anyone here have experience with ^ ?

4/12/2007 5:40:09 PM

run around in a group and kick the ball in the direction that its going.


there will always be the one kid that stands there and plays with the grass.

4/12/2007 5:41:52 PM

lol...

its girls, grades 3-5

4/12/2007 5:43:13 PM

oh well i dont know what to tell you then.

4/12/2007 5:44:41 PM

hehe its ok

I played from the 1st grade up through my soph year in college, but I've never coached before (and its been a LONG time since I was in the 3rd grade!!)

4/12/2007 5:47:41 PM

just make sure they know the basics.

4/12/2007 5:49:25 PM

well that I can do!

4/12/2007 5:53:32 PM

at that age its really just something for them to do

4/12/2007 5:59:13 PM

Is this rec, or the more competitive traveling soccer?

4/12/2007 5:59:48 PM

its a rec league...no pressure!

I know kids that young can only do so much, but I just want to make sure I'm giving them the best experience I can while also giving them an opportunity to grow as a player. Of course, most importantly I want them to have fun!

You see, I agreed to help out as an assistant coach, however I just found out that I'm probably going to be THE coach That's why I'm feeling highly unprepared at the moment!

4/12/2007 6:05:24 PM

I coach 6th graders in Field Hockey...and even that age is kinda "slow." For 3-5th grade, the best you can do is just give them the most BASIC rules and make everything some sort of fun game with lots of cheering, even if they suck

Don't hold too many hopes for seeing actual skills, just be happy if they run the right way and kick the ball without falling.

Good luck and have fun!

4/12/2007 6:20:48 PM

thanks!! I'm really looking forward to it! Just hope I can remember a few moves!

4/12/2007 6:21:27 PM

I've coached youth soccer before... reffed it too, which is worse.

You lookin' for drills or something?

4/12/2007 7:06:40 PM

basically make them run alot (suicides and long distance), give them experience with passing (crossover drill), and show them how to play a position. there are also fun games like world cup to play. scrimmage among themselves and other teams. alos teach them to use their left and right feet to play, how to do headers properly, how to trap the ball with their chest, etc. train goalies with shooting drills where there are two lines (one with a ball), where 2 players run down, one crosses and the other shoots on the first touch.

4/12/2007 7:23:58 PM

^is it really good to make a 3rd grader run THAT much??

^^yes, and also what to expect from these youngsters. oldest may be 10 years old, youngest, probably 8 or so.

also, I only have 8 girls on my team. so obviously they won't be playing 11v11 on a regular field.

4/12/2007 7:52:17 PM

just show them the basics. if you feel like they're progressing quickly enough, feel free to teach them more.

4/12/2007 9:15:36 PM

The best suggestion I can give for that age is to try to give them basic skills to master, and get them to understand the different positions from a tactical perspective. Have them all play all of the positions at some point, even goalie. If it's rec league, it won't matter if any one girl is particularly good or bad at goalie, and playing back there will give them all an appreciation for it (and chances are you'll find "the" goalie, as they're born and not made). Other than than, have fun.

4/12/2007 9:22:24 PM

thanks

4/12/2007 9:38:37 PM

I coach 8 year olds in a rec league girls and boys.

Like everyone has said, focus on the basics. For drills, throw out anything that takes more than 2-3 minutes to explain. Keep it simple. Kids these days have an attention span of like 15 seconds it seems.

I would also recommend coming across super strict the first day and then get a little more lax as you go. I learned the hard way my first season that if you don't set some boundaries and you try to be the cool coach you will never be able to get anything done.

Also, one thing I had to do because EVERYONE will constantly ask you "Can I play goalie?" "Can I play forward?" "Defense again?!!"... basically I set the rule the first day that if you asked to play or not play something, that will guarantee that I will make the opposite decision.

Also, don't take any crap from the parents. Hopefully you won't run into one at that age group, but I have had a few that will constantly bitch about their kids playing here or there or not enough. I just had to tell them "sorry, I am making the best decisions I can. If you want to coach, sign up next season."

Any other questions about specific drills/etc. let me know.

4/12/2007 9:42:26 PM

i used to be a ref for youth rec soccer.

one word of advice: PLEASE DON'T BE A DICK. as much as i enjoyed kicking coaches off the field, it wasn't fun for the kids.

4/12/2007 9:49:23 PM

^ agreed... alot of times, the parents will show their ass to the ref enough for you anyways

4/12/2007 9:53:59 PM

I've coached a few kids soccer teams and worked in kids clinics and stuff

Basically at that age you get them to where the basics will come 2nd nature.

Passing drills, dribbling drills, trapping using all body parts Weaving is also a really good drill for this age, it teaches them to spread out.



Also since this is girls you need to get them used to having the ball hit them. Work with them to not be scared of the ball.

Once they get to middle school age and start playing for the school or maybe even the 5th graders is when you work with the special moves.

4/12/2007 10:07:51 PM

Never coached Soccer, but I coached Youth B-Ball for some time and it was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had.

4/12/2007 10:43:58 PM

4/12/2007 10:45:03 PM

Evan-Well I'm certainly not a dick, but thanks for the heads up though, lol.

