Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world for good reasons, it’s great exercise, it’s fun to play and even fun to watch. However, it can also be a demanding sport which demands many skills from the players. While soccer isn’t really hard to play at a casual level the fact that it involves so many skills does present a challenge for a key figure on the team: The coach.
Coaching soccer can be challenging especially if you are just starting, after all, it can be hard to know just what kind of drills are beneficial or how long should practice go on for. So today we got an article for all of those potential or new coaches reading us, so you can step up your game and grasp the soccer coaching basics in a snap.
The Fundamentals
While there are many ways to approach soccer coaching there are four fundamentals many experts agree on that will help you with your approach as a new coach.
- First and foremost practice has to remain fun. Whether you are coaching kids or adults in their free time practice has to remain engaging and rewarding or you’ll be losing motivation fast. Soccer is a game, so don’t forget that.
- Next is to take a player-centred approach. That is to say that you need to keep in mind both the strengths and needs of each player. Not everybody is suited for every role on the field, and if you lay to their strengths you’ll keep them engaged and happy. Keeping your players active is another of the four fundamentals and it’s important both for the fun factor and the cardiovascular benefits. Soccer is at the end of the day a demanding sport and you don’t want your players to either get overstrained or take too long breaks and risk an injury.
- Last but not least make sure your players keep engaged through play. Soccer has to be fun, and while there’s nothing wrong about practising the essentials the purpose of coaching a team is to let them play after all.
Online Soccer Coaching
By now we’ve covered the basics as far as a coach’s attitude and focus are concerned but what about the fine details? What are the best drills? How long should each training session go for? When it comes to those details it’s best to leave it to the professionals and take a look at pre-existing guides by online soccer coaches.
So if you are looking for a detailed schedule and training regime take a look at Cupello and their soccer drills. Their website has detailed blogs for coaching teams of all ages, and their free plan includes invaluable resources that can help provide a solid foundation for your coaching lessons.