Here’s a really simple way to explain soccer practice; there is no set rule. You can try new and innovative ways, create new drills and games and like that. It is also a good idea to keep your eyes and ears open to look for ready made practices and modify them for your own use. These are some tips that can be helpful in conducting a fruitful soccer training calendar.
Create plans that are flexible. It is quite natural that all your plans may not work out as desired. It may rain, the kids may not turn up, or you may get sick. Therefore, equip yourself with requisite tools to save your day’s plan as they may serve as barriers.
It’s best to keep in stock a number of soccer practice games ready. In case some of them don’t generate desired results, just remove them and move on to next. Flow with the training and you will get to know what is working best for the kids.
Make the kids warm up before every session. The kids should be made to utilize the soccer ball as an extension to their standard drills to warm up. Include games such as Fetch and a few other training exercises. This game requires the coach to throw the ball to the player which he has to return with either or both his feet.
Along with this, the kids can also be made to roll the ball using their feet, kick it backward and forward among the feet. There are loads of soccer drills like this that players use to warm up.
It’s imperative for every player to have soccer ball for himself. And in this case, come up with exciting individual games that require use of the ball. They should practice, shooting, dribbling, hitting the ball to the wall etc. Your movement should be free as much as possible and don’t include any lines.
In soccer coaching, after the individual activities, it is time for group activities. Passing and receiving the ball great drills for practicing. It is essential that the kids behave as a team in group activities. As a rule, kids naturally take good amount of time from moving on to group from individual and thus adjusting to the notion of team play. You need to act like a leader at this stage. Lay emphasis on supporting each other in team for winning matches.
In addition to this, guide the weak players suitably so they feel the need to be teamed up. These are activities that drive the spirit to play as a team.
Let the kids play soccer in teams and without a goalie. Encourage them to take hits at the goals without any restrictions. Also, instruct them to first attack and then defend. This helps them do their own thing and in the process develop something new.
This is the most straightforward method of conducting soccer practice. Set yourself free and design everything that will help the kids learn about soccer. There is no correct or incorrect drill as such. The only thing you must ensure is flexibility. Our youth soccer coaching community has wealth of resources on youth soccer that will help you make the most of training sessions.
Andre Botelho is a recognized expert in youth soccer coaching. He influences well over 35,000 youth coaches each year with his unique coaching philosophy, and makes it really easy to explode your players’ skills and make training more fun in record time. To download your free youth soccer coaching guide visit: Soccer practice.
