by Greg Bach
Tobacco: The dangers of using tobacco are well documented, but those messages may not be getting through to youngsters. Studies indicate that an increasing number of high school and middle school students use some form of tobacco. Talk to your players about the dangers of using any form of tobacco and how it not only affects their health, but also hinders performance. A warning is sure to carry a little more weight when a child begins to think that he won’t be able to run down the field as fast as another player, for example.
Ending Practice on a Positive Note
Ending your practices on a positive note will send the kids home happy and, just as important, will have them eagerly looking forward to the next practice. How do you do that? Saving your best drill or fun scrimmage idea for the final minutes of practice is one of the most effective coaching tricks around for concluding on a high note. Although you certainly want all your drills to be fun, using drills that generate the most excitement and enthusiasm at the end of the session ensures that everyone goes home happy.
Before you turn the kids loose to their parents, have a quick team talk. Because the kids have just had a really good time and their spirits are up, this moment is a great opportunity for you to give their confidence another boost.
Talk to the players about how proud you are of them for working so hard and doing their best. Point out that you’re seeing steady improvement in their play, and tell them how impressed you are with how quickly they’re picking up new skills. Speak in general terms about the entire team at this point. If you recognize just a few players for their outstanding practice, you run the risk of alienating children who may have turned in their best efforts of the season but head home somewhat disappointed that you didn’t acknowledge them. At times, it may be appropriate to single out a player or two. Perhaps a youngster who has been struggling with his passing skills did really well in the passing drill today. Pointing out what a great job that player did while you’re praising the entire team is a great way to boost the spirits of a player who isn’t enjoying as much success as most of his teammates.
The post-practice chat isn’t the time to critique an area of the game that a lot of players may be struggling with or to rehash a drill that didn’t go well because some of the kids weren’t focused or were having problems executing. You never want to send kids home feeling that they disappointed you or failed to perform up to expectations. Even in those practices where nothing seems to go right — and you will have days like that during the course of a season — you have to find some nugget to praise and build on for the following practice. Even complimenting them on their hustle after loose balls is good, because you’d love to have that quality ingrained in every player.
Finally, spend just a few seconds going over the schedule for the week. Double-check that everyone will be at the upcoming game, and update any schedule changes that may have developed due to rainouts or other factors. Thank your team for listening to your instruction and working hard; conclude with a team cheer, if you have one; and call it a day.
Chapter 7
Getting Your Game On
In This Chapter
Covering the pre-game, halftime, and post-game chats
Going through your pre-game routine
Coaching during the game
Winning and losing with poise
You’ve spent the week practicing, working on skills, and providing instruction to your players. Now game day has arrived, and it’s time for the players to put everything they’ve been learning from you to use. You have opposing coaches and referees to meet, a playing field to look over, and a starting line-up to create. You have warm-ups to oversee, a pre-game motivational talk to deliver, and halftime adjustments to make. You also have substitutions to monitor, instructions to communicate, and a post-game talk to give to wrap up the day.
Being on the sidelines for a youth soccer game requires you to be not only a coach, but also a cheerleader, tactician, master motivator, and constant model of good sportsmanship. Yes, coaching is a big responsibility, but certainly one that you’re equipped to handle. You’ve spent large chunks of time preparing your team to take the field. After reading this chapter, you’ll be fully prepared to handle game day and all that comes with it.
Taking Care of Pre-Game Responsibilities
You may be somewhat surprised to learn that your game-day tasks extend beyond calling out plays, substituting players, and providing enthusiastic support from the sidelines. Before your team hits the field, you have a few tasks to fulfill. The following sections make up a helpful checklist to guide you through your pre-game responsibilities.
Arrive early, and inspect the playing field
Before you allow your youngsters to take the field, you and your assistant coaches should carefully inspect the entire playing area. Keep an eye out for hazards such as broken glass, loose rocks, a raised sprinkler head, a loose piece of sod, or anything else that can injure a child during the course of play. Don’t rely on the opposing coach or a member of the league’s grounds crew to do this inspection. Remember, every player participating in the game is your responsibility, and every step you can take to ensure the safety and well-being of those players benefits them.
Often, games are played one after another at a local facility, but don’t skirt the pre-game field check just because another game was played there. You don’t know whether anyone else has done a check of the field throughout the day, and taking another look never hurts. Plus, the field is getting plenty of use, so a chunk of grass is more likely to be torn up, and a young player may trip up if it isn’t properly replaced before your game begins.
Greet opposing coach and the officials
Before the game starts, head over to shake the hand of the opposing coach. This trip to the other side of the field displays good sportsmanship and sets a good example for the players and spectators.
