TOP 10 FOORBALL TRICKS

THE WHOSE WHO IN YOUR SQUAD

Your squad is made up of different individuals with in some cases vastly different backgrounds. Nevertheless it’s your job to mold them into an effective unit.

In my experience most young footballers fall into three categories:

1)     The Pop Star.

2)     The Rock.

3)     The pain in the ass.

1)     THE POP STAR    A naturally talented player, who is gifted beyond belief. An absolute prima- Donna, this individual believes that you can not succeed without him or her in your squad. They hate fitness routines and generally dislike youth football coaching drills. They are not team players and have no regard for their team mates. They want to do it all, from taking throw-ins to handling free kicks and penalties. They are there to impress and do not listen to instructions. This type of player is difficult to manage and can certainly damage your squad.

As a coach you need to ensure that this player fits in with your plans or moves on. They need to be reigned in and made to work with fellow team mates. Never stroke their ego and never let them overturn your decisions.

2)     THE ROCK   A player that is always reliable works hard, is committed to the team and never quits. These players are not that gifted, but what they lack in skill they make-up for with loads of enthusiasm. Never a problem.

3)     THE PAIN IN THE ASS   A player that is forced to attend football due to parental pressure. This player has more interest in causing trouble whilst doing as little as is possible. With a short attention span and a disruptive personality, if not controlled this individual will turn your youth football coaching drills into a nightmare.

Discipline is a big factor in handling them and often it is better to remove this player from a few practice sessions, as well as from the occasional match too. Over time they will either change, toe the line or else they will leave the club.

In closing remember that you are a coach and not a social worker or a trained psychologist. You can not be all things to all people.

Cheers for now.

Mike  

      

THE PLAYERS IN YOUR SQUAD

If you’re going to compete in your club’s league, then you need to assess and prepare your team to compete. Most leagues will run for about 8 months and depending on the number of clubs that are affiliated to your local football association, a team can play up to 42 matches over this period, excluding other competitions that come up during the season. This means that your youth football coaching drills and your strategies need to be good.

When preparing your squad, you need to look at each individual player and what they can bring to the game. Don’t for one minute think that you can change an ordinary player into a Ronaldo or a Messi over a season. You do not have the time to do this. Whilst you can certainly improve a player’s ability, you can not turn that player into something that they are not.

Split your squad into three sections, namely those players that are naturally gifted, agile, physical, fast, with good ball sense and raw talent. Then those players who are fast, lack good technical skills, but are reliable; they will improve over the season. And lastly those player’s who are weak, have no ball sense and are slow.

You must consider two things: You need a good attack and a solid defense. If you have no raw talent in your squad, then you have a problem. You must find that talent within your community. This can be done by asking players if they know of kids in their neighborhoods or schools who are fast runners and would like to play football. Alternatively if you have the time, approach schools in your neighborhood and ask to promote your club to pupils during an assembly one morning (a quick 10 minute presentation). You can also get your players to dish out flyers at their schools, promoting youth football. Get an article into your local newspaper etc. Involve the players in your squad. Make them your talent scouts.

If you don’t have the right mix of players in your squad, then you are going to spend the season being hammered. It’s that simple. Remember winning matches raises the confidence levels in your players and makes for a happy team. Losing does nothing for morale and in the long run players will leave the club. Also you as the coach will be blamed for the poor performance by the parents of the kids in your squad.

Cheers for now.

Mike

P.S. Next we will carry on with this topic with an in depth discussion on your players.

WHAT TYPE OF COACH ARE YOU?

Before we get into looking at the players in your squad, let’s first decide whether or not you as a football coach are serious about competing. You see in my opinion there are two types of coach: those that take their role seriously and are competitive and there are those who are quite happy to let the kids in their squad kick around and have some fun. They are not interested in results or about winning games. The aim is just to have fun and there’s nothing wrong with this if this is what you want.

However if you are serious about your role as a coach of youth football coaching drills and like me you have a competitive streak, then you want to pit yourself against the very best amateur coaches in your age division within your club’s league. Your aim is to build a squad that puts fear in the hearts of opposing teams they face on match days.

So what type of coach are you?

SIZE DOES COUNT.

Your soccer club will be affiliated to a local football association, which will list guidelines and rules pertaining to the various age group divisions in that league. As a youth football coach you’ll need to know the rules and regulations both of the game of soccer, as well as the rules that pertain to each age group. One of the biggest differences between the age groups is the size of the ball to be used in matches. The most common size footballs are a size 4 and a size 5 (the size is normally noted on the ball itself).

The size 4 football will be used by age groups from u7 to u9, while the size 5 will be used for u11s onwards.

One thing that you will learn very quickly is that different makes of soccer ball differ both in size and in weight. In junior soccer this definitely has a bearing on the outcome of a match. For example, some size 5 soccer balls will be lighter than others and in turn some may be slightly larger than others. With youth football training drills players get used to the footballs that they practice with at their club’s home ground. On match days you may find them struggling to control a ball either because it’s too light and the wind speed on the field is strong, or it’s too heavy and they battle to clear the ball or shoot properly.

