When it comes to coaching high school soccer, communication is the most vital part to consider on way to achieve success. The actual meaning of coaching kids is the art of communicating with them. This has the effect of expressing yourself to people with a view to perform them things in precisely the same manner.
In soccer coaching, I’ve come to notice that generally the former players have assumed the responsibility of being coaches. Still, there are several problems that they have to find solutions to. Majority of these issues come up due to communication lags. You must recognize that there are certain issues related to communication that need special attention if your job is to be made easier.
Let me explain them to you one at a time.
In the course of watching the young players on field, coaches often get emotional. They tend to become spectators rather than analytical observers. As such they are not able to see the key points that could make all the difference in their team’s performance. The coaches fail to have an effective conversation that could help the players get to the winning post.
Though the coaches today are complete professionals fully acquainted with the game, they lack communication training. For example; in soccer coaching, use of a video or a flip chart is not very common since most coaches don’t know about them. It’s important for the coach to know the game well but if he is unable to communicate his thoughts, the training gets repetitive.
This is especially important in coaching high school soccer since the players have been into the sport for quite some time. They have been performing soccer drills on the same lines for quite some time, although at different levels. You can do away with the monotony of repetitive messages by frequently changing the layout of training.
You’ll be amazed to know that coaches tend to forget sometimes that it is people who carry out the trainings. They get so absorbed in the training and coaching as a process that they lose their ground. For example; Sending out instructions without taking the player’s name leads to uncertainty and confusion.
There are certain guiding principles in football coaching which are as follows:
• All messages from the coach are important for players. So ensure that they are understood completely and correctly.
• Use positive language that encourages players to give their best shot. Allow them to grow and become better players instead of highlighting their flaws.
• Pay equal attention to each player in the team. 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. When it comes to coaching high school soccer, tilt the balance slightly more towards praise.
Trust me. When you apply these rules to your training sessions, the benefits will be much more that you’ll expect.
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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