I don’t know if you know this but communication is the most important element to succeed in coaching high school soccer. The actual meaning of coaching kids is the art of communicating with them. It enables you to let people understand exactly what you wish them to do and in what sense.
Majority of coaches in soccer coaching are the players who used to play the game in their younger days. Even then they have to deal with many issues in coaching young players. These issues come up due to the inability to communicate properly. As a coach, you need to work upon certain communication related problems for effective execution of your responsibilities.
These have been described one by one.
Coaches generally allow their emotions to become involved while watching their kids play. Instead of acting as analytical observers, they become more of spectators. They tend to overlook some chief points that could help the team improve on certain fronts. Here, they miss out on the important part of having a professional conversation aimed at getting a win.
Even though the coaches are well versed with the technicalities of the game, they are not trained specifically on communication. For example; use of flip charts and videos in soccer coaching is not applied by many coaches as they aren’t aware of them. The coach may be technically talented but if he not able to communicate properly, regular practice sessions get really boring for the kids.
It is even more important in case of coaching high school soccer because the players are not new to the game. They have been doing these soccer drills for some time but at different levels. And one of the ways to avoid the boredom of repeating important messages is to keep varying the format.
You’ll be amazed to know that coaches tend to forget sometimes that it is people who carry out the trainings. The objective of training is lost because the coaches get so much occupied in just conducting the sessions well. An example of ineffective communication by a coach is when he fails to use a player’s name while giving instructions which produces uncertainty.
There are certain guiding principles in football coaching which are as follows:
• Every message from the coach is equally important. They should therefore be taken and read correctly.
• Your messages should have a positive impact on the players to put their best foot forward. Help them to improve rather than reprimanding them for not playing well.
• All players should get an equal opportunity to sit with you and learn. Research indicates that coaches spend a lot more time (up to seven times more!) with star players.
• Adopt a proactive approach to identify the impending problems and solve them.
• Accentuate your player’s self worth by balancing praise with criticism. Tip the balance more towards praise with players in coaching high school soccer.
Accept as true. Application of these simple strategies to your training programs will have far reaching results for your team.
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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: Coaching high school soccer.
Tags: Coaching high school soccer, coaching youth soccer, football coaching, soccer coaching