You will also find that on match days the opposing team will often place their ball on the halfway line or hand it to the referee just as he arrives to blow the game. By the way this is something that you need to do in order to settle your team quickly into the game.

In closing, when doing your youth football training drills and specifically when playing small sided matches, you need to use different types of balls, both heavy and light. This enables your players to adapt quickly to the ball being used on match days.

Cheers for now.

Mike

P.S. Next time we will be looking at the players in your squad and how to measure their strengths and weaknesses.

Let's start at the beginning shall we?

If you are going to coach then you need the right training equipment. If your club has all of the right equipment then you’re fortunate. Some clubs don’t invest in sufficient training apparatus for their junior divisions, as the senior sides seem to take preference. In my opinion as a coach you should buy your own football training equipment; this way it belongs to you, you don’t have to share with other coaches, you don’t have to wait in line to use equipment and you are not accountable for items that go missing after practices.

Below is a list of equipment that you need in order to train your team. Some items are not as important as others and I have included substitute items if cost is an issue to you.

1)     Soccer balls: The more your players handle the ball in a practice session, the better they become at dribbling, passing and shooting. When you’re doing football coaching drills, each player must have their own ball. The cost of soccer balls may vary. However if the club does not have enough for you then you need to approach the parents of the kids in your team and they can bare the cost for their child. In this way every child comes to practice with his or her own football. Alternatively you can invest in one or two soccer balls a month until you build up the right number for your squad. The size of football is important and we will address this later.

2)     PVC Conduit: Normal 20mm PVC electrical conduit (found at your local hardware store) is usually sold in 3 meter lengths is essential. What you do is cut it into 1 or 1.5 meter lengths. Sharpen one of the ends and you can push it into the ground which makes a perfect marker and replaces the use of cones. If you live in a city where wind is a factor then PVC conduit is a great and cost effective alternative. You will need a minimum of ten conduit sticks to coach with.

3)     Cones: These are not essential as one can use PVC conduit. However if you want to use them then ensure that you have at least ten cones with a minimum length of 40mm.

4)     Beacons: These are circular almost flat shaped plastic plates with a hole in the top. Beacons are essential as you will use these all of the time during football coaching drills, to mark out a practice area and to begin and end a drill. Beacons are not very expensive.

5)     Bibs: This is an essential item to have. You can not play practice games without differentiating between the different sides. Bibs can be costly as you will need a minimum of ten. A cheaper alternative is to buy yellow or orange t-shirts. Ensure that you buy the correct size.

6)     Hurdles: Again these are not essential for youth football training drills.

7)     A Whistle: Often overlooked, you need a whistle to direct and control your drills.

8)     Car tyres: As unorthodox as this may sound, used car tyres work effectively for age divisions from u7 to u9. If you observe kids matches in these divisions, you will notice that where ever the ball is, is where all of the players are. Often kicking the ball and each other in order to get the ball into open space. All too often at this age, kids are more likely to run straight at their opponents as they are still developing handling skills. The use of car tyres works on developing a child’s ability to win the ball by use of leg force. Take two tyres. Place them opposite each other. Peg them into the ground. The gap between the tyres should be a little under the soccer ball size, but enough to be able to force the ball through this gap. Then as a drill, let your players run through three pairs of tyres, set at different spaces apart, ensuring that each player forces the ball through the gap of each pair of tyres. Don’t let them kick the ball over the tyres. They must force the ball through the gap. Remember to peg the tyres into the ground otherwise they will move. This drill if done correctly and regularly will show positive results on match days.

Cheers for now.

Mike

P.S. Next time we’ll go into a little more depth on the size of football you may use.

INTRODUCING YOUTH FOOTBALL COACHING DRILLS

So you want to become a youth soccer coach? You just need some guidance and believe me there are a lot of “free coaching programs”, “drills” and “fitness plans” etc. to choose from on the internet. The question you have to ask yourself is: do any of these programs really work? How effective are they? And will they make my coaching sessions any easier?

I certainly won’t criticize these programs, as some do have valid techniques which can be used to improve a players ability, however if you want to develop an effective team that achieves consistent results over a season, then you have come to the right place.

My name is Michael Mason and no I am not a pro footballer, nor a school or college soccer coach. I don’t have any major qualifications behind my name either. I am a parent probably like you are who decided to get involved in youth football coaching because my kids play and I formulated my own strategies that worked. I have only been a youth soccer coach for five years. In that time I have won two League titles and two Knock-out competitions. Coaching youth football does not require you to be a technical genius, in fact there are only three things in my opinion that count. They are dedication, a keen eye for talent and discipline; but more about this later.

I’m going to give you some free and simple tips on youth football coaching drills, along with fitness techniques that have served me well and have worked. I will also share some insight and opinions regarding amateur club soccer. If you’re looking to become the soccer coaching guru then this site is not for you. What I’m going to teach you is how to coach and manage your own junior football team to compete over a season. REMEMBER that football is a team sport and each member of your team has strengths and weaknesses. Your job is to harness the very best from your players and mold them into an effective fighting unit that wins matches which in turn builds confidence.

Cheers for now.

Mike

P.S. I have included links to some programs that once again in my opinion are worth looking at.