sporting players with a positive attitude towards the game, and concentrating on skills unique to them.

It is your duty to set reasonably high standards for players in relation to sportsmanship. Cheer them to have an attitude of fair play, sportsmanship, and team spirit. In addition to the above goals, you are free to set as many goals as your feel necessary while teaching soccer to your team.

One more concept that needs to be highlighted in youth soccer coaching is the notion of winning the match. Try to infuse an open idea of winning the game inside your player’s minds while training them. Teach them that as long as their performance is out of ordinary on the field, they are winners, no matter what the final result.

Soccer Coaching

This ultimately takes away all the unnecessary pressure off the players and enables them to play their original game by carefully following the strategy.

Coaching soccer drills requires you to give clear and precise instructions to your team so that they get the desired results. It’s imperative that your kids are aware of the dos and don’ts that are critical to the game of soccer before you go any further with their training. The disparity between coaching and teaching is obvious in the fact that coaching deals with the bunch of players who already know the game to some extent.

In coaching drills, it is great idea to first demonstrate to the kids about 5 to 6 times a specific drill and then let it di it themselves. It is effective because young players are more receptive to seeing than listening. If you attempt to explain an action in words, they won’t understand it. Instead, they take demonstrations more enthusiastically.

Hence, make it an imperative exercise to give a demonstration at every possible opportunity.

Lastly, but still no less in importance is to keep the kids engaged in meaningful activities. This is more valid if the weather prevents you from having a regular session. You must understand that kids are just thrilled at the prospect of playing in the rain. So, instead of revoking the session, it makes more sense to find alternative ways to let them have fun.

Just keep in mind that the kids should be wearing additional protective gear in such weather.

Now, it is time to add these tips to your training program and make the most of them. You will be surprised by the results.

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Andre Botelho is a recognized expert in youth soccer coaching. He influences well over 35,000 youth coaches each year with his unique coaching philosophy, and makes it really easy to explode your players’ skills and make training more fun in record time. To download your free youth soccer coaching guide visit: Coaching soccer drills.

How would you react to the fact that one thing that young players find truly hard is to use a straight leg to kick the ball? Both coach and the kids feel that this is by far the greatest trouble in way of coaching soccer drills. The player is required to maintain absolute balance and the leg with which ball is to be kicked at is bent at the knee. Both posture and strength to kick the ball comes out from below the knee.

In soccer practice, this is the opening pose for just about all types of kicks. The speeding up of the foot from below the knee generates a great impact on the ball. This offers great amount of power to players for carrying out different types of kicks. Yet, it is the kind of contact of the ball with the foot that decides what type of kick would originate.

For example; it could be thumped very high, driven low, turn sharply to the left, or move to the right.

There are three vital passes in soccer i.e. a side foot pass, the outside of the foot pass, and the instep drive. Let’s discuss them further.

Soccer Coaching

The side foot pass: In teaching soccer, the simplest and the most commonly used pass is this. This is by and large applied to make short distance passes. While this pass can be easily predicted and is a little slow, it is extremely simple to learn and easy to carry out. The contact with the ball is made on the inside of the ankle and the foot with the foot turned outwards.

In coaching soccer drills, the players should be trained to keep their bodies relaxed all through the action. This is by far the most critical rule applicable to all types of kicking actions. The ankle and the foot should be stiffened only at the time of contact with the ball.

After the players are confident in it’s execution, their action should appear comfortable, smooth, and natural.

Outside of the foot pass: Al though a little tricky to learn, this pass needs to be taught to the kids correctly as it’s quick, unpredictable, and accurate. The ball gets into contact between the outside edge of the foot and the laces with the foot turned inward and extended. By using the foot, the pass is converted into a quick toss for short distances.

In the course of these coaching drills, players should keep their stance relaxed.

The Instep Drive: Both the versions of the instep drive namely, lofted version and the low driven version are applied to pass the ball to longer distances. After the players have learnt it, variations can be brought in to make a “chip pass” or an “in swinging pass”. Because the approach of the instep drive is angled to some extent, the non kicking foot is positioned about 12 inches toward the side of and behind the ball.

Here, the ball gets into contact in between the inside of the foot and the laces which is extended and very firm.

So now coach your kids the various techniques of kicking the ball and with variations to let them do different things with the ball.

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Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. Learn  how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun by downloading your free ebook at: Soccer Training Drills.

In coaching soccer drills, there’s no doubt that perhaps the most complex part is that of finding out the most appropriate method of managing the conditioning schedules of the players. This is because in the past few years, the distinction between educating the players and coaching them has diminished.

Sadly, in teaching soccer, a majority of the coaches still don’t realize that it’s pertinent to devise the coaching plans as per the needs of the players. The players must be taught about the game as a person along with their professional conditioning and training. Many a times, this educational characteristic of soccer gets totally neglected in almost all scenarios.

Nevertheless, while deciding on the coaching drills that kids are to perform; one rule should be kept in mind. Any player who wishes to become a great soccer player of huge prominence should first attempt to grow as an individual. It is therefore the duty of the coach to act along with the lines of this principle.

If we try to figure out something that cheers a former player to become a coach is pretty easy.
After the player is no more a part of the team, he wishes to continue being associated with soccer. As a result, many successful players become soccer coaches. But they don’t truly recognize the seriousness that this role calls for.

Soccer Coaching

Majority of them attempt to get inside the arena of coaching adult players by becoming kid’s coach initially. Many of them consider this as their only chance to get one with the sport and contribute to the game by sharing their experience and techniques and helping the kids grow. Both the reasons are equally acceptable and convincing. But along with this, there are some ethical responsibilities as well that come hand in hand with being a coach.

Communication is the main feature with respect to coaching soccer drills, and unfortunately it’s the trickiest for a majority of people to understand. It is not necessary that anyone who has achieved great success for ten consecutive years in various age groups can be regarded as a skilled youth coach.

To become a youth soccer coach, the goals that one needs to set for himself are well defined. It’s for the coach to encourage kids to look at soccer as a constructive and an inspiring experience in their lives so that they tend to love the game. The players should be able to express themselves openly at any time during the soccer practice and it’s for the coach to ensure.

Each player in the team has individual talents, resistance, and competence. The important thing is not that each one of them should have skills and potential of a champion. What is truly important is that each one of them eventually reaches his own aptitude.

The fact that every successful, skilled, and competent player does not necessarily make a talented youth coach must be understood. Working with kids must come naturally to him; an inherent gift to get in touch with their human side and emotional feelings.

Some food for thought; try and figure out the true motivations that cheer you to follow this prospect since it’s a pre requirement in this context.

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Andre Botelho is known online as “The Expert Youth Soccer Coach” and his free ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Learn how to skyrocket your players’ skills and make practice sessions fun in record time. Download your free ebook at: Soccer Drills.