Teaching soccer – What Coaches Need to Know

There are several factors that a coach must take into careful consideration while teaching soccer tactics, especially while training young players.

Simple Soccer Tactics

The expert coach always starts with teaching the players about the simple soccer tactics. You should teach the tactics that the players can use with the skills they possess. Once you start seeing the improvement in their game, it is only then you should offer them more advanced tactics.

Appropriate To The Players' Age

This is again one of the most important things that the coaches must keep in mind. This is something that many soccer coaches overlook and they start teaching the same tactics to everybody irrespective of their ages.
This is something that can bring adverse effect to your team’s performance. Therefore, make sure that you teach them the basic soccer tactics that are appropriate to the players' age and match.

Simple Language

The language and the way in which you give instructions to the players must be simple, direct, and unambiguous.

Brief Instructions

True that you need to make your descriptions easy to understand, but it does not mean that you should tell them everything in such detail that it should eat up most of your training time.
It is equally important for you to keep in mind the time factor and be as brief as possible. However, you should not compromise on clarity just because you need to brief in your instructions.
It is not at all a good idea to use long lectures in the training session. Furthermore, many coaches use sarcasm in their instructions. Always remember that is not good for the health of the game and for your team’s performance.
Therefore, make sure that you are not using any sarcasm that could be misinterpreted. It is better to avoid jargon as well. You should try your best to speak carefully and be specific and brief.
Always remember that seeing is better than hearing and Doing is better than seeing. Therefore, when it comes to teaching soccer, an expert coach should introduce his topic, show it, and get the kids doing it quickly.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Andre Botelho is a recognized authority on the subject of teaching soccer. His web site, Teaching Youth Soccer Training Drills: www.SoccerDrillsTips.com, provides a wealth of informative soccer articles, resources and tips for soccer coaches, parents and players.