Have you ever considered how not having the soccer coaching and playing experience makes a dent on the career of a coach? Allow me to present different angles of a coach’s persona that can aptly be called the traits of a soccer coach.
Personality: Experience is a good thing but nothing works more than the personality. A coach’s overall personality determines his or her coaching success, whether the end-result is a fun game without any physical and mental pressures or the creation of a consistently strong team.
Knowledge of the game: A coach must have the willingness to learn new strategies for the growth of the kids. Understanding of the game’s rules, strategies, and tactics is a basic prerequisite for gaining player’s respect.
Enthusiasm and interest: In the middle of soccer training program, be a salesperson. Once they like the session, they feel motivated. It’s also essential to be open to a player’s needs with respect to team objectives, irrespective of their age. Being open to questions from players will guarantee their interest in the game.
Persistence and Patience: it is suicidal to overlook the inability of the player to perform soccer drills. A player does not want to learn anything new when he or she does not perform well. Setting unrealistic goals can frustrate young players. Hence, display patience and perseverance in helping the player grow from one session to another.
Ability to manage priorities: Develop a step-by-step technique of learning using which the players can learn and move forward. During soccer coaching, players must get sufficient time and opportunities to practice the lessons learnt during training. Only after each player has understood and mastered a skill, a new one should be introduced.
Single-mindedness: A coach must show special interest in the skills and social and moral behavior of every player. Being sensitive to their individual needs and being honest with them goes a long way. In order to be a great player, strength of character in victory as well as in defeat builds the foundation for a player’s success.
Understand the learning process: A concise understanding of the process of learning results in overall team development. Motivate the players to do exercises that aid in alteration of their thinking and acting.
Motivate the players to learn soccer skills through participation, demonstration, and guidance. The learning process in complete only when the players are able to utilize what’s been taught and shown to them. Learning requires active experience and not just plain teaching.
Imagination: Make situations that challenge the player’s imaginations, bring them pleasure in performing tasks, and serve important game drills. Cheer up the players to make their sessions more innovative and pleasing.
For your own sake, take these soccer coaching attributes and you will find yourself rated as a first class coach. You can lay your hands on loads of relevant information pertaining to coaching young players in form of newsletters, articles, and videos by subscribing to our youth soccer coaching community.
Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun by downloading your free ebook at: Youth Soccer Practice.
Tags: soccer coaching, soccer drills, soccer skills, soccer training