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.
No comments:
Post a Comment