Preparing the Coaching Ground
By Graham Ramsay, Director, Education & Training
Maryland State Youth Soccer Association
Before you can initiate your coaching program in soccer, you have to prepare the ground. The keys to such preparation may be described as the two O’s – Organized and Observation.
Organization:
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Show and Go. Explain and demonstrate the game, then let them begin playing it.
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As you walk around the perimeter of the group, ask yourself this question: Does everyone understand the game? If they do not understand, re-organize them into a teaching class. If the answer is in the affirmative, you can move on to the next O.
Observation:
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Select the best group for demonstrative purposes. Call it the “pertinent model.”
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Once these O’s are in place, the coaching can begin.
The coaching steps consist of:
Squad Coaching:
a. Bring the squad over to the model group and have them demonstrate a couple of times.
b. Highlight one or two of the key coaching tips. Emphasize the “Show and Go” briefly but explicitly. Then send them back to their mini-groups and begin the…
Personal Coaching:
a. Spot and Stop – whenever you spot a key fault, stop the play and correct it. Relate it to the demonstration and key tips exhibited by the model group (Show, Correct, and Go).
b. Repeat with the other mini-groups that need help.
At this point in the coaching, you can stop the practice or game to correct mistakes or offer different ideas. The following common techniques may be used:
Freezing the Play:
Stopping the play and constructing the right picture for the players. Make sure the players freeze when you call “Stop!” Otherwise, the coaching moment may be lost as the players move and change the picture.
Do a couple of “Stops!” to accustom the players to the command. “Even if you are a yard in the air, stay there!” is a good way of getting their attention and helping them to remember the command.
Demonstration: A picture is certainly worth a thousand words. The right picture is worth twice as many words. With less experienced players, it’s beneficial to perform the demonstration at different speeds: (1) a slow-motion talking picture, where you explain the main points; (2) a medium pace demo, and (3) a game tempo picture. After the last demonstration, let the players try the move several times before returning to the “live” situation.
Physical Senses:
In learning new skills, it is very helpful to appeal to as many senses as possible. Feel, sight, and sound help the brain and body remember the tension of the movement.
Form of the Message:
Whatever form your (coaching) message takes, bear this adage in mind: “I hear and I forget”… “I see and I remember”… “I do and I understand.”
In other words, the simpler and more concise the information, the greater chance of coaching success you will have. A good coaching picture or demonstration is worth 2000 words.
Advice for coaches who talk too much: “If the Lord had meant you to talk and talk and talk on a soccer field, he would have provided chairs as part of the field of play.”