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SOCCER COACHING

Tips for Fun and
Effective Practice


#1
KEEP IT FUN Picture yourself at the bank and your the last person in a 12 person line. Any fun? Same thing for the kids. Avoid using lines in your drills or activities. More on avoiding lines

Another good practice tip is not to have elimination games in which a player sits if he loses. Chances are good that if he lost, he needs to practice and not be sitting.

#2 HAVE A PLAN You won't be stumbling for ideas with 24 eyes looking at you. You will look more professional. Fold it in half and tuck it in on the side of your waistband for quick access to it. After practice , use it to write what worked good and what you would change. Keep them as records so you know what and when you practiced. BLANK Practice Plan also Sample WORKING Plan

#3 ARRIVE EARLY. Have all your cones laid out for two or three activities. No down time in between drills. No time for kids to get into mischief. HAHA

#4 USE SMALL SIDED GAMES Why small sided games?

#5 USE PROGRESSIONS (not needed for Micro) Progressions

OTHER TIPS for FUN EFFECTIVE SOCCER PRACTICE

-Have an odd number of players. Use the player as a target player (a player that plays on both teams). This will give you numbers up on either offense or defense. This can be useful to show the team success in a certain area. Or use extra player as "ball buddy" to keep player busy.
-Last player to practice is on "cone duty". Cone duty is picking up all the cones and gear at the end of practice. I guarantee the player wont be late too often.
-Keep it simple. Don't use big fancy words.
-Fake it. If you had a bad day at work and you are not enthusiastic about being at practice then you have to fake it.
-If a drill or activity is not working, don't be afraid to change it or even stop it all together.

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Are you a beginner soccer coach with questions. Get answers here. New Coach FAQ's

More Soccer Coaching Tips submitted by fellow coaches.

New - Soccer Ball info.

 Copy of "Best Practices" direct from U.S. Soccer - 70page pdf. high speed connection is recommended  Best Practices (.pdf)
Getting your team ready for the game

If your pre-game warm up is telling your team to do a couple of laps around the field and then "pair up" and pass the ball back and forth to each other, you are not preparing your team for the MATCH.
Get them prepared physically and MENTALLY. Add some "match like" pressure in your warm up routine.
Once your team is warmed up and stretched out physically, add a competitive game to get them warmed up "mentally". A 5v2, a 2v2 "get out of here" game, or 3v2 to keeper are perfect games to get them going

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