When it comes to coaching high school soccer, communication is the most vital part to consider on way to achieve success. The actual meaning of coaching kids is the art of communicating with them. It lets you speak to mind in the simplest way and allow the other to do the activity in exactly the same way.
When it comes to soccer coaching, I’ve observed that most of the coaches often are the ex-players. Then also they have to face a number of issues while coaching young players. Most of these issues are a result of lack of communication. You must recognize that there are certain issues related to communication that need special attention if your job is to be made easier.
Let me explain them to you one at a time.
Emotions of the coaches take over their minds while they are watching their kids play on field. They tend to become spectators rather than analytical observers. As such they are not able to see the key points that could make all the difference in their team’s performance. The coaches fail to have an effective conversation that could help the players get to the winning post.
Although coaches have a complete knowledge of the game, but they have a little training in communication. For instance; most coaches don’t use videos or flip charts in soccer coaching because they don’t know about them. When the coach finds it difficult to communicate his messages clearly, it brings monotony to the game even if he has a complete knowledge of the game.
It is even more important in case of coaching high school soccer because the players are not new to the game. They have been performing soccer drills on the same lines for quite some time, although at different levels. You can do away with the monotony of repetitive messages by frequently changing the layout of training.
It may come as a surprise to you that coaches often forget that their training sessions are carried out by people. They get so absorbed in the training and coaching as a process that they lose their ground. For example; Sending out instructions without taking the player’s name leads to uncertainty and confusion.
Some guiding principles for coaches in football coaching are given below:
• All messages from the coach are important for players. So make sure that they are interpreted correctly.
• Use positive language that encourages players to give their best shot. Let them become better players with every passing day rather than pointing out their weaknesses.
• Make sure you spend quality time with all your players. Research in this filed shows that coaches tend to spend comparatively more time with the best players (up to seven times more!).
• Communicate the potential issues that could arise and have a solution ready.
• Add force to the player’s confidence by harmonizing criticism with praise. Tilt the balance a little more towards praise with respect to coaching high school soccer.
Believe me. Once you start to apply this in your training programs, the benefits will far exceed your expectations.
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Andre Botelho is a recognized expert in youth soccer coaching. He influences well over 35,000 youth coaches each year with his unique coaching philosophy, and makes it really easy to explode your players’ skills and make training more fun in record time. To download your free youth soccer coaching guide visit: Coaching high school soccer.
Tags: Coaching high school soccer, coaching youth soccer, football coaching, soccer coaching