During this chat, let the coach know whether any of your kids has any special needs, and find out whether any of his do as well; then make the necessary accommodations or come up with suggestions that are fair for everyone involved. If one of his kids has a vision problem that makes it hard to see the ball coming right at him, for example, perhaps you can suggest that if the ball hits the child in the hands and the team doesn’t gain an unfair advantage from it, the official should just let play continue. Let the coach decide, but by demonstrating that you’re willing to ensure that each child on both teams has a fun and rewarding experience, you set the tone for a great day of soccer and further reduce the chances of problems arising during the game.
Sometimes when kids with special needs are participating, the league director relays that information to all the coaches at a preseason coaches meeting. If your league doesn’t have a coaches meeting, you may want to contact the league director yourself to make him aware that a child on your team requires special accommodations so that the director can let the other coaches know in advance of your games. We discuss kids who have special needs in greater detail in Chapter 5.
Meeting with the referees who are officiating your game is another example of good sportsmanship. When you introduce yourself to the officials, let them know that you want to be informed if any of your players says or does anything unsportsmanlike. The same goes for any comments from parents or other spectators. Remember, you want to do everything you can to work with the officials — not against them. Just because they wear striped shirts doesn’t mean that they aren’t doing their best for the kids, just like you are.
During your meeting with the referee, alert her if any of the children on your team has any special needs. If the official knows this information beforehand, she can make the proper adjustments. For example, if a child has a hearing problem and may not hear the official’s whistle, the official can make a hand signal to the child to let him know the whistle has been blown and play has been stopped. Being considerate of all children and meeting their needs is a big part of being a top-quality soccer coach.
Pre-Game Team Me
eting
Conducting a pre-game team meeting is an important piece of the game-day experience for youngsters. Letting kids know what’s going to be taking place right up until gametime is enormously beneficial to them. Here are some tips to keep in mind when holding this meeting:
Meet with the team away from the parents. Choose a spot to gather the team that eliminates potential distractions. Children, especially younger ones, have extremely short attention spans. If they can see their parents or any other family members who have shown up to watch the game, they won’t listen to what you say. That dramatically limits the effectiveness of your chat. Also, avoid being near the other team. Kids naturally want to see who’s on the other team, watch them warm up, and compare their abilities with their own, which is another distraction that you don’t need to contend with.
Keep it brief. Keep your talk with younger kids to five minutes or less. You don’t want to defuse the players’ energy and enthusiasm for the game by delivering a lengthy state-of-the-team address. Kids have short attention spans, particularly young ones just starting out in the sport, so you don’t have to bog them down with instructions and strategies. Tell them to have fun, and send them out on the field with a smile. With older and more experienced kids, you should set aside more time for your pre-game talk because you have a lot more ground to cover; game strategy takes on a more prominent role at higher levels.
Relax, and have fun. Speak to the team in a calm and relaxed manner. If you appear nervous or uptight, your players are more likely to develop those same feelings, which infringes on their performance. If you’re laughing and joking, the team feeds off that and approaches the game in a much more relaxed manner.
Stress that the most important thing is for each player to do her best and to have fun. If the kids genuinely believe that, it frees them to play more loosely. They also aren’t fearful of making a mistake or losing a game.
Good sportsmanship matters. Remind your players to display good sportsmanship at all times; to show respect toward officials, regardless of what calls are made; and to shake the hands of the opposing team at the end of the game, regardless of who wins. We see far too many examples of bad sportsmanship in all youth sports. You have an opportunity to make your team a model of good sportsmanship in your league and one that others will strive to emulate.
End with a team cheer. Conclude the talk with a team cheer, or have the players put their hands together with a chant of “1-2-3 … team!” or “1-2-3 … together!” Besides being symbolic, a chant is a final helpful gesture that reminds all the players that soccer is a team sport and that everyone must work together.
During your meeting with the team, make sure that everyone has all the necessary equipment — typically, shin guards and mouth guards at the younger levels. In more advanced levels of play, make sure each child brings the right pair of cleats that meets the league regulations. As we discuss in Chapter 4, children should never be allowed on the field without all the proper safety equipment. Also, check to make sure that everyone has a water bottle. A good team rule to enforce is that every child must bring a water bottle to all practices and games.
Providing some inspiration
A big part of coaching comes down to motivation. To get the best out of your players, you have to inspire them to want to get the most out of their abilities every time they step on the field. This endeavor can be challenging. A motivational talk can be a great tool to get all the kids fired up and excited about performing their best in the game — if it’s structured the right way.
