by Greg Bach
The player loses balance when trapping with the chest: The biggest problem associated with receiving with the chest is that a youngster can easily become off balance; thus, the ball strikes his chest and bounces out of his control. Make sure he holds his arms out to the side, which improves his balance and enables him to suck in his chest at contact to ensure greater control.
The ball bounces over the player’s foot: Check the height of the player’s receiving foot. If it’s not a few inches off the ground, the ball tends to bounce right over the youngster’s foot. Also, if she’s receiving the ball with the front of her foot instead of in the center of the foot with the arch, that contributes to control problems as well.
The player isn’t getting to the pass: The player isn’t reacting to the ball quickly enough. As soon as a player delivers a pass, the youngster must begin running in order to beat out the defender.
Heading
On the list of skills you’re teaching your team this season, heading ranks at the bottom as far as importance goes. That’s simply because children at the youngest age levels aren’t able to get the ball airborne, so the opportunity to head a ball doesn’t come into play. Introduce them to the skill so they’re aware that the head can be used, and as they gain experience and advance with the sport, it gradually becomes a part of the game for them.
Using your noggin
Use your head when introducing this aspect of the game to your players, because following proper technique at all times is extremely important when teaching this skill. As we talk about in Chapter 2, the safety of your players should always be a top priority. Be aware of the type of ball you use in your league. If the league you’re coaching in requires the kids to play with a regulation soccer ball rather than one whose size and weight is modified for younger children, you don’t want to use that when introducing children to this skill. A heavy ball can injure a child’s still-developing head and neck.
The best way to introduce children to heading is to use a beach ball. It’s fun for the kids, but more important, they get the proper technique down before they attempt heading with a real soccer ball. In order to execute a header:
1. The player must keep his eye on the incoming ball at all times and his mouth closed.
2. His feet should be shoulder width apart, and his knees flexed.
3. As the ball makes contact with his head, he stiffens his neck and chest muscles while driving the ball toward the target.
When introducing this skill with a soccer ball, start by holding the ball in the palm of your hand, and have players step forward and strike the ball with their heads. This helps curb some of their fears. Check out Figure 9-9 for the proper part of the head with which the child should make contact.
Figure 9-9: Heading a ball can be scary; make sure your players do it the right way.
Correcting heading errors
It’s common for youngsters to struggle when learning the proper heading techniques, which can be tricky to master:
The child’s head isn’t making solid contact with the ball: Younger and inexperienced children often have a habit of closing their eyes right before contact with the ball. Work with them on keeping their eyes glued to the ball.
The ball isn’t going toward its intended target: If the child’s neck muscles aren’t tight at impact, the ball is simply going to bounce off her head. Tightening neck muscles, and following through by pointing the head at the target, will get those headers going in the right direction.
Goalkeeping
Goalies are the only players who are allowed to use their hands to touch the ball in the field of play (as we discuss in Chapter 3). Thus, their position requires a wide range of skills that are different from anything else you’re teaching the rest of the team. They must be able to jump in the air and make difficult saves with their arms outstretched, and dive on the ground for balls while opposing players swarm around them, trying to put the ball in the net.
Making stops
First and foremost, when making a play on the ball, a goalie must learn to tightly secure the ball and pull it closely into her body (as shown in Figure 9-10). After a shot has been stopped, your team doesn’t want to give up another scoring opportunity simply because the goalie failed to protect the ball that was in her grasp.
Figure 9-10: Securing a loose ball on the ground.
Young goalies have small hands, and although the ball the league is using hopefully is the appropriate size for the age range you’re coaching (see Chapter 4), it can still be awkward for youngsters to gain total control over. This fact is particularly true when opposing players are bearing down on them, and they have a huge net that their team is counting on them to protect.
For youngsters getting their first taste of this complex position, learning the fundamentals is imperative for gaining any type of enjoyment from playing the position, as well as having some success along the way. First, they must assume the ready position (see Figure 9-11a) when facing any type of shot. Being in proper position requires the following:
The goalie’s shoulders should be square to the ball, with his feet shoulder width apart.
His head and upper body should be erect, while his knees should be slightly flexed.
His hands should be above waist level, with his palms forward and his fingers pointing upward; and his eyes should be focused on the ball.
When goalies are making saves on shots that are chest high or above their heads, their hands should be in a diamond position (see Figure 9-11b), with their fingers spread and their thumbs almost touching.
Figure 9-11: The ready position and proper hand position for handling shots.
When dealing with a loose ball, teach children to cuddle the ball the same way they would protect a puppy in a rainstorm. By surrounding the ball with his body, it’s safely secured, and the child also reduces the risk of suffering injuries to his fingers or hands by spike-wearing opponents looking to notch a goal. (See Figure 9-12 for the right and wrong ways to gather the ball.)
