What to look for in a practice session

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I have seen too many pointless drills. The kids practice these drill and then play rec style during games. How hard is it to teach these kids how to play a decent game of soccer?

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They need to watch more soccer to have some idea about how to fit all of the parts together. Otherwise, it's like spending your time stacking bricks but not knowing what a house looks like.

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They need to watch more soccer to have some idea about how to fit all of the parts together. Otherwise, it's like spending your time stacking bricks but not knowing what a house looks like.

That is not a bad point. I struggle to get my daughter to watch pro soccer. I would be willing to be that many kids never watch any soccer. I'm positive that most parents don't either.

What I don't like to see is the line drills. Even though they are disguised because of their complexity, they are still line drills. Maybe ok for warm-ups, because they do require some foot skills but the line drill, no matter how complicated a formation, is a relatively worthless act.

My feeling is that too many coaches leave what happens on the field too much to the kids own creativity. I have seen a few clubs where the players have definitely been taught where to be when, and those teams play very well. Getting back to your brick layer analogy, you hit the nail on the head. While it's true that it would be helpful to know what you are building it's equally important to have the blue prints.

[Unregistered]

I have seen too many pointless drills. The kids practice these drill and then play rec style during games. How hard is it to teach these kids how to play a decent game of soccer?

The skills are way more important than the game itself at younger ages. It's better to give them a general idea of the game and let them think for themself on the field. Having a bunch of robots on the field does not let them explore the game on their terms. They have more fun this way and believe it or not they also learn more. The best practices have creative fun ways for kids to get maximum touches on the ball without long lines and without preaching which wastes time and takes away from touches. The game itself gets a bit more serious from the age of U13 and up in terms of team strategy.

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I have seen too many pointless drills. The kids practice these drill and then play rec style during games. How hard is it to teach these kids how to play a decent game of soccer?

It is actually pretty hard .It is many things besides just doing a drill .From a team perspective a coach has to have a "vision" on how he wants his player to play .He has to plan , execute and find a way to communicate that vision .
From an individual perspective the player has to have "Vision".
A players has to learn first to perform the skill, next when to use it in the correct situation.
Next decide if that was the best time to use it in relation to their teammates.


For some players it may take a whole season, for some 3 sessions ,some never get it.



Now if you are asking what a good session should like like that is easier.
For the most part the coach should be working on what is the highest priority for the team. Ex my team let up many goals , why because my midfielder didn't want to stay central and didn't apply pressure to their midfielders quickly and it the correct manner.

Most parents that have not played soccer would probably jump on the defender as the main problem , they also had to delay their attack and didn't recognize this . So I have two problems to work on . So how to a choose which one I need to work on with only a 1 hour session .

So if your looking at my session during my warm up , main and then a scrimmage . You should see all the technical skills that go with defending/ tackling/ pressure etc. If you see a session/ drills with other skills or tactics besides the ones mentioned above is a waste of your kids time.


Watching soccer on tv is good for skills idea but not for tactical development because of the camera angle you can't the whole pitch .

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Watching soccer on tv is good for skills idea but not for tactical development because of the camera angle you can't (see) the whole pitch .

In youth soccer, generally skills dictate tactics (teams can only do what they have the skills to do).

Watching games is helpful so kids have an idea what a game is supposed to look like -- I've coached youth teams where 10 year olds had no idea what a corner kick was.

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In youth soccer, generally skills dictate tactics (teams can only do what they have the skills to do).

Watching games is helpful so kids have an idea what a game is supposed to look like -- I've coached youth teams where 10 year olds had no idea what a corner kick was.

I agree that it is very helpful for young players . My son learned the rules of the game by watching soccer and playing it on the PS3. They also see how fast in can be played and how goals are scored .My observation of kids who just want to blast the ball in the net is because they never saw other ways of scoring via tv , family member or playing on the streets.

Once they reach that u12 + they are going to need a good coach to take them to the next level and show them how and when to use the things they see on tv and incorporate it onto their game.

Imitation is the greatest teacher! very few people in the world ever really create something new. My advice to coaches and players steal and borrow as much as you can .

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I am the OP and I am very pleased with the posts that followed. I don't completely agree with every point, but for the most part, excellent insight. It's great to see constructive input on this site.

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Until your team has all of the players able to pass and receive with an ok level of competence, there's no way to play a "good game of soccer". In the mean time, its mix of kickball and individual play by the more skilled players

Then once you have that, breaking the "go straight to the goal" mentality is hard. On several occassions my son's U8 and U10 teams have been winning big and we tell them to stop scoring and control the ball, they are able to execute so well they get far more scoring chances then they did earlier. But it doesn't carry over into the next game.

For our U8 team (mostly 2nd year, gold), We use small sided keep away games (e.g. 3v1) to get the players used to spacing, quick decisions and execution. Hope is that by next year at U10 they will have the skills when their tactical brain cells connect.

[Unregistered]

I have seen too many pointless drills. The kids practice these drill and then play rec style during games. How hard is it to teach these kids how to play a decent game of soccer?

Depends on the level the kids are at, if you are at a premier team practice then one should expect a high level of intensity, on the field. Off the field you need to see how the team gels together with each other and the coach. Every kid need some self motivation but a good coach needs to bring them to the next level while they are having fun at the same time. Any one can get a licence to coach but not everyone can coach well. Most players want to win, but there are many other ways to measure success.

[Unregistered]

Depends on the level the kids are at, if you are at a premier team practice then one should expect a high level of intensity, on the field. Off the field you need to see how the team gels together with each other and the coach. Every kid need some self motivation but a good coach needs to bring them to the next level while they are having fun at the same time. Any one can get a licence to coach but not everyone can coach well. Most players want to win, but there are many other ways to measure success.

Any practice should be at a high intensity and fun.u6 or u19.I have seen premier practices where the coach runs an smooth drill.players pass receive,go to next spot and never did the coach correct or suggest ways to do it better or smarter.as a parent you need to know what a practice session looks like compare to a training sessions.repitition is needed but you need soemone that knows how to keep his players on the edge of learning and justkeeping skill. It hard not easy to be coach

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My kids have played town and club and been coached by a full spectrum of coaches in terms of effectiveness. My biggest beef is with coaches with good reputations that run all the right drills, etc but never correct their players. All that does is reinforce bad habits.