People who are interested in the career of becoming a soccer coach or part time coach need to prepare themselves to take on such an endeavor. Many coaches of youth league are thrown into the position of head coach because their kid’s team needed a coach. Anyone who volunteered would have been thrown into the same position. With the proper preparation, people can be prepared to coach soccer and even be successful, thus having a feeling that he or she did not let the kids down. After all that is why you took the position in the first place, to do what’s right for the kids.
Now that you have the position, or have been thrown into it, where do we start? We must find coaching videos that will help explain how to coach soccer, especially youth soccer, because if you prepare to coach teenagers they react differently and have different skills than a seven year old. We must prepare for the appropriate age group. Find videos, which there are a million out there, and look for creditable resources, meaning they have appropriate back ground. In many videos the individual gives a little back ground, but an easy way to find creditability is by looking at the comments. If all the comments disagree with what the coach in the video is doing, then maybe you shouldn’t learn from that one.
Sign up for a coaching course online, it is easy, usually very cheap and will come with some great information. Focus on the age group you are working with, and be sure to remember that kids are always evolving and so the way you might have been coach might not be the best practice with today’s youth. The appropriate age group is very important because it will give you better insight on motivation techniques, because coaching is all about rapport and motivation. If you can connect with the kids, rapport, and get them working hard and listening, motivation, then you will have been a success as a coach. Hopefully you can find a course that will help you with those tips.
Finally, we must get out there and play some soccer. There is no need to try out for the pros, but a good recreation league or even friendly games in the neighborhood can help coaches understand soccer more. You definitely don’t want to try to show a drill and end up pulling a Charlie Brown, missing the ball and falling. The better the coach understands the game of soccer, the more they will be able to bring to the table for the kids.