Figure 9-12: A goalkeeper should bend his arms and gather the ball gently, while keeping his knees together.
When making a play on a shot in the air, above her head, she extends her arms, keeping her elbows slightly flexed, and catches the ball with her fingertips. She withdraws her arms to cushion the impact of the ball and secures it to her chest. (Check out Figure 9-13 to see how a goalie should play a shot in the air.) Also, encourage the goalie to jump up with one knee pulled up in front of her. This move not only protects the goalie from opponents charging toward the net, but also discourages them from even trying to do so.
Correcting goaltending errors
When a midfielder makes a mistake during a game, it usually results in her team losing possession of the ball. When a goalie makes a miscue, the result is a lot more obvious: a goal for the opposing team. Although goaltending is simply one facet of the game, a lot of pressure accompanies the position. Teaching sound fundamentals can go a long way toward reducing the burden on your young goalie.
Figure 9-13: These goalies demonstrate the right and wrong ways to play a ball in the air.
The following are some things you may want to remind your goalie of:
Keeping their eye on the ball: You’ll notice a lot of traffic in front of the net, and goaltenders can easily get caught up in the excitement of watching all the commotion going on. Work with your goalie to focus on following the path of the ball at all times and being in the proper position to make a play on the shot.
Staying focused: Staying focused on the game can be extremely difficult for a youngster, particularly if his team is dominating offensively and is spending the majority of the game at the other end of the field. Consequently, when he’s finally called upon to make a save, his concentration isn’t at its peak. Lack of concentration is the perpetrator of many goaltending miscues.
Work with your goalies to follow the ball all game long. Encourage them to watch the ball closely when the action is at the other end of th
e field, and focus on how they would position themselves to make stops based on where their own team is attacking with the ball. Even though they aren’t being called upon to make saves at that particular moment, they can still improve their own play by visualizing proper positioning based upon where the shots are coming from. You can also keep them actively involved in the game by having them constantly communicate with their teammates about what’s happening on the field.
Defending
For children, learning how to play defense certainly isn’t as appealing as shooting or some of the other skills that we cover in this chapter. Nonetheless, it’s a significant aspect of the game, especially considering that your team is required to play defense in roughly half of every game.
Pursuit: Preventing bad things from happening
One of the basic tenets of good defensive play revolves around pursuit. If defenders don’t pursue the player with the ball, bad things are generally the result, specifically in the form of offensive pressure, good scoring chances, and a scoreboard full of goals. Often in youth soccer, a player dribbling the ball is treated like he has chicken pox — everyone stays away from him. This distance allows the player an obstacle-free run down the field and leaves you wondering what happened to all the good defensive work that your team put in during practice the past week.
Your defense begins to take shape when your team grabs onto the concept that every time the opponent takes possession of the ball, the nearest player aggressively goes over to mark that youngster. Disrupting the opponent from the outset not only makes beginning its attack that much more difficult for the team, but also forces the team to handle the ball under intense pressure and make an additional pass or two to get started. As you know by now, the more times you force a team to execute a pass or dribble with a defender in its face, the more likely a turnover is to occur, giving your squad the chance to gain possession of the ball and start an attack of its own.
Making a steal
Playing defense is all about reading and reacting. Because the youngsters on your squad have little, if any, playing experience, that means introducing them to an entirely new concept. Initially, start a child off playing 1-on-1 against another youngster who has a ball, much like a basketball coach would do, with one player dribbling a basketball and the other trying to swipe it.
In soccer, in order for the defensive player to be successful, she must keep herself between the opponent and the goal. When she sees an opening and makes a play on the ball, that’s called tackling. As we discuss in Chapter 3, it’s a term that doesn’t have the same meaning as it does in football. Tackling involves the defender stealing the ball from the player without committing a penalty. Effective tackling relies on timing.
Defenders should step in when the attacker provides an opening and go for the ball rather than the opponent. When tackling, players shouldn’t lunge at the ball, because good dribblers will easily maneuver around the player and create an advantage for his team. Proper tackling requires planting the nonkicking leg near the ball and using the other leg to knock the ball away. When using the poke tackle, which works best when approaching an opponent from the side or slightly behind, the player reaches in with his leg, extends his foot, and pokes the ball away with his toes.
Correcting defensive miscues
Stopping or slowing an opposing player’s dribble can pose several challenges for defenders:
Players are running by them with the ball: This miscue is usually the result of a defensive player not keeping his eye on the ball. Offensive players who use head and body fakes can get a defender leaning in the wrong direction and then scoot past him with the ball. Defensive players who focus on the ball and not the player are more likely to be in proper position to steal the ball or force the player to attempt a pass.
