The new soccer coach of today is combining all his knowledge of the game with modern technology. It used to be that to play soccer or to coach a team only took know-how of the sport and a bit of luck. All of that has changed. Now we have computer-designed programs to insert all the player information and to give a pre-selected choice of plays, drills, and practices to run.
Will this actually work with 10 year olds? I am not sure. If you are the new coach this year then please, before you begin to spend mega bucks for a soccer coaching program for your team consider the following:
1. It is necessary as always to have a good working knowledge of the game. Even if you have several computer programs to tell you what to do it will still be necessary to have a basic working knowledge of soccer.
2. A good coach always asks for help. There is no better way to improve your team than plain hard practice. When you ask parents for their help you ensure that are enough drills being practiced at each session to improve the overall ability of the team. This is also the best way to keep the parents happy and on your side. This way if little Johnny messes up during the match the parents who help also feel responsible and this puts you as the coach in a win-win situation.
3. Remember that technology is dependent also on other sources such as electricity, downloads, updates and money! Be careful not to use only technology. What will it bring you if you buy a new program and can only use it so long as the program runs right. What happens when the download for the update doesn’t run completely? Are you able to still do all the routine drills and planning on your own?
4. Always have a back-up plan. Being prepared for each situation is impossible but you can plan in advance as many as possible emergency scenarios and countermeasures as is possible. This will go a long way towards your success as well as the success of the team.
5. If you still want to coach a soccer team and you don’t have enough experience to make good decisions as to the planning of your team, then it would be better to hire an assistant than the aforementioned soccer coaching technology. Inform yourself as much as possible to the details of the game and as to the rules of your league. These may vary depending on the age of your team players and the location.
6. Coaching a soccer team is a huge responsibility. Before you take this position on please think about it carefully. We need all the coaches we can get but if you think you will have trouble to make the practices on time or if you have doubts about your ability to handle this job then please think twice. So many people will depend on your choices and plans.
Just remember to have some fun and win, win, win!
Tags: soccer coach, Soccer Coaching, soccer coaching technology, soccer team
Soccer Coaching can be a delightful and rewarding adventure. Let us keep it that way by preparing our team as best as is possible. By preparing the team I am talking about making your team as fit as is possible. It is necessary to run as much and as fast as is humanly possible. In order to be the best you have to be able to run for 90 minutes without stopping. This is a goal that can be achieved with efforts from everyone, but fitness is the key to real success.
Here are a few tips and ideas to get you off and running in the right direction.
1. Practice, practice, and then practice some more. The more you repeat an action the better you will become.
2. Always make time for a stretching session before practice. Most sport injuries can be avoided if each player and the trainer are aware of the pitfalls. For example, coming late to practice and then skipping stretching and jumping right into the practice drills. The Soccer Coach will be responsible for making sure this does not happen but ultimately the player is part of a team and must think of the overall success of the team and not just about themselves. This begins with being on time.
3. Soccer Coaching means preparation! You must be prepared! Your team must be prepared. Make lists of everything. Have several drills written down and plan them in a way to deliver the optimum outcome. Warm up with some beginning sprints then continue with full runs for endurance. Endurance drills are very necessary to success. But all of that won’t help if the team’s skills are not in order.
4. Practice a combination of skills in order to obtain a well rounded player.
5. Motivation is vital! How do you get 30 people to run for 90 minutes without stopping? How do you get them to listen and work with what you say? Soccer Coaches around the world know you must motivate your team to do their very best. They use all sorts of psychology for sports to get the most out of their players. You as the Soccer Coaching must know each player well enough to decide what motivates this player and how will that be of benefit to the team. Will the motivation tactic I use on Johnny be also useful for the team? Make a file on each player. Have the players tell you in writing what motivates them and look for yourself.
