Coaching Soccer For Dummies

by Greg Bach

  Make offensive adjustments

  Often, your team may turn in a great half of play only to come off the field a little frustrated because the players don’t have any goals to show for all their hard work. At this point, your observation skills come into play. Making a minor tweak to the team’s approach can actually make a major difference in its play. Perhaps your team has played a great first half in its ability to move the ball all over the field, control the pace of the game, and generate plenty of scoring opportunities, yet the players are showing signs of dejection because they haven’t been able to notch any goals. Maybe through you observe that all your team’s shots have been low on the ground. Mention to your players that they should try getting some shots on the goalie in the air to test the goalie’s skills in that area of the game.

  Stress the fundamentals

  A lot of times, throwing out even the most basic reminders can make a big difference for your squad. Maybe the team is having trouble moving the ball downfield — not because of anything the opponent is doing, but because your players aren’t looking up and scanning the field while they’re dribbling. A quick, simple reminder not to look down at the ball the entire time they’re dribbling can get your offense back on track. With their heads up, they’ll be able to make the right choices when delivering passes to teammates or taking shots. Remember, you can never steer your team wrong by resorting to the fundamentals of the game.

  Adjust to the striped shirts

  Some referees call games extremely tight and whip out red and yellow cards with the speed of Las Vegas blackjack dealers. Other referees may seem like they’ve forgotten they have whistles dangling around their necks and allow lots of contact between players. Make note of how referees are calling the game, and make any necessary adjustments in your team’s approach. For example, if the referee is allowing a little more contact than your team is accustomed to, you may want to have your players take a slightly more aggressive approach when attempting to steal the ball.

  Remind them to use the entire field

  With the pressure of the game and the added distractions around the field, players may suddenly become one-dimensional in their thinking. They may develop tunnel vision and disregard a lot of the field except what’s directly in front of them. Moving the ball downfield with that type of limited view is tough. Utilizing the entire field is critical to the team’s success. If your players are constantly trying to forge down the center of the field, that approach is going to be easily defended by the opposing team. Stress sending some passes out wide along the sideline to stretch out the defense and use the entire field. This technique may be pretty helpful in creating some open space to generate some more scoring chances for the kids. Perhaps all they’ve used are short passes, so you can suggest attempting some longer passes to different areas of the field to catch the other team off guard.

  Winning and Losing Gracefully

  No one enjoys losing, but in youth soccer, for every winner, there has to be a loser.

  In the bigger picture, the ability to win and lose with grace and dignity transcends the soccer field. Years from now, when a youngster is vying for a job promotion, he can reflect on what he learned from you about how to handle himself in his wins and losses. He can be proud of his accomplishments without gloating while praising his opponents for doing their best. Or he can hold his head up high and congratulate an opponent on winning and a job well done.

  Talk to your team about playing fairly, abiding by the rules, and winning and losing with grace. Just as you devote time teaching your players the proper way to deliver a header, talk to them about the appropriate way to congratulate a winning team and the right way to conduct themselves when they’re celebrating a victory. Ask them how they feel when they win and lose, how they want to be treated when they lose, and how they should treat their opponents when they win. Opening the door to these types of discussions lays the foundation for some great behavior that will make you proud.

  How to win gracefully

  You’ve probably heard the saying “It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.” Those words are certainly appropriate in youth soccer. The game doesn’t have room for showboating, rubbing goals in the other team’s face, or extravagant victory celebrations. Teaching children how to win gracefully may be one of the most difficult chores you have as coach, especially considering all the poor examples of professional athletes that children constantly see on television.

  First of all, players need to know that celebrating goals is okay. After all, the object of the game is to score more than the opponents, and high-fiving teammates when something works well is certainly acceptable. You just want to instill in your players that they refrain from excessive celebrations or exhibiting any kind of behavior that could be perceived by the other team as crossing the line.

  In youth soccer, mismatches are simply unavoidable with such a wide range of kids’ abilities. If your team is dominating an opponent that simply doesn’t have the talent or skills to compete with you, do everything you can not to run up the score. Running up the score reflects terribly on you and your team and serves no purpose in the development of your players. If you find yourself in a lopsided game, consider some of the following approaches, which will keep your team’s interest level high, allow players to work on a broad range of skills, and not humiliate the opposing team in the process:

  Put the emphasis on passing. Make your team complete a set number of passes in a row before taking a shot on net. This way, your players can work on another aspect of their game without piling on the goals.

  Shift players around. Move defenders up to midfielders, and vice versa, to challenge them on playing a different position. This shift helps develop all-around players, allows them to work on different aspects of their game, and keeps them fresh by providing new challenges for them.

  Limit shots. Allow your team to take shots only from outside the penalty-box area, which increases the difficulty of scoring chances. You can also make other subtle changes — for example, say that any time a player takes a shot on goal, it must be with his less-dominant foot, or limit the team’s shots on goal to headers.

