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Soccer has become a mass phenomenon. It’s not surprising to see kids as young as five years old participating in the game. When young kids play soccer its always about fun and meeting new friends. So what changes, as they grow older?

To be honest, the kids don’t change at all. They may be a little older but they still play soccer because it’s fun. Then you might ask why do so many youth players quit the game before they become teenagers?

With every new season come new pressures and difficulties. Pressure stems from parents, the coaches and to some extent teammates. Children are showered with abuse in the form of howling and screaming. Whether you’re the coach or the parent, no child should be subjected to this kind of torment.

Parents and coaches need to understand that yelling instructions does not improve their performance but only aids in depleting their confidence and love for the game. A player can never improve or develop away from the game. The player needs to attend all soccer training sessions and needs to enjoy the game. Simply yelling at players is a great way to add to the ever-growing statistic of kids quitting soccer.

Yelling and shouting should be replaced with praise. Instead of yelling instructions and trying to coach every move, try cheering and encouragement. Children that receive praise and encouragement are more likely to repeat the desired actions again and again. I’ve never met anyone that puts in a greater effort under a cloud of criticism than under a cloud of praise. Have you? Then why do most coaches and parents expect a different a result.

Another great way to reduce certain pressures in youth soccer is to create a supportive team. Coaches and parents should develop a team with Great Spirit. A team that is full of players that encourage and support each other whether they win or they lose.

The coach should aim to build a team, not individual players. A team that works together and supports each other will always beat teams with a few stars that try and steal the spotlight.

The title does not suggest that you will win at soccer by heading the ball. Although the soccer header is a big part of the game, it’s definitely not the most important.

Soccer success and performance can be improved by understanding the mental elements of the game. Factors like concentration, confidence, motivation and belief are significant contributors to your overall performance.

The first step to becoming a better player is to prepare yourself mentality. Your performance is influenced by mental factors. Just like practice improves your skills, mental strength can also be developed and trained.

The easiest way to recognize a player with mental toughness is through his consistent performances and form. Players that are consistent and reliable week in, week out have a certain level of mental toughness. Your main objective in soccer is to play to your best ability, but to also perform consistently.

If you’re reading this and you coach the game, this article also concerns you. As a coach, you are given the duty to develop and improve their game. You must also be aware of these mental factors and encourage their natural progression.

Soccer drills and training should always be a distant second to mental training. The simplest praise or encouragement gives a young player confidence and belief. A young player oozing confidence is a motivated player and one that’s hungry for the game.

Make sure when coaching you instruct with a calm and friendly voice. Shouting, screaming or intimidating should never be used as a coaching aid for young kids. The main objective should be to preserve a young players confidence while teaching them the basics of the game.

A player that smiles and is confident will always outperform a player that’s stressed, unhappy or even scared. Remember consistent performances rely heavily on a player becoming mentally tough and have the ability to control these mental factors.

If you practice and develop your mental game you will inevitably become a better a player. If you’re coaching, you will significantly increase your status as a coach and your team’s win-loss ratio.

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and the stakes are increasing with every year. Ever wondered why the big, successful clubs all employ sports psychologists? Could it be that mental toughness and awareness is just as important as fitness and skills. Behind every championship is a great motivating coach with the help of his psychologist.

Coaching young kids can be the most frustrating experience or it can be the most rewarding . When young players misbehave chances are your soccer drills are too easy or possibly a little too advanced.

In order for your team to train and listen, the drills need to be physically demanding and keep all the players involved. The drills need to be short and performed at a pace that involves the whole group .

If you notice your team misbehaving the drills might be too easy and it’s a good indication that the players are bored. On the other hand,  if the drills are too difficult  , the players will surrender and start to play up. As a coach you must remember that young kids attention spans are very short and they need to be stimulated to keep them from misbehaving.

Soccer drills are a great way to combat this problem during training. Drills allow you to develop one or two aspects of the game at once. For example, simple passing drills allow the players to practice passing the ball and receiving the ball while having fun. If the drills are executed properly, the players will not even realise their training a certain aspect of the game. They will mistake it for having fun.

 Observing  soccer drills is also a great way to monitor your players. Analysing the drills and players performance is a great way to identify player’s strengths and weaknesses.

The most crucial aspect of soccer drills is teaching the players certain skills. Always show the players the drill with a live demonstration. If you can’t complete the drill, how do you expect your players to complete them?

Also the playing area or the grids should be constructed before training begins. You want your training sessions to flow from one exercise to another. The last thing you want on your hands are ten young kids waiting for you with every opportunity to misbehave.

Last but not least, encourage all players while performing the drills. Praise good actions while correcting mistakes or bad form with friendly advice and demonstrations .

Soccer training sessions constructed around soccer drills benefit the players the most. What better way to teach your players the basics of soccer? Incorporate fun into the drills and you never know you might unearth tomorrow’s superstar.

A decision ought to be made in advance on how long a youth team should be training for. The trainers exuberance may occasionally over rule their thinking, making the training go on excessively long. As the tutor sees the kids getting more skills, he might want to step up the training times. Increasing the times during the weeks on coaching sessions might suit you but possibly not the kids. Leagues might also have a guideline as to how many practice sessions are allowed. Your own judgment should be used if the club does not hold a guide. Normally speaking for looking at it from a very young kids shoes one hour a week should be ample enough time.

With kids of an early age you need to be teaching them methods that they will use for the next year so its best to keep them enjoying it and not become like a chore. Time must be put aside for recreation activities for the young ones as they will probably be playing a match a week. When the children start to get a bit older the coaching sessions can start to last a bit more than an hour.

As part of the training practice games could be incorporated. Making sure doing practice games does not take over from the fundamental skills of developing basics. Playing matches may in fact take away the number of touches the kid gets with the ball. The best way is to leave the game to the latter few minutes to get the rest of the training in. You will encounter that the children of this age will want to have a match incorporated within the training session as this part is the most exciting part of training.

Splitting the boys into smaller groups and having more than one game could be a nice idea if your team is large. This could help in getting each squad member to do a bit more work. When playing one match, the players might only get chance to play in one position. Smaller numbers of players in the squad means more chances for members to play in various positions. This allows the players to play striker one moment and have to run back to defend quickly the next. This will allow more ball winning from a boys shoes point of view when there are smaller squads playing as well. Passing can be achieved more often by adding more ideas into the match. Introducing a pre-determined amount of passes within the match helps the lads pass more often. It is always good to have an exercise incorporated within a practice game to assist with learning.