6. Soccer Coaching means knowing your team players as best as you can. If you want to motivate Johnny and you holler at him on the field and then his performance drops make a note of it in his file. Next time try a different tactic like telling him his kick was great but he has to use his head shot for this or that reason. Watch how he responds. If it is positive then you as the soccer coach have just learned something about your player. Never give up. Keep trying. Remember practice makes perfect not only for players but for Soccer Coaches too!
Tags: player fitness, soccer coach, soccer coaches, Soccer Coaching, soccer fitness
Which is the better formation between the classic 4-4-2 and the next most common, the 3-5-2?
4-4-2 has been used for years, hence its “classic” status. Having four at the back means you have a solid defence. With both central midfielders and wingers, there are many options for attacking and two strikers up front means that one can even drop back to link up with the midfielders if necessary. From a soccer Coaching perspective, it is a “safe” formation and will always be popular.
However, this formation can be limiting in some cases. For instance, the wingers will mainly attack but they also have defensive duties to perform which compromises them. Equally, the central midfielders cannot usually both attack - often you have one who hangs back and is more defensively minded and the other one will roam upfield.
Dutch legend Johan Cruyff once said: “You can’t play dominant football with a 4-2-2 system. The triangles on the field don’t match up.” What he means is that you are limited to passing left, right, forward and back unless the team employs effective off-the-ball positioning and movement to overcome this disadvantage.
However, it is possible to position the central midfielders in defensive-offensive pairing, but the wingers might need to move further in from the sidelines to plug the extra space, forcing the team to play narrow. Utilizing pacy upcoming full-backs could help in this situation.
So is the 3-5-2 a credible alternative to the classic 4-4-2? Let’s see what it has to offer.
Like the 4-4-2, there are many variations of the 3-5-2 but I’ll just discuss one here for comparison.
The standard 3-5-2 will feature three men at the back, five midfielders and two strikers. You might think that one less defender at the back is a bad idea but you will soon see that they have help.
The five midfielders comprise two classic wingers, plus two defensive midfielders and one attacking midfielder. The two defensive midfielders provide a link up between defenders and attackers and need a lot of stamina. This is because they need to chase down attackers quickly who may threaten the goal. The attacking midfielder needs to be a creative and confident player in the mould of Diego Maradona, Ronaldinho or Kaka. If he lacks any confidence, he will be exposed all too often in this lonely role “in the hole”.
All this means that the wingers can concentrate more on attacking and, with the right players, the defence are a stronger unit. Sometimes a soccer coach may compromise and instead change one of the defensive midfielders into an attacking midfielder up front. This formation probably requires the better players of the two to work, but the reward can be sheer dominance over the opposition.
So you can see, despite the public’s love for 4-4-2, a well-honed 3-5-2 formation can in fact be superior because it can give defensive strength and more attacking options if coached properly.
Tags: better formation, johan cruyff, soccer coach, Soccer Coaching, soccer formations
When I say professional soccer coach, I am talking about another class altogether.
I guess that even if you are paid a few dollars for a local team then you can be classed as a “professional”. However, I’m talking about the difference between most coaches and those who will go on to manage 1st or 2nd tier clubs in their country.
What does it take to win with these clubs? Is it simply a matter of following standard coaching theory - using drills and basic theory of tactics?
No, it’s much more than that. Like the best managers in other organisations, you need to find a way of rallying the troops and giving them the hunger to win like no one else can.
You can develop your own soccer coaching style to do this but look to existing pros as an example.
For instance, Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the old guard. Many players who have strayed have been on the receiving end of his infamous “blow-dryer treatment”. Other managers like Arsene Wenger study the beautiful game religiously, and then encourage their players to destroy other teams with an almost poetic license.
It becomes obvious that winning at the highest level, or even just reaching it, demands more than what is usually taught in standard exams. Can you handle the pressure of the big-time, where losing the wrong game can cost you jour job or sink the team into relegation?
You need to instil total confidence and zero fear in your team. So much confidence that they can feel they can go on the pitch and try anything. So much confidence that they will go out on the pitch believing that they can run the game the way they see fit, that they can play football as if they were applying a brush to a canvas.
