DR - Remember when I said two steps forward, one step back? How about one step forward, two steps back????
KD – Every journey begins with the first step and your journey has yet to begin. Our first step ‘theme’ continues to be” Teach them to go through the practice session with you using only a few buzz words.
DR - Well, another day where I was really, really tired - undoubtedly this affects my impression of the practice
KD – If you are really/really tired then you are better off to take a break. Let the girls know that you are too tired to teach them. Leave them alone to play all the (vs.) games. I believe that it is better to let them play without coaching than attempt to coach them without conviction or enthusiasm!
The girls are able to read body language and lack of enthusiasm and they will take advantage. Every normal child will test what your limits are and if you are tired then your limit will be extremely low. This may also set the precedent for future practice behavior.
DR - I wanted the girls to learn some fakes/feints so I introduced this to them at the start and encouraged them to do so in the warm-ups. I know, they don’t have a handle on the sole of the foot thing and can’t completely set up their own fields, but I just want to do something*
KD – And what you are doing is confusing them. They need to know what the set-up of your field (classroom) is. They need to know when friend/dad Dave becomes the coach (teacher). They need to know what is expected of them as a player in practice (student).
They don’t know how to add (Sole of the Foot Thing) and yet you are introducing them to subtraction (fakes/feints). How good would these individuals become in math if you took that approach? Soccer is no different – No success in an easier technique will not bring you success in a more advanced technique.
DR - Anyway, in warm-ups they seemed distracted and not motivated, several girls were just tossing the cones out and just walking through the figure 8.
KD – Young players will reflect the coaches’ mood. Tired coach = Distracted players!
It is your duty to let the players know (Step 1. Beginning of Practice) what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Discuss and give them your practice session expectations. Let them know that it is not acceptable to toss cones and walk through the figure 8. Make sure they understand by asking ‘guided questions’ that they will not be allowed to toss cones and walk through the
figure 8. Also, let them know the consequences for unacceptable actions.
Once you observe the tossing and walking take each individual out (one at a time) and take the action that you stated as a consequence. If you allow a few players to break your rules then you can expect more to do the same.
They are breaking the rules usually for the following two reasons:
1. They are seeking your attention.
2. They don’t know what you expect.
DR - A couple of them, however, had some pretty fancy footwork going on - which I encouraged, of course.
KD – It would have been wiser to ‘note’ the players and their moves and have them demonstrate their move as a theme at a future practice. Instead you gave praise and attention to players who were not working on your theme ‘Sole of the Foot Thing. You are encouraging even the better players to not follow your rules or instructions. Give praise only to those who are performing the theme correctly..!
DR - Next comes the one on one -it was like they had never set up fields before - chaos!!! Took me nearly 15 minutes to get everything set-up and going!!! Only had time for a couple of games before half time – seemed like a real waste spending soooo much time setting up and not really using the set-up.
KD – It is not your job to set anything up. You must teach the girls how to do that themselves. We established that little or no teaching should have taken place because of your tired mood. You can avoid this type of situation in the future by just following your mood.
I’m tired and don’t feel like teaching = Let them play Soccer, Observe them Play and that way everyone Wins.
DR - A lot of the girls were pretty unruly today and I had a tough time keeping them focused or even busy, for that matter. It is the second week of school - so maybe that has something to do with it!
KD – Or, they still don’t know what you expect from them and they, as typical children, tested your boundaries? Had you played 1 vs. 1 and Small Sided Games it would have been very difficult to be ‘unruly’ because the ball doesn’t stop and opponent don’t hesitate from scoring. Next time – get the games started and record the scores. Let them know at the end of the practice their rankings. Remember, you can always take points away from them after behavior that is not acceptable.
Peer group pressure and competition among players can help you keep players from being unruly!
DR - Phew! The small-sided games and the scrimmage went ok, especially the scrimmage - I stumbled across a group of players that seem to play together real well* the “Dream Team” (this is a joke, of course, but I think that they may well be my starting line-up).
KD – Of course the small-sided games and scrimmage went ok because that is what the girls understand and what they want to do…Play Soccer!
Great job! One of your duties as a coach is to ‘observe’ the practice games and finding those players who play well together. Now, you need to ‘observe’ and find ways to incorporate the other players into that unit.
DR - Overall, the girls were distracted, difficult, whiney, blah, blah, blah. A tough day.
KD – Overall, the coach was tired and the players reflected his situation. Go there happy and enthused and see what happens!
DR - After the session, I briefly considered scrapping the entire 9-step stuff, but I have since reeled that thought back in.
KD – Patience my friend. Rome was not built over night and Nine year olds can only do those things in practice that you have taught them. The girls are there to Play Soccer and Please You. The 9-Steps give you the framework and sequence on what Soccer games to play. Now, it is your duty to teach them what acceptable actions Please You… and what unacceptable actions Displease You.
Besides what would you replace the 9-steps with? Most youth coaches revert back to thinking: Lines, Laps and Lectures will help them to control their team. This may be true? But, you must ask yourself, How much soccer improvement takes place while players are Standing in Line, Running Laps, or Listening to Lectures? They come to practice to Play Soccer!!!
DR - Next practice, back to the basics - 9-step.
KD – Make sure that you get yourself enthused and plan on having some FUN with the kids. If you are tired, irritable, annoyed, etc…Let them Play Soccer!
If you feel enthused, excited, and anxious to teach…Then plan on teaching them how to run their own practice with you using only buzz words.
DR - Maybe I will repeat fakes/feints, but with no requirements to do so in the actual games.
KD – This is not going back to the basics – this is advanced stuff which they are not ready to be taught. Learn from your past irritations and get them use to the flow of your practice before bringing in new challenges – They have yet to master the Sole of the Foot Thing. Keep It Simple!
However, you can give extra points for fakes/feints executed during any/all of the vs. games. That is, give points for showing improvement.
DR - I am going to focus/stress just how to do practice, especially setting up the fields.
KD – This is your challenge – Good Luck!!!
DR - Comments and suggestions, please.
KD – You have been given plenty and I hope you have the discipline to get Back to Basics and teach them the 9-Step ‘Buzz’ words and how they must respond..!
DR - Practice is tomorrow!!!
KD – I look forward to reading about your new attitude/focus and your players’ adjustments to them.