Soccer Coaching

This may be a first, but I am not going to give you a list of the training sessions to make you the best coach ever.

If you think that armed with a book of sessions and drills is the formula to being successful as a coach, then sadly you will be disappointed. 

Of course you need these tools as a soccer coach, but they only make up a small proportion of your role as a soccer coach.
There are a multitude of websites , books and videos to get great information on training sessions, and I have included some sessions in this site , but I would like to concentrate on the philosophy and techniques of coaching as these are far more important in the development of players than any magical skill or drill

What are the qualities of a good soccer coach?

As a soccer coach you will be the mentor and leader for your team, will conduct numerous training session, deal with conflict from players in your team and from parents, referees and other coaches. The basic qualities are

A few questions for you to think about as we work through the complexities of coaching soccer and come up with a formula that will help you become a successful coach

 

  1. What are your reasons for coaching?
  2. What do the players need from a coach?
  3. What does the team need from you as a coach?
  4. What does your club need from you as a coach?
  5. How can you get the best out of yourself as a coach?
  6. How do define success for a player or team during a season

Coaching a soccer team is a very demanding and challenging task.  As a coach you need to accommodate and develop every player in your team and ensure that every player gets a fair chance at becoming as good as they can be.

Soccer players come in a variety of forms, and all players in your team will have

  1. Different abilities
  2. Different commitment to soccer
  3. Different fitness levels
  4. Different motivations for playing
  5. Different social and family backgrounds
  6. Different reasons for playing

As a coach you need to a strategy to accommodate all your players, their parents and the teams objectives.  This may seem an overwhelming task, but with careful organisation and planning, and using the strategies and techniques described here, there is no reason why you shouldn’t have a successful coaching campaign

Team Selection

Before you even embark on coaching a team, the team has to be created, and there may well enough players for two teams, so how do we decide on who goes into which team?

I was a firm believer in ensuring that a mix of capabilities was a good thing.  I still believe that that a team with mixture of abilities will work, but only up to a point.

There is no predefined age for when this point occurs, but it becomes apparent when training sessions suffer because of the different abilities.  If drills are continually breaking down because of a lack of skill, then it is time to split players into groups of similar ability. 

 

Players and parents new to the game often believe that a squad of players would benefit from having a mixture of players of lesser ability and players of greater ability.  The rationale for this is that the players of greater ability would be able to progress and gain confidence in training sessions, and the players of lesser ability would learn form the better players.

 

The reality is vastly different

After coaching for numerous of years, my view has changed significantly and for the following reasons

 

It may not be a popular view, but my experience (and also that of my peers), is that  players should be grouped by similar ability.

 

That is to say that it is important to grade of players, and grouping of players into teams where players have similar abilities is in the best interests of everyone.

 

Note If there is only one team in an age group, you should still split the players into groups of similar ability only when the drills demand it.  Relay races between groups should have players of mixed speed, and so be balanced with faster and slower players in the same group this will even out the race.  Technical drills, however,  should have players of similar ability in each group.  If some players are not capable of performing a particular drill, they should be given a drill to achieve the same outcome, but simplify the technical requirements of the drill.  Eg a passing drill may be limited to one touch passing for the more skilled group and two touch passing for the lesser skilled group.

 

You must be very careful when splitting a team into groups to avoid alienating players of lesser ability.

 

I do believe that it is in the interests of every club to do its best to try and accommodate every player, no matter what their ability may be.   The club of which  I have been a member since 1970 has adopted policies and practices to achieve loyalty form players, realising that there are a number of categories that players fall in to, and that loyalty from players will ensure the longevity of the club.  There will always be

Enough players for 2 teams

The best outcome for a particular age group is to have two teams, each with different objectives and agendas.