Jocristian-Im a fairly easy going and friendly girl, plus I just adore kids, so it might be a little difficult for me to come across as super strict (especially since we apparently have a practice in 2 days, and I don't have any sort of game plan established!). Also, how do you feel about rotating the positions vs letting the kids play where they are strongest? At that age is it more impt to develop a certain comfort level in every position on the field or to cultivate skills in one or two positions they are showing an interest in?

Sawahash-Good idea w/the body trapping drills. Thats something I wish I could have worked more on when I was little.

4/13/2007 7:20:54 AM

^ my coaches always groomed us for certain positions right from the start


when I start coaching, I plan to do the same thing. But i guess that might not work for all, and some coaches aren't too good a recognizing where a kid's particular attributes are best suited (like my HS coach who insisted I was a striker even though I had no finishing skills, and my linking play was sorely missed in the midfield)

4/13/2007 8:26:14 AM

At 8 years old, I rotate them around to a point. At the same time, I do what he said^. If a player shows promise at a position, I will play them there much more often.

I wouldn't say it is necessarily cultivating them for the position they will end up in eventually. The goal is to have fun and the kids, even when they are that young, are competitive and don't like losing so I play them at positions that will give us the best chance to win.

sawahash is right too. In general, it seems to be harder to get the girls to want to do headers or chest traps so you really have to work on it with them. That and not being afraid of getting in there and being aggressive when other players are around the ball were the hardest for me to teach the girls. Of course, I have a few girls on my team this season that are absolute bruisers and will knock the boys down every time.

Oh yeah, as far as drills go, there are like 329871235987 resources online that have drill descriptions and diagrams for every age group.

4/13/2007 9:00:58 AM

i used to coach when i was in HS - i did a u6 coed and u8 girls - it's almost impossible not to enjoy the experience - in general the parents are great and the kids are fun

but also....as it's been mentioned before my biggest trouble was with the parents and not the kids - there was always at least 1 parent on my teams that either wanted to assist in coaching during practice/games but had no idea what he was doing and ended up messing things up - or yelled at the ref enough to get ejected during a game

at that age some of the girls will start to stick out as being better than the others and i'd mention it to the parents about taking their kid to tryout for a more competitive level

4/13/2007 10:57:57 AM

A big thing you should have them practice is communication. If they can start talking to each other then they will work together better. Also, I played goalie for 13 years and it's really good to have everyone try out the position so they know taking on the job isn't as easy as they think.

Someone mentioned a lot of running drills but I don't think that would be good for this age group. Just try scrimmaging or passing games, kids at this age can't handle conditioning. It will take the fun out of it for them. You can try a game of keep-away, or hot potato (with their feet), this will get them moving but they won't realize they are working.

I hope you have fun and good luck!

4/13/2007 11:13:09 AM

Quote :

"yes, and also what to expect from these youngsters. oldest may be 10 years old, youngest, probably 8 or so."

You have to come up with creative ways of keeping them focused... maybe give out awards every practice for the best performer in practice, or whatever. This is a stage in childhood when they all have ADD.

4/13/2007 11:54:05 AM

1st practice tomorrow...unfortunately I'm not sure how many will show up. Sigh...

4/13/2007 6:43:57 PM

4/13/2007 10:11:23 PM

Quote :

"have everyone try out the position so they know taking on the job isn't as easy as they think. "

very very very very VERY true.

4/13/2007 11:44:36 PM

Quote :

"at that age its really just something for them to do so the parents can have a break"

fixed it for you.

ah but seriously, JSnail, have fun. you're gonna learn more than most of the kids do, probably. but I'll bet you'll find it really rewarding, and who knows you might help develop a little prodigy.

but whatever you do, just remember these are third graders in a rec league. they arent going to have any skills to speak of, and too much conditioning/drills will turn them off



i'd like to hear how it goes for you





[Edited on April 14, 2007 at 1:40 AM. Reason : ]

4/14/2007 1:36:36 AM

oh I'm thrilled!

lol even though I have toooons of experience playing, its been a while since I've put my foot on the ball. Eek! hope this goes well!

4/14/2007 6:07:38 AM

i coach middle and high school boys for about five years. my middle school boys are in the middle of their season right now, my high school guys start over the summer and play in the fall.

at that age the girls need to just have fun. their bodies are not physically developed enough to put them through anything rigorous, so there are big limitations.

the best thing you can do to develop soccer talent at that age is ensure that as much as possible every kid has a ball at their feet in any activity you do. you'll have to do some line activities and some positional and scrimmage work of course, but the more you can get the girls to practice with a ball, the better. one of the biggest things lacking in younger girls is ball skills.

oone thing you can use to develop this pretty easily is a dribbling square. set up a square with some cones about 8-10 yards on each side. put the girls around the edge of the square in partners with one ball per two girls. have them dribble across the square to the other side and then back, where they stop the ball and the other girl takes it and does the same. do this as a warm up at the beginning of practice to get the blood flowing. it requires them to learn to dribble with their head up, because with everyone going through at once, if they don't keep control of the ball it gets sent flying when they run into someone.

if you have any questions i'd be happy to answer them. just send a PM.

4/16/2007 1:51:39 AM