DEVELOPING GREAT SOCCER PLAYERS
ONE STEP AT A TIME
Let the Kids Play
We often fail to recognize that the soccer ball is a great teacher. Kids don't need coaches to play soccer. No doubt good coaching and providing kids with good facilities can greatly improve the development of the youth soccer player. However, children are fully capable of teaching themselves to play the game and generally improve their skills very rapidly in an environment where they feel unihibited. As parents and coaches, our most important job is to keep the game fun.
I view my job of coach as being a mentor, facilitator, teacher, fun maker, and positive role model. Although I openly admit that I'm prone to 'over-coaching', I do my best to stand back and let the kids play. The mark of a poor coach is often one that talks too much. It has taken me years of practice to learn the value of coaching quietly. I always encourage my players to be creative, take risks, and learn new things in an environment where they feel uninhibited, free to make mistakes, and explore their potential. "Learning is about experiencing what doesn't work in order to discover what does."* What youth learn on the practice field can be trivial compared to what they are capable of learning in the backyard. Consequently, it's important for players to leave the field confident and loving the game, so that they will go off on their own and explore new skills. Kids just want to play.
Fun is our mantra.
*D. Griffiths, The Weekend Warrior,
Reedswain, Inc., Spring City, PA, 2001.
DEVELOPING GREAT SOCCER PLAYERS
ONE STEP AT A TIME