 

The reason for two teams is

  1. It is in the best interests of the game and of the community to ensure maximum participation
  2. Players develop at different ages, and a player that may be considered a great player at under 8, may not be considered the same at under 12. 
  3. Conversely, I know from personal experience, that an under developed 14 year old may shine in the under 16s
If it is not possible to have two teams, then the objectives for the team should be discussed and determined as soon as possible. This will give everyone a say, and in a democratic team, the majority should rule.  This will give all players an option to review their objectives, to make sure that they are comfortable with the team philosophy.

Team Numbers and Playing Time

Whilst it is true to say that players will learn more from training sessions, it is vital that they get the opportunity to put what they have learnt into a real game.

Playing time is often the most controversial issue that a coach is faced with.  The vast majority of objections raised during a season are about playing time and the objections normally emanate from parents.  It is vitally important to establish the size of the team. 

 

I would recommend a maximum of  3 players more than the number on the field.
Ie a squad of 14 for a team that fields 11 players

 

If you have anymore than this , then match day becomes a logistical nightmare in ensuring a balanced team with a fair amount of playing time for each player

Note A fair amount of time does not necessarily mean equal playing time

 

If there are players “left over” after the team selection process has occurred, every effort should be made to accommodate them, even if that means moving them to a higher age group or having a team with an extra player or two.

The Team Objectives

 To view example Team Objectives Sheet Click Here

 

Match Day Strategies

Match day is the most important day for the players and often their parent too, and so it is a huge challenge for the coach to ensure a balanced and competitive team whilst ensuring the development needs of each player is satisfied.

In the early years of players development, when results are not important to players or the team experimentation with different positions for players is vital to ensure that the player gets a feel for each position, and will learn to adapt to different positions as needed.  The players will also learn which position they prefer

 

Pre Match

You should advise players to get to the ground at least 30 minutes before the game and that they are prepared. Ie ready to warm up and play.  It is vital that you are prepared too, and get there early, ensure that any equipment you need is available and have a plan for the game.  The warm up is an important preparation for the players, and during the warm up, you should spend a minute or so with each player, explaining what you want them to do in the game.  When talking to players it is absolutely vital to keep the instruction brief and simple.  Eg for defenders the instructions might be “always try to clear the ball out wide” and “the nearest defender must close down the oppositions as quickly as possible” and for attackers “if you have a chance to shoot, then shoot!”

One or two instructions for younger players is as much as they can comprehend and put into action, so don’t waste time by delivering a 10 minute speech before each game, the players will tune out!

The Game

Younger players will be very keen to play in goals, because the realise that they can use their hands, and it seems easier.  It does not take too long to realise that a goalkeeper is the last player in defence, and the keenness to be the last person facing wave after wave of opposition soon disappears.  At least the player will appreciate how hard it is for a goalkeeper, and that if a forward makes a mistake, it is probably no big deal, but if the keeper does, well ….

With younger players, the concepts of passing the ball, positioning to receive the ball and team play are quite limited, so more important are effort and determination.  If a younger player is determined, goes for the ball, and dribbles the ball with some confidence, then they are well on the way.

 

As players develop it is vitally important that the team as a whole performs well and remains balanced and competitive at all times.

I have found the best results using the following formula

Ensure that you set up the defence first. 

If you have a team with varied ability, you should have the best players in defence and center midfield, and the lesser skilled players in positions that are less likely to concede goals.  Whilst this may seem negative, it is far better for the team to avoid conceding goals, and so the strength of the team should be concentrated in achieving this.

Always ensure the strength of the spine of the team ie The goalkeeper, the 2 center backs and two central midfielders need to be the core of the team.  Work the other players around this core set of players

Try not to have your best 3 players sidelined at the same time

Try to have players play in the same or similar positions each week.  This way the player will grow in confidence as they learn and understand the role that they are to play in the team

After the match

It is important to spend 5 minutes after the match with all the players, highlight where players have done well and make a point of naming players that have done well.  You should also mention areas of the team that need improvement, but try not to point out particular players here.  All in all, try and make this 5 minutes as constructive as possible and look for as many positives as possible, and do not dwell on the negatives too much, they will be dealt with ion the training ground next week!