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Coaches of SCM

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Atlas

Atlas

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How many of you are coaches or have done so in the past?
What should the absolute essentials of coaching be for kids aged 4/5 just starting out kicking a ball etc.

I ask because as soon as I walk through the door my sons standing there football in hand dragging me outside. Of course he wants to kick the ball as hard and high as possible but I've tried to take a different approach. We run around the garden passing and moving around. I've taught him to trap the ball and lace it. When he's bored of that, we play a game where we kick the ball into an old bucket (randomly found in the shed).

It's been ages since I've done any coaching, a lot of mine used to be around fitness and conditioning which is pointless for a child imo. I didn't really want me son to be involved much with football but he seems to love it.

So any tips, hints, ideas, thoughts on how coaching should be developed etc
 
Teach him proper zonal marking for defending corners as early as possible. Even players in their prime representing Liverpool FC never learned that!! ;-)
 
Not a coach, but a Dad to 4 boys. Let him enjoy the ball, without getting too structured. if he doesn't have a wall to kick the ball against, build him one. Play Spot with him. Be his goalie. Have fun.
 
Esoteric said:
Not a coach, but a Dad to 4 boys. Let him enjoy the ball, without getting too structured. if he doesn't have a wall to kick the ball against, build him one. Play Spot with him. Be his goalie. Have fun.
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Spot on. At that age it should be all about having fun.

I did my coaching badges in the 90's but don't coach anymore. I wasn't impressed with the English FA approach to coaching, but if your lad is keen enough to join a local club later on, I'd make sure it has properly qualified coaches appropriate for that age group.
 
I did the first level FA badge probably around 15 years ago.

The younger they are get the ball involved as much as you can and try and make it as fun as possible. Also, as you may well know, don't use a full sized ball. It can lead to knee and hip problems later on.
 
A friend at work is a coach for some U11s type side and he has the classic mantra of enjoying the game etc. One of his key things at that age is always hit the ball hard - any pass, any shot, just leather it.
 
Atlas said:
When he's bored of that, we play a game where we kick the ball into an old bucket (randomly found in the shed).
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Sounds like we have a future Stuart Downing!
As a coach I'd say 2 things in the early days. One - if an older brother or Dad plays with him that's the best thing - makes a huge difference in focus and enjoyment. Two - look for mobility - movement with the ball under control - tell him to run with the ball toward a target, but if you shout "red light" he has to stop and put his foot on the ball. Practice turns and change of direction - maybe too early for cuts. Practice using both feet, using the outside and inside of the foot.
 
1. Dive like a man.
2. Cover the groin when a ball is flying at you.
3. Sturridge dance
 
Show him footage of Suarez playing. Include everything, the handball on the line, the goals, the sublime skill and the biting. Tell him that if he doesn't play like that then you'll disown him.

That should work.
 
Shown him footage of Lucas greatest goals.

At 5 yr old he might have the attention span to watch all of it.
 
I am a coach and have done my youth and C pro license as hard as they would be for many to phatom.

Stand out in the clsss too.

At that age it's all about making them fall in love with the game. There should be zero structure at that age.
 
Done by UEFA B and Youth Module badges, and whilst most of my experience has come in the 12+ range, in my opinion, at the age of 4/5, besides simply enjoying the game, they need to start getting used to using all parts of their feet (both). So some of the games you play with him, even kicking on the wall, is fine if he's having fun and getting as much touches as possible. At a young age, he needs to solely focus on his touch/technique and that's only developed with as much ball time as possible.

If you feel he's getting bored of that, and you want more structured training/challenges, look into Coerver drills. Plenty of ideas on Youtube. Search "coerver soccer drills":

Can even related certain moves to real life players:


So it's all about developing ball manipulation/mastery at a young age. That will give him the technical foundation to play at a higher level when he's older.

There's also a Coerver video drills app on Android/IOS. It might cost about a tenner to buy all the drills, but it's got over 120 small drills (ranging from beginner to advanced) that you can use, in a small area, to challenge/extend your son as he develops grows. And hey, if you can pull some of the skills off yourself and show him as demonstration, you'll be a cool Dad too! 😀
 
Just let him play what he enjoys.

Its shit when kids fall out of love with it when it becomes too much like a chore. At that age, he just needs practice kicking and he'll get that through playing, without the need for 'discipline'
 
Make him do 5 laps of a full size pitch before working on sprints for 20 minutes. Set up some cones and get him to dribble through them before shooting- but only with his wrong foot. NEVER allow him to score.
 
At that age it's all about fun. I do a bit of coaching and I generally find that kids either just want to hoof the ball away or go for glory. So I'd be inclined to go for teaching him how to pass the ball. To be aware of who is around him. I know that's not easy in a one on one scenario like you described, but developing good passing skills from an early age is vital IMO.
 
Dreambeliever said:
I am a coach and have done my youth and C pro license as hard as they would be for many to phatom.

Stand out in the clsss too.

At that age it's all about making them fall in love with the game. There should be zero structure at that age.
Click to expand...

I'm finding it particularly hard to phatom.

Is that like the sound when you drop a mic?

Was it a special clsss?

Did they teach you to speak snake as well?
 
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