Soccer Coaching Tips: Teaching New Soccer Skills

Communication of ideas from a coach to players is critical for a team’s success.  Most coaches are not great teachers. There are significant ways to get your point across to youth players that will switch to eventual wins.

Players learn best when they’re given a demonstration of a skill and an explanation at the same time. Use simple terms and, if possible, relate the skill to skills that the players have previously learned. Ask your players whether they understand what you’re telling them. A good method is to ask the team to repeat your explanation. As questions like “What are you going to do now?” and “Then what?” Should players look confused, repeat your explanation and demonstration.

Every player is unique and a team is not unlike a classroom situation. Some players learn better by reading, some by seeing, and some by actually performing soccer drills. When coaching soccer, it is significant to aim at each way of learning when a new idea is presented. Some players seem as if they’ll never pick up a new skill then one day something just clicks and they look as if they’ve been performing the skill their whole lives.

If possible, use different words so that your players can try to understand the skill from a different perspective. Also remember that whenever you bring players into a group to make a soccer coaching point, you must be clear and concise. Try to visualize yourself teaching your team so that you can discuss a point as clearly as possible. Also, take advantage of technology. Don’t be afraid to film players so they can see what they’re doing wrong or give video presentations of high level players performing a complex play.

Difficult skills can be learned faster when you explain them in smaller parts. For instance, if you want to teach your players how to change direction when they dribble the ball, you might take the following steps:

• Show players a correct performance of the entire skill and explain its function in soccer.
• Break down the skill and call attention to its component parts to your players.
• Have players perform each of the component skills you have already taught them, such as dribbling while running, changing speed, and changing direction.
• After players have demonstrated their ability to perform the separate parts of the skill in sequence, explain the entire skill again.
• Allow the players to apply the skill as if they were playing a game.

Youth players have short attention spans, and a long demonstration or explanation of a skill may cause them to stop paying attention. Therefore, spend only a few minutes on each of the phases of introduction, demonstration, and explanation. Then involve the players in activities and soccer drills that makes them to perform the skill. If a player can add a new soccer skill to their list, they will experience great achievment.