January 21, 2010
Coach Youth Soccer: 3 Simple But Effective Training Drills
Understand this! When it comes to Coach Youth Soccer, every coach runs short of ideas on how to make practice drills interesting and enjoyable for the kids. In teaching soccer, the biggest difficulty is to keep thinking about new ideas that make the training for kids interesting.
Following are some drills that you can teach youth soccer players. These help them play the game well and have fun at the same time.
Employ the players to do dribbling and shooting: This is an easy drill that helps all the players practice at the same time. Instruct the players to stand on a single goal line. Now distribute the balls all over the soccer field. Once done, tell the kids to play with the balls as if they are moving towards the opponent’s goal. They must also shoot the ball when they get a chance.
This workout helps the kids build their stamina, confidence and also improves their dribbling skills. As the kids do not face any opposition while moving forward, it reflects their style of playing soccer.
Passing the Ball: In this game, make the kids stand in a queue at a distant corner of the field. Start counting till 3 and when you finish, order them to run to you as fast as they can. When they are running towards you, they should also try to take over the ball from the other player who has it. When you say Stop, the player who was kicking the ball must pass to one of the teammates.
When you coach youth soccer, these drills bring out the best in kids when it comes to passing and dribbling. At the same time, they learn the skill of clinching the ball from others which is also vital.
Touch and Go: It’s an exciting game that kids enjoy playing. In this game, tell them to make two lines at a distance of less than 40 feet from the goal post. Also, the goalie should defend the goalpost. Situate yourself in between these two queues.
The ball should then be passed on to any one row to subsequently pass or shoot the ball with just one contact. The objective should be to attack the goal. Now the goalie should return the ball and continue with the practice.
In case of two or more than two goalies in team, they should be rotated between practice sessions. This game involves team effort and also improves the shooting skills. The game also provides the opportunity to learn the skill of saving the ball from getting to goalpost.
Retaining the possession of the ball: This drill helps the players learn to move forward with the ball saving it from opponents. Engage two players, one protecting the ball and the other attacking it. Now let them both play their roles in the field and the one who succeeds to take over another wins a point.
These happen to be the simplest methods to coach youth soccer. Your kids can put these into practice since they entertain your kids in addition to helping them learn. Become a member of our youth soccer coaching community for more knowledge and tips on the same.
Andre Botelho is known online as "The Expert Youth Soccer Coach" and his free ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. Learn how to skyrocket your players' skills and make training fun in record time. Download your free ebook at: Coach Youth Soccer
