Coaching High School Soccer: Winning Tactics
You might disagree, but hear me out on this when I say that in Coaching high school soccer, communication is the first step to success. The term coaching signifies the art of communication. It explains what you want of people in such a way that allows them to perform it.
When it comes to soccer coaching, I’ve observed that most of the coaches often are the ex-players. Still, there are several problems that they have to find solutions to. Majority of these issues come up due to communication lags. Your role as a coach would become far easier if you just pay attention to some most important communication issues.
These have been described one by one.
In the course of watching the young players on field, coaches often get emotional. The coaches become spectators instead of adopting a critical approach to observing the kids. They ignore the important facets of the game that could improve the team’s performance significantly. As such they lose the focus on directing the team towards a win by way of an effective conversation.
Although coaches have a complete knowledge of the game, but they have a little training in communication. For instance; most coaches don’t use videos or flip charts in soccer coaching because they don’t know about them. The coach may be technically talented but if he not able to communicate properly, regular practice sessions get really boring for the kids.
This occupies greater importance in coaching high school soccer as the players are young but also know the various facets of the game. They have been executing soccer drills for a long time at different levels. And one of the ways to avoid the boredom of repeating important messages is to keep varying the format.
It’s a fact that sometimes the coaches completely forget that it is people who perform in the practice sessions. They tend to get carried away in the process of coaching and training. For example; Sending out instructions without taking the player’s name leads to uncertainty and confusion.
In football coaching, there are some points that need special attention and they are as follows:
• Every message coming from the coach carries equal importance. So make sure that they are interpreted correctly.
• Use positive language that encourages players to give their best shot. Allow them to grow and become better players instead of highlighting their flaws.
• Pay equal attention to each player in the team. Studies indicate that coaches spend relatively more time with star players in team (up to seven times more!).
• Be proactive in communicating the problem the moment you see it coming.
• Reinforce the player’s self esteem by balancing praise with criticism. In coaching high school soccer, the balance should be a bit more towards the praise.
Trust me. When you apply these rules to your training sessions, the benefits will be much more that you’ll expect.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
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 Drills
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