You already know that the kids on your team are vastly different in their emotional make-ups, and that’s magnified on game day. Some possess that inner drive and arrive at the field eager to get under way and compete against their peers. Others are excited simply because they have the chance to wear cool uniforms and see their friends. And some youngsters are petrified that they’re going to have to kick a soccer ball while all sorts of unfamiliar faces in the stands watch their every move.
So how do you approach this motivational talk? Get everyone to focus as a team and work together. If you can accomplish that, the focus and positive energy will spill over onto the playing field. Here are some tips to help ensure that your words pack a punch:
Be positive: Touch on areas of the game that the team has shown progress in during the week, and let the players know that you’re looking forward to seeing them put those skills into action today. Positive reinforcement of their skills gives them that extra boost of confidence to perform up to their capabilities.
Avoid pressure phrases: Stay away from saying things such as “Let’s score five goals today” or “Let’s hold them to two goals.” Keep in mind that children can only give you their best effort; they can’t control the outcome of games.
Focus on your team: Talk about your team, your players, and how confident you are in their abilities. Discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the other team (a team they may know very little about) doesn’t do your team much good.
Avoid clichés: Overused sports clichés such as “no pain, no gain” are laughable, not motivational. You don’t need to resort to these types of sayings to get the most out of your players. Speaking from the heart with genuine passion serves you and your team far better in the long run.
Think back to your playing days in youth sports. Whether you played soccer or some other sport, you probably remember some of the speeches that you heard prior to games. Some were no doubt good, and others were beyond awful. Learn from your playing experiences; steal from the good speeches, and stay away from the bad ones. If you didn’t participate in sports, that certainly doesn’t mean you aren’t qualified to give a motivational talk. Speak from the heart. Put yourself in those small soccer cleats. Think about what you would want to hear from an adult. What would get you pumped up to play your best? If you incorporate those ideas into your talk, you’ll be fine.
Assigning positions
Before you even get to the field, have your starting line-up mapped out and your substitution rotation firmly in place. This organization ensures that all players get an equal amount of playing time. If you don’t develop a plan, you’ll discover that after the game starts, keeping track of how much time a child plays and which position each child has played is virtually impossible. Every child on the team signed up to play, not to sit on the bench and watch.
You can delegate to an assistant coach the responsibility of monitoring playing time to ensure that it’s equally distributed throughout the game.
Go over the line-up with your players. By announcing who’s playing where ahead of time, you make sure the players aren’t caught off guard or surprised when game time rolls around. Letting them know well in advance also gives them time to mentally prepare for their responsibilities. For more on the importance of playing time and how to assign positions, flip to Chapter 5.
Covering field conditions
During your pre-game check of the field (see the “Arrive early, and inspect the playing field” section earlier in the chapter), you may notice some uneven spots or a part of the field that has some rough patches that can make passing more difficult. Make sure you inform your players of these areas, because they can impact the game or a player’s ability to dribble the ball. Even if the field is in great shape, pay attention to the length of the grass. A closely trimmed field plays faster than a field with longer grass. If the grass is long, make sure your players are aware that they have to put a little more force behind their passes to get them to teammates. The pre-game warm-up, which we discuss later in this chapter, also helps them get accustomed to conditions that they may not have any experience playing in.
In the more advanced levels of soccer, the conditions of the field can have a larger impact on the game. Wet or rainy conditions translate into a faster-paced game, because the ball travels across the grass much quicker than usual. A wet ball is also more slippery and a little more difficult to handle. Wet conditions can create problems with timi
ng on passes to teammates and make trapping and tackling a little trickier. Taking a few seconds to relay that information to your team helps them get into the proper mindset as they take the field for their pre-game warm-up session. You can even involve the kids by asking them questions about the playing conditions and how they think those conditions will affect their play. Getting your players in the habit of paying close attention to the field is another step toward making them well-rounded players who understand all aspects of the game.
Keeping instructions simple
Children have a lot on their young minds when they arrive at the field. They wonder whether they know any of the kids on the other team, whether Grandma brought enough film for the camera, and what kind of snacks they’re getting after the game. If you coach a team of older and more advanced kids, they’re looking to turn in an impressive performance to help the team win the game. Simplify everything when giving instructions. The less technical, the better.
The following are a few pointers for keeping instructions simple:
Don’t overwhelm: Don’t overload the team with a lot of discussion about game strategies or fancy plays. The pre-game chat simply isn’t the time or place to pile on the instruction. Also, never introduce anything that hasn’t already been covered several times during practice.
Avoid confusing phrases: Soccer has a unique language all its own, but stay away from using phrases and terms that kids are unfamiliar with. If you haven’t spent any time during your practice sessions discussing marking up, for example, expecting a youngster to comprehend that term two minutes before game time is hardly realistic.
