How to COACH SOCCER EFFECTIVELY – FOR PARENTS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GIRLS ( Age 6 to 10).

EFFECTIVE SOCCER COACHING – FOR PARENTS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GIRLS ( age 6 to 10).

I am a farther – of a 10 years old girl. For the past three years I had a wonderful experience of coaching her soccer team – for the junior league. For the first two years I was an assistant coach and then last season I ended up volunteering as the coach – simply because none of the other parents wanted the job. Well – we won 80% of the games within our division, 3 out 4 tough games in a regional tournament (best result in 3 years) and I managed to have the best team in the club (out of 3 teams total 33 kids). And my daughter was invited to play for the Gold level for the next year for a divisional team.

That’s my credential. Meanwhile – when I was a boy her age (about 30 years) ago – I hated soccer. Rude and violent game. However I was growing up in a tough European neighborhood where either you are on a team – or you are beaten up very often by ‘the team’. And what do you do – you (I mean – me) have to become a goalie. As a goalie I was hanging in the net yelling to my teammates to cover me. Unfortunately – this is exactly what parents/coaches tend to – yell a lot.

Rule number 1. Avoid yelling unless it’s necessary to do. Especially for dad’s – if you are reading this - you’ve figured out that girls are quite different from boys. If such statement is a big news for you – well, you need to embrace this new knowledge quickly. Otherwise – you are at a high risk of seeing a marriage counselor. But that’s a different topic.

Rule number 2. Don’t yell at practices. Practices are your and the girls fun time. Yelling is for the game. They will appreciate your approach.

I met a number of parents who told me that their daughters did not want to play the game anymore -after the first year. Why – they did not like the coach. And the reason they did not like the coach – HE WAS MEAN!

Ask yourself honestly – are you a mean parent? Strict, bossy and likes discipline? Then I think it’s better to give the job to someone else – unless you are willing to work very hard to not to be MEAN.

Rule number 3. Don’t be MEAN! Girls are more sensitive than boys. Well, a lot of boys are sensitive as well (like me) but it’s more socially acceptable that a girl is more sensitive. After all – do you want to be accused of forming insensitive future mothers?

I never tried to maintain strict discipline at practices. This is their fun time. It’s their play time. The best learning environment for children under 11 – play. Play with them, laugh with them. Be supportive and patient. Don’t take it too strict – there is a little chance that anyone of them become a professional athlete so your goal – THEY SHOULD HAVE FUN! And you can have fun too! It’s like you have not one daughter but 11 – you have fun with them for an hour and then 10 of them are going back to their parents. Thus you can have all the fun but no responsibility. If they are having fun – they will like the practice. They like the practice – they like you. They show up at the game – all of them, they are excited, they are motivated – they will take rain, gravel fields, bruises, you yelling at them – and then they will cream the opposition. They do like winning.

Well – that’s enough for introduction. If my article is published and generates sufficient interest – I will write more in details – the format of my practices, dissolving the conflict, building the team and tips for effective game time coaching.