Coaching Soccer-Important Things To Teach

The answer to "what are the most important things to teach" depends on how you define "important":

If you are a new coach, the most important things for you to read might be: Positions Basics & Kick-Offs, Assigning Soccer Positions, Formations, and Coaching Rules (especially Coaching Rule No. 3).

If you coach ages 3 to 8, click this link: How To Coach U-4, U-6 and U-8

If your team is losing all of its games, it may be important to you to try some things that can quickly cause a big improvement. There is nothing wrong with wanting to win, as long as you don't sacrifice good sportsmanship or fun to do so. My experience is that by U-8 most players and parents prefer winning to losing. First, read Stopper Importance, this tip can be worth 3 goals per game. If you want to try some ideas that can result in a quick improvement, try "Quick Team Improvement Program", "22 Coaching Rules" and "23 Of The Best SoccerHelp Tips & Tactics" at SoccerHelp Premium. Also, consider whether the "Formation" and "Style of Play" you use suits your team. See "Formations" on Premium, "Quick Team Improvement Program" section no. 9, "How To Teach Soccer Positions" and "How To Teach Soccer Formations".

If you define "important" as teaching your players the basic skills and concepts that they need to become good players, then we recommend teaching at a minimum:

Dribbling, Turns, Shielding the Ball and "Strength on the Ball". SoccerHelp believes being able to dribble and shield the ball is perhaps the most important soccer skill. Your players will have a lot more confidence and will play with more enthusiasm if they know they can dribble and protect the ball (phrased differently, a player can't be confident with the ball unless he or she can dribble in a crowd and protect the ball when under pressure). The Premium Version of the "Dribble Across A Square Game" is the best way to teach control dribbling, speed dribbling and turns and we strongly recommend you play it 3 times to start every practice. The "Shoulder Tackle & Strength On The Ball Game" and "Attack & Defend Ball Tag" are a great way to teach shielding and strength on the ball. There are many other good Premium Practice Games that teach dribbling, such as "Dribble Around A Cone & Back Relay Race", and the "2 Team Keep Away" game is a great way to practice controlling the ball in a crowd and while under pressure and also involves a lot of "transitions" from offense to defense and from defense to offense. These are available at SoccerHelp or SoccerHelp Premium, and Premium provides links to sites that use video and photos to show dribbling, turns and skills. See "How To Teach Soccer Dribbling" for more on this subject and for the advantages of the "Dribble Across A Square Game". If you don't subscribe to Premium, try the version of the "Dribble Across A Square Game" on SoccerHelp Basic. There are also many good dribbling games on Premium for U-6 players and the "Driving School" game on Basic and Premium is a good, fun way to teach dribbling and turning to U-6 and U-8 players. See "How To Teach Soccer Dribbling" for more ideas and games that teach dribbling.

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Hustling, Aggressive Play and "Winning The Ball". Soccer is a physical game. It is greatly beneficial to teach your players at an early age (starting by U-10) that they must hustle and fight to "win the ball". If your team doesn't hustle and play aggressively, you will almost always lose to a team that is significantly more aggressive. When we refer to aggressive play, we mean hustling, not being afraid of making contact and "winning" the "50/50 balls", which are the loose balls that either team has an equal chance of winning (it's difficult to win these if you are afraid of contact). The most aggressive team will usually "win" most of the 50/50 balls and will usually win the game. It is critical that your defenders be tough and not afraid of contact. If a player is afraid of contact, you will give up many goals if you play him or her at Fullback or Sweeper. Any player who is afraid of contact is at a disadvantage. Ideally, you want to teach your players to not only be brave and unafraid of contact, but also to hustle and be aggressive about going to the ball and to win loose balls. Now, we aren't talking about encouraging dirty, dangerous or unfair play, we're only talking about encouraging players to hustle, be brave and do their best. This is often not easy to teach. Some kids are naturally timid (I was) and most young children have been taught that rough or aggressive play is bad because someone might get hurt. A great way to encourage hustling and practice attendance is by using SoccerHelp's iron-on patches as rewards for those who hustle or attend practice. Coach Gayla of Missouri USA said: "I can't say enough about the tried and true results of using these patches! This very same team that lost ALL 8 games in the fall, won 7 out of 8 games this spring!!! The kids wanted those patches!!!" Click here to read about our iron-on soccer incentive patches. See "How To Teach Aggressive Play" for more on this subject and for Premium Practice Games that teach hustling, tackling and aggressive play. Also see "Marking, Jockeying, Shepherding & Defensive Footwork" on Premium.

