Whether you've been thrown into coaching a Youth Soccer team voluntarily or by accident, you have little time to get up to speed. The next practice is coming fast. Here a few points to get ready quick.

1. Understand the age group Kids are growing physically. Their brain is developing. Practice sessions and expectations must be adapted to the age group. As a result, each age group is best suited for a different coach personality:

   • U7 - U11 The "Animator" makes kids fall in love with the game.
   • U12 - U16 The "Teacher" ensures teenagers learn how to play the game.
   • U17+ The "Competitor" plans to win games.

2. Manage the constraints The type of practices you can implement will depend primarily on:

   • number of players and coaches present
   • number and length of practice sessions
   • size and quality of pitches available
   • materials available (balls, cones, goals, etc.)

3. Pick a development methodology If you are lucky enough to volunteer for a Club that shares a written development methodology across age groups, use it. Otherwise pick a true and tested methodology (ex: Croatian Development Curriculum, Coerver). It helps to create an end-of-season knowledge evaluation worksheet early on, that you can then use to drive practices and games (ex: U9 knowledge validation).

Assistant coaches

If you have the chance, get one or two assistant coaches.

• It forces communication, and be deliberate in planning
• It is easier to split the group as necessary in practices
• It facilitates managing warm-up and substitutes during a game
• It is more fun, it's only kids football!

Practice sessions

Preparation

• For an hour session, plan a 5min talk, 1 exercise of 15min and 2 exercises of 20min.
• During 5min talks:
• ask players what went right?
• ask players what can we do better?
• inform players about any logistics, and other messages you need to relay from the club.
• Write a one page plan for the session. On the left side of the page, draw a plan of where goals and cones must be placed, using a different color for the 3 exercises. On the right side of the page, write 3 sections, one for each exercise. Each section contains a short brief of the mechanics of the exercise, what coaches need to see to consider the players successful, a video link to a recorded version of the exercise if possible.
• Distribute the session plan to assistant coaches, a day in advance at the latest. If you have more than a session a week, write and distribute all session plans at the beginning of the week.

Organizational Tips

• Walking on the field, check where is the sun. Setup goals such that the goal keeper doesn't face the sun, and orient the field such that no teams faces the sun directly if possible. When talking, always face the sun so players don't.
• Create two areas with cones about 1 square meter outside the playing field, one to place balls in and one for water bottles.
• Set all cones for all exercises when possible before the session, so you can easily transition from one exercise to the next.
• Use pancakes instead of poles or cones when dealing with "active" children, to limit the risk of injury and destruction of material.
• Distribute different jersey colors at the beginning of the session based on how many teams/functions you will have. All players should have a jersey so there is no objections.
• Bring a set of identical balls, so players don't start fighting over "my" ball. It also help insure players practice with age-appropriate balls, and those balls have the correct pressure.
• Sit players in a circle during talks. Pass a ball around such that only the player with the ball talks.

Games

• Prepare a substitution plan that insures 50% playing time for each player when required by the league.

• Make sure players are warming up properly, especially as they transition from U9 to U10.

• Write down the observations you want to make during the game (ex: is everyone playing with intensity, or some players are picking grass?)

• Keep your emotions under wrap.

• Only communicate short instructions (ex: drop, move up) to players who are farthest from the ball.

• Have a post game routine. Ex: Win or loose, make all players run to the middle of the field, face the spectators and clap to thank the fans.

Links

• Croatia Football Development Model Webinar - With Chris Docherty / Ivan Kepcija
• Beyond the Drill: Why Repetition is Holding Players Back - Wolfgang Schöllhorn | Radical Football 2024
• Boo Schexnayder Critical Factors in Speed Development