Colts Coaching Resources

Hello again everyone – I hope this finds you all well and your teams still having fun!  I wanted to touch base again and offer some additional resources as well as some observations and potential suggestions for the last month of the season.

First off, attached, please find some new coaching curriculums – we failed to send these out a few weeks back thinking we already had, sorry about that. These new ones do have some nice reminders and may help with some new ideas for your last weeks of practices. (We will send the U9 / U10 one in a different email.)

 

Next, I have been so proud to be involved with a group of coaches who, as a whole, are focused on the right things: kids having fun, understanding that winning is not our goal, development is; understanding that soccer is part of our kids overall education, and realizing what we teach our kids through sports can impact them for life! I have seen and heard so many positive things this season so thank you all for all the work you do on behalf of our kids.

Now some things I think may help:

First, I do not think I can overemphasize the importance of goal kicks, corner kicks, kickoffs and throw-ins at all of our levels. These areas are all great ways to reinforce patterns and can make the difference in close games and in the playoffs. I would love to talk more about these and show you all some options and reinforce some important ideas – this week is crazy for me with three away high school games and YHS Open House, but I will try to have a coaching clinic to focus on those things (and maybe formation adjustments) the week of 10/3.

Next, I want to encourage all of you to try and focus your in-game coaching on the kids who do not have the ball / are not directly involved in the play. I have found it really helpful to try and help the kids away from the play to get into position for what may happen next (backs stepping up when team is attacking, weak side players making a far post run in case the ball is crossed, waking those players up who saw a cool cloud, etc) – this may help kids be more successful and will plant the seed of, “what will happen next?” In addition, the kids who have the ball are often so focused on the ball, they do not hear you anyway 🙂

I also want to encourage you all to have someone give you honest feedback of your tone of voice as you coach your kids. For those of you like me with a loud voice, sometimes it can sound like we are yelling AT our kids and not yelling TO them with instructions. Nothing we are coaching in-game is all that vital, so if we sound like we are screaming “Fire!” in a crowded theater when we are coaching, we may be doing more harm than good.

Next, please be conscious of playing all the players as much as possible. I know there is a fine balance when playing kids between putting kids in positions to be successful and trying to get them a bit out of their comfort zones, but, as long as the kids are giving it their best effort, they all should play as much as we can get them in.

Lastly, we have our 4 v 4 Safe Passage tourney next weekend and are in need of Pugg Goals – so if we have lent some out, or if you have some we can borrow, please get them to Steve Fulton this week.