Proper Technique for Passing and Receiving with the Inside-of-the-Foot. 75% of all passes and receptions at all levels of play are with the inside of the foot, yet over 50% of all Rec players use incorrect technique. If a player has used incorrect technique for several years, it is difficult to correct. So, it is very important to start teaching the proper technique by age 7 or 8. See "Skills" for how to teach Inside-of-Foot passing & receiving.

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Basic Terminology So You Can Communicate With Your Players And They Can Communicate With Each Other. "Far Post". "Near Post", "Center of the Field", "Middle of the Field", "Cross the Ball", "Center the Ball", "Ballside", "Goalside", "Mark", and "Win The Ball" are among the terms that are important to teach. A more extensive list is at SoccerHelp Premium at "Expanded List Of The Most Important Things For A Rec Soccer Coach To Teach".

Proper technique for an "Advanced Throw-In" and how to defend Throw-Ins so your opponent can't use them to create scoring opportunities. Throw-ins are important because both you and your opponent will get 15-25 of them in a typical game. Good throw-ins can create scoring opportunities for your team, but incorrect form will result in the assistant referee giving the ball to the other team. If you don't defend Throw-ins properly, they can result in scoring opportunities for your opponent. How to teach an Advanced throw-in is described at "Skills" and how to teach defense of Throw-ins is described in SoccerHelp Premium at "Quick Team Improvement Program" section 2. (To teach throw-ins, play the "Throw-Ins Teaching Game" on Premium)

The concepts of "Positions", "Support" and "Shift & Sag" teach teamwork and, when combined with a "Formation" and "Style Of Play", they provide the organization for your team's play. Starting at U-8, you should teach your players the concepts of "Positions" (i.e., that there are "Forwards", "Midfielders", "Fullbacks" and a "Goalie"), "Support" (i.e., "First Defender/Second Defender" and "First Attacker/Second Attacker/Third Attacker") and to "Shift & Sag". These concepts are easily taught and, in essence, teach teamwork. They can make a huge difference in your team's play. How to teach "Positions" is explained in SoccerHelp Premium at "How To Teach Soccer Positions". How to teach "First Defender/Second Defender" is explained at "Quick Team Improvement Program" section no. 3, at "10 Defense Tips & Tactics" section no. 7 and at "Support" in the Dictionary. How to teach "First Attacker/Second Attacker/Third Attacker" is explained at "First Attacker" in the Dictionary, and In Premium at "Scoring More Goals" and "Attacking Plan". How to teach "Shift & Sag" is explained in Premium at "Quick Team Improvement Program" section no. 4 and at "Shift & Sag" in the Dictionary. On Premium, also see "How To Teach Soccer Formations", "Formations" and see "Styles of Play" in the Dictionary.

A Lofted Kick. This is important so your players can clear the ball when on defense and so they can send lofted passes or take lofted shots when on offense. How to teach this is found at "Skills" and the "Chips / Lofted Passes" Practice Game in SoccerHelp Premium. It is important to practice this and to try to teach it to your players starting at U-8.

Click here to read a review of the "Soccer Success One On One Coaching DVD"

Click here to read a review of the "Just Kickin' It" video

Teach the concept of "Passing To Space" and the concept of "Movement Off The Ball" as a way to "Create Space". "Passing To Space" will greatly improve the speed and flow of your attack. It will also teach your players to think about the use of space and it will teach receivers that they must go to the ball and not wait for the ball to come to them. It is a superior style of play to only "Passing To Feet". How to teach "Passing To Space" and the 2 basic types of Movement Off The Ball that all coaches can easily teach players U-10 and older are described in SoccerHelp Premium in "23 Of The Best SoccerHelp Tips & Tactics" (see no. 19 & 20).

Teach "Coaching Rule No. 3", Which Explains How To Defend The Opponent's Throw-Ins, Goal Kicks , Punts and Free Kicks. This is very important because there are so many throw-ins, goal kicks, punts and free kicks, and each one is an opportunity for your team to win the ball, or at the least your team should not give the opponent an easy goal-scoring opportunity. See "Coaching Rules" and "Quick team Improvement Program" No. 2 in Premium for how to teach this. Coaching Rule No. 3 Allows Team to Dominate Opponents

1 vs. 1 Attacking and Defending Many Premium Practice Games teach dribbling, shielding, ball control under pressure, defending and aggressive play.

If you define "important" as teaching good sportsmanship and fair play, we agree 100%, but you don't need our help to teach those things and your players will learn a lot by watching their Coach and Assistant Coaches.

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