They lack focus: A child’s mind tends to wander when her team loses control of the ball, and she finds herself suddenly stuck in defensive mode. Simple reminders and encouraging words that she needs to steal the ball back in order to generate some shots on goal may help refocus her attention and enthusiasm for playing defense.
Helping Kids Who Just Don’t Get It
You may well be the best coach in your league. Your practices are more fun for the kids than a trip to the local toy store. Your players are learning and progressing — well, except for a couple of youngsters who just aren’t quite getting it. They haven’t grasped the fundamentals of kicking a soccer ball yet. For weeks, their timing on their passes has been off. They keep repeating the same basic mistakes that the rest of the team hasn’t made since the start of the season. So now what?
Now the real challenge of coaching soccer comes in. All kids don’t progress at the same rate. Some pick up what you say in minutes and follow your instructions perfectly. Others require a couple of practice sessions before everything sinks in and they perform skills exactly like you intended. And some kids struggle mightily every step of the way.
Making a difference
Take a closer look at how you coach these kids who are struggling, and see what adjustments you can make in your methods to steer them back on the right track. Are you spending too much time talking? Nearly all children have short attention spans of varying degrees. If what you say during the course of your practice sessions, or how you say it, doesn’t interest them, the simple fact is that their minds wander. Distractions abound in an outdoor sport like soccer. A cricket in the grass, a noisy truck down the street, or a big weed in the field are just some of the things that may lure a child’s attention away from what you’re trying to teach her.
Keep your instructions simple, and give the players lots of repetitions. Children learn and improve by performing the skill, not by listening to you talk about the skill. Increase the number of repetitions these kids are getting during practice, and see whether that generates significant improvement.
Are the kids who struggle happy with the positions they’re playing? Maybe the child had his heart set on being the goalie, and when you told him he was going to be a midfielder, his interest in learning and playing quickly fizzled. Give all the kids a chance to play all the positions. Yes, it can be difficult to pull off, considering that you may have more than a dozen youngsters on your team. Giving them this complete introduction to the sport keeps their interest and energy levels high. So talk with the child who’s struggling. Maybe the chance to wear the cool goalie gloves and protect his team’s net will jump-start his enthusiasm.
Don’t make a spectacle out of a child who’s struggling. Children, especially as they get older, know how their skills match up to those of the rest of the team. The last thing they need is for the coach to make their deficiencies stand out even more during practice by being singled out for extra work on the sidelines. If a child just hasn’t been able to master delivering passes, you may be tempted to work 1-on-1 with her on that skill while the rest of the team performs another drill at the other end of the field. Although initially, you think you’re helping by giving the child extra attention and practice, the attention is really going to embarrass her and make her feel even worse about her lack of development in this area of the game.
Help a struggling child by devising a drill in which a designated passer gets a 2-on-1 started. When you take this approach, the youngster who’s having some difficulty passing is getting a high number of repetitions in an area of the game that he needs help on, he’s working with his team rather than being isolated from it, and your practice time isn’t being compromised by one player’s struggles because everyone is actively involved in the drill.
Whatever the situation, never allow the tone of your voice to reveal frustration or disappointment. The same goes for your body language. Be calm, patient, and understanding as you work with these youngsters. Don’t neglect them or give up on them just because they haven’t been able to contribute as much during games as most of your other players. Stick by these kids, encourage them, and applaud their efforts every step of the way. They need you. Who know
s? Years from now, when they’re still actively involved in the sport, they may look back and realize that you’re the reason they still strap on shin guards every summer.
Is the child simply mismatched for soccer? Could another sport be more suitable for his interests and abilities? Some children simply aren’t attracted to contact sports like soccer. Maybe they’re tired of being kicked in the shins or aren’t getting any enjoyment out of all the running that’s required during the course of a game. If the child’s parents seek your advice about whether he should continue with soccer, be honest and helpful. Suggest specific sports that have the potential to provide their child the opportunity to enjoy a fun and rewarding athletic experience.
Recognizing physical problems
A child’s development can be hampered because of issues that are out of your control. Yet if you spot some of the warning signs, you may be able to make a difference. Be on the lookout for the following:
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A child’s lack of focus may be the result of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. According to the National Attention Deficit Disorder Association, the most common characteristics of a child with ADHD are distractibility and poor sustained attention to tasks, impaired impulse control and delay of gratification, and excessive activity and physical restlessness. If you think someone on your team may be displaying signs of ADHD, talk to the player’s parents about your concerns.
Vision problem: A child’s struggles with kicking a soccer ball properly or his inability to deliver an accurate pass to a teammate may be due to a vision problem that can be easily corrected. If you sense this problem, mention it to the child’s parents. Perhaps a trip to the eye doctor is all this child needs to pull everything in focus and turn his season around.
