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Crash course me in coaching a peewee boys soccer team! (Read 111 times)

Nakedbabytoes


levitation specialist

    Nobody was volunteering to coach my son's 5yo soccer team, a group of 5 boys total. I've done daycare for other people's children for the past 12 years, so I figured maybe I could rangle cats.....um....I mean kids!

    Anybody done this before? What do I need to know?

     

    Other than:

    you kick the ball towards that goal.

    you can't use your hands unless you are the goalie(speaking of which, how the heck do I convince one of the kids to stand there and get a ball kicked at him repeatedly?!)

    I know nothing about soccer! Guess I'll be googling a ton before next weekend!

     

    My son did soccer practice 2 sessions last fall. They did things like dribbling practice and stopping a ball with your head, belly or butt, and knees, switching directions while running and dribbling, and making soccer fun. The kids had a great time, so sticking to the fun side is my goal(pun intended!)

     

    HELP PLEASE!

      Good on you for volunteering.

       

      You don't need to know ANYTHING for 5 year old soccer.

       

      Most leagues for that age don't have goalies. Usually just small goal (hockey sized). For us, there was 30 mins of "practice" then 30 min "game". The practice was mostly just different games, about half with a ball, half without. (freeze, simon says, sharks and minnows, etc.). The "game" is just every kid following the ball around, kicking it in the general direction of the goal. Most of your energy will be spent tracking down the ball when it's kicked out of bounds, throwing it back in, keeping things going, and making sure the kids are into it.

       

      Biggest skill you need: ethusiasm. Don't be embarrassed to have over the top enthusiasm, because that's what 5 year olds respond to.

       

      Good luck. You're awesome for doing it.

      Come all you no-hopers, you jokers and rogues
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          It's kind of like cat herding. I did it last fall for my daughter's 6-7 yo team which was boys and girls. I never played soccer and don't know the game well but at that age there's not much resembling soccer going on--just a pack of kids chasing and kicking the ball as hard as they can.

           

          Make sure all the kids have shinguards and try not to let the bigger boys run everybody over. It's kind of fun in small doses.

          Runners run

          muppy


            Good for you coach!

            When I coached  my son's team at that age the most important thing was making sure all the shoes were tied, and that all the kids had fun. If you Google it there'll be tons of drills for you to do for soccer. The best thing I did was before the first practice, I had a parents meeting, simply  explained I am not a professional soccer coach if anybody wants to help at practice just let me know. Also explained  that were there to encourage the kids and have fun, not yell at the kids.  Most importantly have fun!

              Most leagues this age do not have goalies.  Not much reason to do so.  You will do great if you just keep the kids having fun.

               

              Try to keep them all active at one time.  The attention span at that age is pretty bad and it is like baby sitting.   You can find lots of games to play that will allow them all to have a ball at their feet at the same time.  If you share a field with someone else then ask the other team if they would like to scrimmage once a week for the last 15 min.  They will learn the basic rules of the game best this way.  Plus you can be on the field and stop little Johnny and tell him it would be best to shoot on the other goal and defend yours.

               

              Best of luck with this.  I am sure you will do a great job.  Oh BTW snacks are always cool after games.  No matter what the score of the game was  they are always happy to have a snack afterwards.  Then they leave on a posititve note.  Please don't give me the we don't keep score because those crazy parents on the side lines always keep score.   :-)

              2014 Goals: (Yeah I suck)

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              Feeling the growl again

                I got "volunteered" to do this for my 3 and 5 yr old girls' teams this summer.  My knowledge of soccer is literally no hands except the goalie, and something about earning yellow and red cards.  So I'm interested in peoples' thoughts as well.

                 

                I am sure my main job will be to keep my 3 yr old from taking people out.  She is intense.

                "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                 

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                MrH


                  At that age, and until much later, they will get in each other's way.

                   

                  If you can get your players to spread out a little so that they don't tackle each other,  'stretching the field' so that your player closest to the ball has a chance of not being impeded by his own teammates. This will prove to be impossible, but it's a noble endeavor..

                   

                  Most important, if any parent comments on your team's record, whether 0-10 or 10-0, punch them in the throat.

                  The process is the goal.

                  Men heap together the mistakes of their lives, and create a monster they call Destiny.

                    Good for you coach!

                    When I coached  my son's team at that age the most important thing was making sure all the shoes were tied, and that all the kids had fun. If you Google it there'll be tons of drills for you to do for soccer. The best thing I did was before the first practice, I had a parents meeting, simply  explained I am not a professional soccer coach if anybody wants to help at practice just let me know. Also explained  that were there to encourage the kids and have fun, not yell at the kids.  Most importantly have fun!

                     

                    Great advise,

                     

                    The most difficult thing was dealing with the overambitious parents that think their kid will be a professional soccer player.  Coaching 5 year olds is fun, parents of 5 year olds, not so much.

                      Until I moved last year, I coached competitive (sort of) 10-12 year olds and a guy I worked with was coaching his kids, 3 and 5 I think. I tried to pick out simple things to help him out that would both make if fun for the kids. Everyone is right that you don't need to know anything, but if you're asking and are saying you'll be googling, let me try to point you in a constructive direction.

