3 mistakes we make coaching youth soccer
I would make an argument that coaching youth soccer is one of the best jobs on the planet.
But are we, as coaches, doing the best we can to develop motivated players that will reach their potential ?
Here are 3 common mistakes we are making as coaches that are limiting our players’ potential.
Too much too soon
Coaching can be exciting. Empowering even. You're entering an atmosphere that allows you to make a direct impact on kids' lives. It offers the chance to teach them the sport, along with their first lessons of competition. What does it mean to win and lose ?
It would be a lie to say winning doesn't feel good. Winning is the best feeling I know of, especially when you are the coach of the team. So in a pursuit to win, coaches have tried their best to offer as much information to kids as they can. I guess this would make sense, more information MUST mean better result or outcome. I see coaches introducing team tactics by age 9. Players this young are given specific formations, defensive instruction, and an overwhelming amount of pressure to pass, pass, pass !
I couldn't think of anything more destructive.
The truth is, we are giving our players too much, too soon, and it's discouraging them. The Player Development Framework model, created by US Soccer, is a helpful tool that all coaches should observe and adopt.
I think anyone can agree that an introduction to the sport starts with learning basic rules and fundamentals. US Soccer characterizes this stage with 6 year olds and under. By ages 7 and 8, players are expected to advance their understanding of attacking and defending, and ultimately, by ages 9 and 10, there should be some level of transition incorporated between these phases of attacking and defending. At this age range, players will jump into a 7v7 game model.
This would mean that anything during these ages of development that is directed towards a player's role and position on the field is immature. I believe the best advice I can offer to any parent or coach, at the beginning phases of the game, is to develop their relationship with the ball. I would argue this is MOST important. Get players to fall in love with the ball ! It can be the best source of creativity, and even, freedom of expression. That was the case for me. Joga Bonito YouTube videos was my source of inspiration as I would run to the park with a ball and try and emulate the magic on a field, or slab of concrete.
This also raises the question: Is 7v7 the right game format for 8 year olds ? We want players to hold the ball more at a younger age. This is where they develop their fundamentals. Other countries in Europe are known to go as small sided as 2v2 and 3v3 at younger ages. Forcing children, especially in younger ages, to pass the ball is unproductive. We want players that are technical enough to keep the ball. We want a bit of selfishness at this age!
According to US Soccer, it isn't until age 11 and 12 where we should start introducing roles, positions, and tasks, on a team. I can imagine this type of information will be better absorbed. Yet anything younger, don’t overwhelm our kids. Make the ball a priority! Our country lacks technical players, and it shows at higher levels.
For more information on the player development framework model, go check out:
http://coaches.arlingtonsoccerclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/us-soccer-grassroots-player-development-framework.pdf
Stop yelling at kids
If you want kids to learn the game and become motivated athletes, well you have to offer incentive for them to do so. I believe my incentive as a young soccer player was always watching professional players on TV or YouTube. Visualizing the greats play the sport, and then trying to emulate on my own soccer field - that has always kept me going. Coaches' stories of professional leagues, personal accounts, or even conversations around the sport has always opened my eyes to football beyond a club system.
Nowadays, I see so many coaches screaming at players for every detail. They scream before they get the ball, and they scream when they make a mistake. What message are we sending to our players ? That they cannot make mistakes ? Or we don't trust their decision making ? Often times our egos get in the way as coaches, and we think we are playing a game of FIFA. I know in the past that I've been guilty of this.
However, coaches have an obligation to create an atmosphere where kids feel comfortable to learn and ask questions, confident enough to make mistakes. If kids are free to make mistakes, then they will later be free to make really fantastic decisions on the field. At the end of the day, we want players to make their own decisions and do their own version of problem solving. We want autonomous soccer players, and this starts when we shut up and let them play. If their actions require correcting or teaching, there are moments to address it, but we can't make these moments bigger than the positives on the field. The positives are what build kids up and empower them to make awesome decisions. Breaking kids down only works when you can build them back up.
In my own experiences of coaching, I find even the most difficult kids want to learn. Everyone just takes information in different portions, and at different rates. Create an atmosphere for kids to speak up and ask questions!
it is about competition
Kobe Bryant once said that there's no greater metaphor for life than sports itself. This is true in so many aspects, one of which, is working with others to achieve a common goal. Every Saturday, kids make their way to the field to play a game that will finish with a given outcome. They are competing. So let's make our players better competitors! In order to do so, we have to use our time during trainings to create games for them. They must learn to compete against each other, if they will successfully compete on a Saturday.
Sometimes, as coaches, we get so caught up in details. We plan a session designed to get our players to improve, but so structured that it becomes boring. We scratch our heads and wonder where our players’ souls have disappeared to. By planning a training session that is full of games (and rules to those games), players will not only become better competitors, but more engaged with a session. Therefore, more games might mean more enthusiasm, and more attendance. Games are the way forward!