  How to lose gracefully

  Losing isn’t the worst thing to happen — behaving like it’s the worst thing to happen is far worse. Crying, throwing equipment, sulking, blaming the officials, swearing, and refusing to shake hands with the opposing team are all examples of behavior that simply can’t be tolerated under any circumstance. (Jump to Chapter 19 to discover more about dealing with some of these types of behaviors that may arise throughout the season.)

  Regardless of the outcome of the game, you must have your players line up and shake hands with the opposing team. Sure, this display of sportsmanship can be difficult for players who have just given their best effort and come up short. Teach your team respect for other players and for the game of soccer itself. Teach your players to acknowledge a well-played game by the other team and to keep things in perspective. Soccer is just a game, and next time they could be on the winning end. No matter how cocky the opposing team may be, your team can rise above that, offer a handshake or high-five, and congratulate the other players by saying “Good game.” Be sincere. Sincerity in the face of adversity or a loss is a great attribute. You also want to instill in your players the habit of shaking the referee’s hand after the game.

  The Post-Game Talk

  What you say to your team members — and how you say it — following a game has a tremendous impact on their enjoyment of the sport. A pat on the back, an encouraging word, and a genuine smile goes a long way. Don’t allow the scoreboard to determine your demeanor during your post-game chat or to determine whether or not you’re proud of your team. Kids want to know that you appreciate them for the effort they gave, not for the outcome of the game.

  Accentuate the positive

  Keep the focus on fun. The most obvious way to ensure that the focus is on fun is to ask the kids whether they had fun pl
aying the game. Hopefully, you get a chorus of yeses. If so, poll the team to see what they enjoyed most about the game. If you have some kids who don’t answer quite as enthusiastically as you hoped, find out immediately why they didn’t have fun, and make whatever adjustments are necessary to ensure that they have smiles on their faces following next week’s game. The reason can be something as simple as wanting to play defense rather than midfield so they don’t do all the extra running. Or maybe a player got kicked in the shin or hit by the ball. Talk to your squad. Solicit feedback. Gauge feelings. Probe the players for answers. Find out anything you can do to make sure that their experience continues to be fun or returns to being fun the next game.

  Allowing what the scoreboard says at the end of the game to dictate what you say to your team afterward is an easy trap to fall into. But that shouldn’t be the case. Wins and losses don’t define your team’s effort, the improvements players make in certain areas of the game, or whether they had fun playing. A defensive lapse that resulted in giving up the game-winning goal stands out like a sore thumb, and it’s an easy target to dwell on when discussing the game with your team. Youngsters who’ve been around the game a few years know when they make a mistake or misplay a ball; they don’t need to be reminded of it afterward or feel responsible for the loss.

  Your job, whether the team played its best game of the season or got clobbered, is to point out some of the good things that happened. Perhaps a child made a nice play to block a shot in the first half to save a goal or deny a good scoring opportunity. Maybe your midfielders’ great communication produced a great scoring chance. Maybe the players made great improvements in the corner kicks they practiced all week. By keeping the comments positive, your body language buoyant, and your tone of voice upbeat, you send them home feeling good about themselves and eager to return to practice in the coming days to continue working on their game.

  Recognizing good sportsmanship

  Recognizing great shots, nifty passes, and stellar defensive plays is pretty easy, because those plays clearly stand out in your mind at the conclusion of the game. What’s often a little trickier, but equally important, is recognizing displays of good sportsmanship that took place during the game. Pointing out these instances, and genuinely showing your admiration for them, reinforces to your team the importance of displaying good sportsmanship at all times.

  Be on the lookout for good sportsmanship, and make mental notes when it occurs during the course of play. You may notice the way Jenny tells an opponent “Nice shot” after she scores a goal or how Bobby congratulates an opposing player for a nice defensive play he made. Even if you see a player on an opposing team demonstrate good sportsmanship, bring it up to your team. A comment like “That was a nice move on number five’s part to help up Steve after he got called for tripping in the first half” sends a message to your squad that good sportsmanship is just as important as heading, trapping, and shooting. The more good sportsmanship is stressed, the more likely the entire team is to adopt this wonderful quality and become a model team. Remember, how your team behaves on the field is a reflection of your coaching, so don’t neglect touching on this area of the game in your post-game chat.

  Dealing with a tough loss

  Participating in youth soccer teaches the players on your team many valuable life skills, but it can be a painful process. As the coach, you should understand that you’ll have games when the team fails to perform up to your expectations. In some games, the team may turn in a splendid performance but fail to come away with the victory because the other team simply plays better. In other games, the ball may take a lucky bounce that results in the opposing team’s notching the game-winning goal. That’s soccer.