Tags: coaching theory, elite soccer, professional soccer coach, soccer coach, Soccer Coaching, soccer coaching style
Soccer Coaching is not just about doing drills to learn to pass and shoot more accurately, and make more tackles. Nor is it simply about strategy or tactics.
To win at soccer, psychology is important. It involves:
- motivating your players to win
- giving your players confidence
- using that confidence to create goals
- building a winning mentality and momentum
You can put together a squad of great players but if they don’t believe that they can win, they never will. The biggest asset that they can have is to have no fear of failure.
Fear of failure is crippling not just in football but also in many aspects of life. Tell your players that although there is a chance of failure, there is always great chance of success. And the more you believe in yourself, the less likely you will fail. So tell them that there is no need to be afraid of failure. At kick-off the score is 0-0 and until the final whistle has been blown the win is always there for the taking.
In fact, instead of telling them to avoid taking risks, tell them to take increasingly more risks. This means that if they are stuck in defence, they should try to pass the ball along the ground until they are out of defence (rather than “boot it” upfield). This also means that if they are in a one-on-one situation, or even a one-on-two situation, they should try to take the opposition on. Sure, they might lose the occasional battle, but they should really enjoy it when they win. And the more they enjoy it and the more they practice it, the better they will become at it. This will increase their confidence and their success rate will improve.
This is what I call an ever increasing circle of confidence. In terms of soccer coaching psychology, you need to create as many chances for these circles of confidence to begin. Once they have been set off, you can leave them to grow.
Tags: psychology of soccer coaching, soccer coach, Soccer Coaching
What makes a good soccer coach? This is a simple question that unfortunately cannot be answered that easily. The answer might take several hundred pages, but I can offer you some useful advice and tips.
First of all, good soccer coaching requires an excellent understanding of the technicalities of soccer (football). A coach can’t direct his players by instinct or feel alone; he needs to know a lot about strategy and tactics.
The best way to get this experience is to watch as much football as possible. Also, there are a number of good educational materials out there as well.
Secondly, he needs to be a great motivator. Some of the greatest football managers in history, e.g. Alex Ferguson, will willingly admit that their ability to motivate their players is greater than their technical know how.
You can have a team full of talent, but it is useless if they lack the confidence to play and don’t work as a team. But how can a wannabe pro soccer coach learn how to motivate others? One way is to volunteer for local clubs, and pay attention to other coaches and their approaches. Another recommendation I can make is to work with children. Being as innocent as they are, you can really discover what will motivate them and what will not.
In my opinion, adolescents and adults are not so different from younger children - we still need the same basic things to motivate us, we have just grown a little more complex.
Tags: good soccer coach, soccer coach, Soccer Coaching
In many ways, becoming a successful soccer coach is no different to getting success in any other sport.
This means:
- gaining practical experience
- increasing your knowledge
- taking any necessary certifications or exams
The best way to get the experience you need to be a successful soccer coach is to volunteer at your local club. Maybe you can help out in training, whatever you can get, take it - it will be valuable no matter what. Often it is easier to get soccer coaching experience with kids than it is for adults. Even though kids may not be as attentive and may present other challenges, it is a joy to teach kids so do not overlook these types of opportunities.
Increasing your knowledge is something that you also owe to yourself. Your own successful coaching experience will only show you one viewpoint. By reading up and watching video tutorials and matches, you can learn from the experience of hundreds of other coaches and players. There are also a number of good books out there that you can benefit from - more on this later.
Lastly, there are certifications and exams that you can take. But what’s the point of these, you may ask? In many professions, certifications can lead to more money, and this is also the case in soccer (football). But they are also a great way of learning the common basics, and building on them. They are also an excellent way of showing clubs that you are serious about becoming a successful soccer coach. Your best bet is to contact your national soccer association for details of their coaching badges.
Tags: soccer coach, Soccer Coaching, sucessful soccer coach