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DCSA Coaching

IMPORTANT!!!

KidsSafe forms are MANDATORY for all coaches, referees, team moms, volunteers, etc.

You can fill them out online at www.mysams.org

General Coaching Tips

 Most recreational soccer coaches are parents who have never played the game. They do not have any idea where to start or what to do, but these parent coaches are the backbone of recreational soccer. The key to any recreational team is "age specific" coaching and development. There would be no reason to teach heading the ball to Under 6 and Under 8 players just as under 12 players get nothing from standing in a line in front of the goal and shooting the ball or teaching an offside trap to an Under 10 team. Listed at the bottom of the page are age specific activities for U-6 through U-12. The information on this site is meant to support coaches but we strongly recommend they follow up with proper coaching education (licensing clinics)

 The purpose of practice is to teach. The purpose of games is to show what has been learned. If a coach is constantly yelling instructions to their players during a game HOW do they expect the child to learn how to make their own decisions? Is this coach more worried about player development or winning that specific game? Below are some hints to help you with a better practice and a fun season!

Activities Checklist
Are the activities fun?
Are the activities organized?
Are all the players involved in the activities?
Is there room for creativity and decision making?
Are the spaces used appropriate?
Is the coach giving appropriate feedback?
Are there implications for the game?

Things you want to avoid
 Lines – What do they learn standing there, waiting on their turn?
Laps – Running is an important part of the game, do not use it as a punishment.
Lectures – I have enough trouble concentrating on kicking the ball, now you expect me to sit still and listen?
Drills – Do activities involving everyone at the same time.

A few thoughts about coaching recreational soccer

Place your emphasis on FUN and basic skills development. Too many parents feel that their children must win to have fun. This is simply not true. Adults focus on results (won or lost) where children focus on process (I played good, therefore it was a good game). Even U-12 players have usually forgotten about the end of the game score by the time they reach the parking lot, however they do remember their "big plays" from the game. Looking back through their careers most retiring players still remember the coach with whom they had the most fun, not necessarily the one where they did the most development. Why? This coach instilled in them a love of the game. Children learn more, and are more willing to work for an adult that they have fun with. As an adult remember back to elementary school and think of your favorite teacher. Were they a strict disciplinarian or did they make learning fun?

“Truths” About Children and Sports
Fun is pivotal. If it is not fun young people do not want to do it.
Skill development is a crucial aspect of fun. It is more important than winning, even among the best athletes.
The most rewarding challenges of sports are those that lead to self knowledge.
Intrinsic rewards are more important in creating lifetime athletes than are extrinsic rewards. (developing a passion for the game versus participation trophies)

Myths about Coaching

- It is the coach's fault if a team is not winning.
- Anyone who speaks with a foreign accent is privy to secrets of the game denied to ignorant Americans and is an appropriate coach for my child.
- Anyone who once played soccer and who owns an Adidas warmup would be a good coach for my child.
- The more tricks (with a ball) the coach can do, the better will be the coaching.
- A team’s winning record is a good gage as to whether or not a particular player on that team is developing properly.
- A good coach yells instructions and paces up and down the field during a game.
- All soccer coaches are inexperienced, amateur, power-hungry, controlling parents (i.e., "idiots").
- A good coach plays on the field with the players during scrimmages.
- You can coach girls the same way that you coach boys.
- Girls should be coached by women.
- All good coaches have national "A" licenses.
- A good player makes a good coach.
- In order to coach effectively, you must have played on the US Men's National Team [in the Olympics, professionally, as a child, as an adult, in college, for Brazil, etc.]
- “Unintentional” balls-to-hand applies to my team. “Intentional” hand-to-ball applied to the opposing team.

Myths about Practicing

- Players can get great by attending only 2 practices per week.
- Practices should be only as long as the length of the game at that age.
- Each practice should be organized around a single theme that isn't repeated at a later practice.
- Players like to hear long explanations from the coach at practice.
- It's fun waiting in long lines for your chance to shoot on goal with the only ball the coach brought to practice.
- Youth players have an attention span longer than 15 seconds.
- It's realistic to expect youth players to ignore such distractions as the Ice Cream Man's truck, a gopher sticking his head out of a hole in the field, someone's new baby, or someone's new puppy, kitten, or rat.
- You can restore order to a practice by yelling at the players.
- The best way to get their attention is to send them on a long run.

Myths about Games

- If a team won its game, the team played well.
- If a team ties its game, the team played so-so.
- If a team lost its game, the team played poorly.
- The farther away a game is, the better will be the competition and/or the player's development.
- The team with the fanciest warm-up routine will win the game.
- The first team to arrive at the field will win the game.

For information on coaching education (licensing) click here

Basic First Aid here

Youth Coaching Activities

Top ten reasons "my" parent is a good coach

 General Practice Help Older kids (U-10 and up) Practice Format USYSA Coaches Principles Of Conduct
Under 6 Activities Under 8 Activities Under 10 Activities Under 12 Activities
Age Specific Coaching Why Small Sided? Coaching Small Sided Coaches Connection

Coaching Links

Simplified Laws Of The Game

Decatur Youth Sports

Better Soccer More Fun

Jeff Pill's Online Drills