  No coach is immune to seeing her squad commit mistakes following a flawless week of practice or failing to convert scoring chances that were easy goals earlier in the season. Remember, rarely do teams go through seasons undefeated, so setbacks are going to occur. In fact, losses and how the players deal with them are great character-builders for that game called life, so don’t let the sting of a disappointing loss linger too long. Remember, what you say to your team — and how you say it — has a huge impact on the players’ self-esteem and confidence and on how they handle winning and losing during the remainder of the season.

  If you’re coaching older or more advanced kids, losing a league championship game or getting knocked out of a tournament is a disappointing event in these kids’ lives. Here are some tips to help them bounce back:

  Allow them to be disappointed. Kids pour their hearts and souls into sports, so it’s only natural that they take losing hard, especially in a playoff or championship game. Don’t tell them that winning and losing aren’t important or that it was just a game. Those words are hollow and carry no weight with older children who have a love of soccer and a passion for competing and doing their best. Give them time to digest the setback and then help them move on.

  Hand out the post-game snacks. Don’t fall into the trap of rewarding your team only when things go well. Sticking to the same routine, win or lose, helps reinforce what you’ve hopefully been preaching all along — that doing their best and being good sports are what playing sports is really all about.

  Help them learn from the experience. Every game can be used as a tool to help your team learn and grow in the sport. Take the time to discuss the game with the players at the next practice, when they’ll be most receptive to feedback. Ask them what they thought they did well and what areas they struggled with, and work on those troublesome areas in practice to help them become more confident and comfortable.

  Losses that occur in the league-championship game or season-ending tournament leave a big void because the team has no more games left to play and no more practices to attend. Sending the kids into the offseason on a positive note is important. Explain how proud you are of the effort they gave all season and how they improved in so many areas of the game. Share with them that if they continue to work hard and enthusiastically embrace the sport, good things will happen, and they’re likely to return next season with renewed interest and excitement.

  Offering words of encouragement to your child

  Most volunteer youth soccer coaches have children on the team. The following are some conversation catalysts that will enhance the game-day experience for your child. Be sure to share these ideas with the other parents from your team.

  Let’s have fun out there today. Yes, this phrase is pretty basic and tossed around all the time in youth sports, but it represents the true essence of youth soccer. Children who don’t have fun every time they step on the soccer field are being robbed of wonderful opportunities. Every chance you get to instill the importance of having fun — and back it up with the way you coach and interact with your child and his teammates — goes a long way toward establishing children’s love of soccer and participating in healthy physical activities in general.

  I’m really enjoying coaching you this season. This handful of words packs a powerful punch on a youngster’s psyche. Positive reinforcement — thrown out in a general conversation — is a great confidence- booster and self-esteem-builder for a child. It also strengthens the bond you two share and opens the door for more fruitful conversations all season long.

  Follow the rules. The playing style of your team reflects on you and your coaching ability. Every time your team steps on the field, you want your child to abide by the rules. Teams that play by the rules will be known and respected throughout the league.

  Support your teammates. Reminding your child to offer encouraging words and support to his teammates helps strengthen team bonds. This reminder can be even more useful if a child on the team is really struggling with his confidence. With older kids, you can confide in your child that you want to see him offer some encouragement to the child who had a bad week of practice.

  I really liked how you and the team … Throwing out accolades for how the child and her teammates practiced and excelled in a specific
area of the game aids in development. Saying something along the lines of “You guys really worked hard on defense this week and did a great job shutting down those 3-on-2 advantages,” for example, fuels her confidence to perform well if that situation arises during today’s game.

  Chapter 8

  Refining Your Approach at Midseason

  In This Chapter

  Reviewing progress at midseason

  Going over individual and team goals

  Making adjustments at practice

  The soccer team that you welcomed to your first practice of the season is dramatically different from the one that you’re working with as you reach the halfway point of your season. Your team has improved in different aspects of the game. Some players may be more proficient at passing; others emerge as pretty decent defenders; and some of the kids who didn’t appear to have much in the way of basic coordination at the beginning of the season are demonstrating that they can now run and kick the ball without losing their balance or stumbling, which is worth applauding.

  You have a pretty good sense of which players are catching on to skills and which players are struggling or lagging in certain areas of the game. You’re more aware of who the quick learners are and who requires extra individual attention when introducing a new skill or concept.

  How you adjust to the ever-changing dynamics of your team, from the drills you choose to run to the practices you orchestrate, makes a major difference in whether the fun, learning, and skill development continue or grind to a halt. Revising coaching strategies, adjusting practice plans, setting goals, and reviewing each player’s progress with his or her parents are all essential midseason responsibilities. In this chapter, we take a look at how you can accommodate the ever-changing needs of your players to help ensure that the season continues to be a rewarding and memorable one.