Category Archives: Game Days
COACH-SMARTER BLOG MOVED TO NEW SITE!
Please go to coach-smart.com/soccerblog to access our new and improved blog. As we grow as a resource for soccer coaches, we want to provide the best coaching advice available. Our new blog will continue to post helpful information, videos, articles, … Continue reading
Filed under BALL CONTROL AND MOVES, OR HOMEWORK, BEGINNER COACHING INFO, Brazil, Coach Interviews, Coaching Philosophy, Communication, Decision Making, Discipline, Flow of Practice, Free Kicks, FREE/STYLE!, Futsal, Game Days, Girls Soccer, Goalkeeping, Indoor Soccer, Mental Preparation, PARENTS INFO, Positive Criticism, Psychology, Small-Sided Games, Speed of Play, Tactical Games, team building, Technique, Tournaments, U-10, U-12, U-14, U-16, U-18, U-6, U-8, Uncategorized, Urban Soccer, WARM UPS
DURING GAMES, LESS IS MORE
Why and How Coaches Should Leave Games to the Players Over-coaching, or over-instruction, plagues American Youth Soccer, not to mention many other sports. The intense atmosphere of games often causes coaches to try to control their players’ every movement. “I … Continue reading
Filed under BEGINNER COACHING INFO, Coaching Philosophy, Communication, Game Days, Positive Criticism, Tournaments, U-10, U-12, U-14, U-16, U-18
COACHING YOUR FIRST FUTSAL TOURNAMENT
Some Tips For The Beginner Futsal Coach For many soccer coaches, both veterans and novices, coaching a futsal tournament is a new concept. Although the sport shares the same DNA as soccer, coaches should be aware of the unique benefits … Continue reading
Filed under BEGINNER COACHING INFO, Decision Making, Futsal, Game Days, Girls Soccer, Indoor Soccer, Small-Sided Games, Speed of Play, Tournaments, U-10, U-12, U-14, U-6, U-8, Uncategorized
THE IMPORTANCE OF “DOWN TIME” AT TOURNAMENTS
We often think of tournaments as one riveting game after another. But the truth is that, no matter how many games your team plays in one day, players will spend the majority of time not playing. “Down time,” or the … Continue reading
POSITIVE INSTRUCTION
A Beginner’s Guide to Coaching Youth Soccer Gives Useful Tips on Staying Positive At Practice Today, Coach-Smart.com published a handy Beginner’s Guide to Coaching Youth Soccer. The guide aims to serve as a concise and informative instruction manual to help … Continue reading
Filed under BEGINNER COACHING INFO, Coaching Philosophy, Communication, Game Days, Positive Criticism, Psychology, U-10, U-6, U-8
WARM UP BETTER
Why And How Proper Warm-Ups Can Help Your Team Improper warm-ups plague youth soccer, and youth sports in general. A disturbing number of coaches do nothing to fix this, even at elite levels. “I can’t believe how many teams I’ve … Continue reading
Filed under Game Days, Mental Preparation, Psychology, U-10, U-12, U-14, U-16, U-18, U-8, WARM UPS
WHY DO WE STILL ALLOW U10 TEAMS TO PLAY FULL-FIELD SOCCER?
I recently watched two U10 middle school teams play an 11-a-side game on a full field – that’s about 120 yards long by 80 yards wide. It was foolish. The two goalkeepers should have brought their homework into their goals. … Continue reading
Filed under BEGINNER COACHING INFO, Game Days, Small-Sided Games, U-10, U-12, U-14, U-8, Urban Soccer
CRITICISM SHOULD COMMUNICATE, NOT CRUSH
What Every Coach Should Know About Criticizing Players Coaches take vastly different approaches to criticizing their players. Some coaches nit-pick constantly during practices, some not at all. During games, some coaches “instruct” their players to tears from the sidelines. Some … Continue reading
Filed under BEGINNER COACHING INFO, Coaching Philosophy, Communication, Game Days, Girls Soccer, Positive Criticism, Psychology, U-10, U-12, U-14, U-18, U-6, U-8, Urban Soccer
INTERVIEW WITH TRAVIS KIKUGAWA ON TEAM AND PLAYER MENTALITY
Travis Kikugawa, Head Coach of the National Finalist U16 Real So. Cal Boys Team, On Team and Player Mentality, Mental Preparation, Communication, and Setting Goals Q – How to you prepare your teams mentally for tournament play? A – I … Continue reading
Filed under Coach Interviews, Game Days, Psychology, U-18, WARM UPS
