With the fall season fast approaching, it is important to begin planning your upcoming soccer practices.  The following pointers are by no means comprehensive but should help you in the season ahead.  More training games, videos, drills and ideas cal also be researched out.

Be safe

The safety of you and your players is always the number one factor in your preparation.  Plan ahead by knowing the weather, and be sure to have all your players contact details (and a way to call for help) in case of emergency.  Once on site, make sure that the area is safe (free of glass, metal, holes, etc) and that any goals are anchored securely.  In the even of bad weather (thunder/lightening), always err on the side of caution and take the children to safety.

Be prepared/organized

As mentioned above, be sure to have accurate paperwork for all of your players.  Once on field have a lesson plan that is age appropriate, and makes good developmental sense.  In addition, have appropriate equipment for the practice (balls, cones, pinnies, etc) and check that it is in safe working order.  Being prepared will mean you are less likely to get flustered during practice.

The following clip is a drill we use at Complete Soccer Coach to teach players to head the ball while having some fun!

Be flexible

Sometimes, the best sessions on paper just don’t work on the field.  As a coach, it is important to realize this and to not be afraid to change your practice if it is not working (you can always go back to it later).  Your players will not mind, and you can always change to one of your favorite games.

Know when to join in

Some of the best moments in a practice can be when you join in with the players.  This can motivate them to play better and with more energy, and can be a lot of fun for you.  However, be careful! If you do play, understand the impact of your intervention and size may have on less confident children.  Also, be wary of getting too involved as a player, and remember that if a child does a good move against you, their reward should be to beat you and move on (not to have you work extra hard to win the ball back!!!)

Have fun

Above all else, have fun.  Your players are there in their free time and while learning is important, enjoying the experience is paramount.  If you are enjoying yourself, then it will show through in your sessions and will be picked up on by your players and their parents.  After all, this IS suppose to be an enjoyable experience for you as well as them.

Coach Robert Wright

Complete Soccer Coach

Tags: coaching, heading the ball, kids soccer, practices

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 2:28 pm and is filed under Tips and Drills. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.