                       

                      Basic principles:

                       

                      As often as you can, use one ball per kid or at least one ball per pair (eg. kick [pass] the ball to each other)

                      Avoid lines, or make them as short as possible - don't have kids standing around.

                      Don't explain too much.

                      Get kids kicking & manipulating the ball with both feet.

                      Contact the ball with - inside of the foot, outside of the foot, top of the foot, bottom of the foot.

                       

                      Try to get the kids playing with a rough shape. I've heard it suggested to describe it as position relative to the ball - If you're teammate has the ball, you get on his left (right, behind, ahead) x distance (I'd suggest 5-10 feet) away. You won't be very successful with most kids, so don't stress and don't spend more than 2-3 minutes on it a practice, but some will start to get it. Mentioning it frequently (once or maybe twice in a practice after you first introduce it - which shouldn't be your first couple weeks)  but not getting bogged in details will probably be most effective. If some of them start to get that concept and start passing to each other semi-regularly during game play, they'll be doing wonderfully.

                       

                      I think there would be value in teaching a proper standing tackle at some point at this age, it should reduce kicking at each others ankles. You might need to bring someone who's played soccer to help with that and a little on how to kick the ball. You might try and ask if there're some older kids (12-18 maybe?) in the same soccer association willing to help out occasionally. One of my players (12) helped coach his sister's team (6, I think)

                       

                      Very good coaching forum, if a little focused on competitive: and-again.com

                       

                      Page of links (mostly good): Los Angeles Soccer Acadamy


                      Hill Slug

                        Good on you for volunteering.

                         

                        You don't need to know ANYTHING for 5 year old soccer.

                         

                        Most leagues for that age don't have goalies. Usually just small goal (hockey sized). For us, there was 30 mins of "practice" then 30 min "game". The practice was mostly just different games, about half with a ball, half without. (freeze, simon says, sharks and minnows, etc.). The "game" is just every kid following the ball around, kicking it in the general direction of the goal. Most of your energy will be spent tracking down the ball when it's kicked out of bounds, throwing it back in, keeping things going, and making sure the kids are into it.

                         

                        Biggest skill you need: ethusiasm. Don't be embarrassed to have over the top enthusiasm, because that's what 5 year olds respond to.

                         

                        Good luck. You're awesome for doing it.

                         

                         

                        This was my experience also in coaching a U6 rec team. The kids loved all the fun games/drills. Some of the parents (my husband included) thought the fun drills were stupid but it gives all the kids touches on the ball and keeps them motivated which is key. In our coaching training class, they explained to us that at this age, the kids understand it as me and the ball, not me and my teammates, just me and the ball. This explains the classic swarm of bees moving up and down the field during the game. Try to rope in an assistant to help with shoe tieing, keeping track of playing time/substituions, crowd control of players on sideline (and sometime on-field) and minor first aid. Don't let the few A*hole parents get you down (and there will always be at least one). Good luck!

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                        Not dead. Yet.

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                          Nakedbabytoes


                          levitation specialist

                            Make sure to see Kicking & Screaming with Will Ferrel

                             

                            I am sure it will be funnier for a whole different set of reasons post season. I might have to see it once prior and then once after, I am certain my appreciation will run deepWink

                            Thanks for the insight everybody! Was freaked out a bit this morning after I made the call to the Y to volunteer, I know kids and am confident I can wrangle and be fun and animated, heck my day job is just that! But soccer? No clue!

                            I found a few good 101 manuals and there is a handbook from a Bellevue Soccer micro club that even has 5 sample practice & game routines and explains them all very well. And then there is you ladies & gents helping me out! Thanks!

                            I feel less worried, so that is good!

                             

                            WOOT! Dare I say, I might even be a little excited!

                            Arimathea


                            Tessa

                              I've coached U-6 before and it's fun. As stated above, no keeper at that age, no official score, and little tiny Hula Hoop goals. One thing you can do is split the kids into pairs to practice throw ins, especially because they are supposed to have both feet on the ground when they throw in and the little ones tend to have one foot waving in the air like a 40's movie star during an on-screen kiss.

                               

                              You can try to assign positions, but good luck. It's clump ball at that age. If it's coaches doing the refereeing, which is often the case, remember that if you think it's getting out of hand you blow the whistle, yell "Pushing" and point whichever way you feel like. (Try to keep this even for the game as a whole -- five calls against the red team, five calls against the blue team.)

                               

                              Most kids love "parents vs. kids" scrimmages at the end, especially if you allow sibs to join in on the kids' side.

                               

                              Since it's boys, at least you don't have to worry about the bane of some coaches' existence:

                              The Elaborate Matching Ponytail Holder in Team Colours. Girls' teams tend to wind up wearing bows bigger than their heads if a "crafty" mom volunteers to make the team ponytail holders.


                              Village people

                                I got suckered into coaching basketball and I found dozens of drills online. I bet you can find tons of fun games that will help them learn many soccer skills. My DD plays and they are in constant motion and always have their foot on the ball.

                                 

                                Good luck, it will be fun!

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