Coaching Education content provided by the NSCAA

Curing Common Coaching Problems
(Pt. 2 of 3)

Although each situation is unique, there are similarities 

By Dan Woog

Disruptive players
Often players disrupt practices or cause problems on the bench because they're bored. Usually they're bored because they're inactive. The cures for inactivity are simple. During practices, less talking by the coach, more movement by the players, smaller groups so each youngster touches the ball more will help. During games, don't just keep your eyes glued to the field. Ask the players on the bench questions, tell them how soon you'll be substituting them in, remind them to keep cheering for their teammates. Most children are disruptive only because they want attention.

Information overload
Youngsters' attention spans are short. They cannot handle as much information at one time as adults, yet there are many coaches who insist upon forcing every scrap of detail they know on their players, often at the most inappropriate times.

The pre-game talk is the wrong time to introduce a game plan. It should have been introduced in bits and pieces during practice sessions so players could have had time to assimilate the information and understand it thoroughly. New concepts should be introduced singly and completely. Similarly, while reinforcing old (previously explained) ideas before a game, concentrate on one or two key points. If you use the scattershot approach -- throwing out eight or 10 different thoughts in random order as they occur to you -- you'll lose your audience entirely. Older youngsters, in particular, are masters at looking straight at you as if enraptured while their minds are a zillion miles away.

This has the added advantage of refining your own coaching skills. It's easy to attack every problem in sight every single day, hoping something, sometime, will sink in. It's more difficult to pick out one or two ideas and reinforce them systematically, that requires foresight, planning, and patience. It's like the introduction to a letter Abraham Lincoln is purported to have sent to a friend: "I would have written you a shorter note, but I didn't have time."

Improper warm-ups before a match
Too many coaches are content to let their players kick aimlessly before a game. As much as possible, warm-ups should be match-related: goalkeepers should be working on their diving, jumping, catching, throwing and punting skills; field players should be working on controlling the ball, passing it on the ground and working it around as much as possible. Five against two (5 v. 2) and keep-away are two good ways to include these concepts in a warm-up.

When it comes time to practice shooting, also make it match-related. Don't always use the same angle and/or distance for the drill; include defenders as defenders, too. Be certain that your corner kickers practice these prior to game time as well, especially if you're playing away. Every corner of every field is different. and it doesn't hurt to test them all.

Many coaches sit their youngsters down for 15 or 20 minutes prior to a game and start telling them everything they need to know about soccer. Before a match, children are restless. They want to be active and do things, not sit and listen. Keep your comments to a minimum, especially with young children. Your coaching should be done in practice sessions, not just prior to kickoff.

On the other hand, don't let your players tire themselves out. A half an hour of warm-up is plenty. Any longer and they become tired and bored. If they run the risk of warming up too long, sit them down -- but don't feel the need to bore them to soccer talk.

Helter-skelter comments at halftime
The need for carefully thought-out, well-organized, judicious halftime comments is crucial. Spend the few minutes prior to halftime thinking about what you want to say. That way you won't ramble or hem and haw in the few minutes allotted to you.

Again, don't overburden your players. If things are going poorly, twelve different ideas won't change things. Concentrate on one or two. If things are going okay, you probably only need to mention one or two things they can work on in the second half. If things are going great -- well, as an old Yankee once said, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Of course, halftime comments should nearly always be positive. Very little is to be gained from negative criticism unless the players are old enough to handle it and it is used so seldom it makes them sit up and take notice. Whenever you offer criticism, be sure to couch it in non-threatening terms: "Taylor, you're heading the ball well. I know, but we need you to keep the ball on the ground, away from their backs."

Failure to communicate
There are two times communication is especially important: when a player comes out of a game and when the match has ended.

No child likes to leave the field. Much worse, though, is coming out, walking to the sidelines and being greeted by the coach. Every child who comes out of the game should be greeted personally by the coach. A pat on the head, shoulder or rump is good. Better is some verbal comment, such as "Good work out there, I just needed to get Chris in." Or, "Wow, you really worked hard, Take a rest, and I'll get you back in in the second half."

Even if a player was removed because he/she was playing poorly or couldn't handle his/her position, use the substitution situation to teach: "Pat, listen, next time you're in there and you're playing against someone that fast, this is what you do..." It goes without saying, of course, that you should never, ever, remove a player immediately after he/she commits a mistake, no matter how grievous the error. To do so can only demoralize an already desolate youngster. Whatever you want to say can wait a few minutes.

After the game is a fair time to talk a bit. You don't have to deliver an oratorical masterpiece or go over every player's performance minute by minute, but you can wrap up the game briefly. This is what we did well, this is what we did poorly, this is what we'll work on next week and practice is at the usual time. Any questions or problems or injuries? Thank you, goodbye. Resist the temptation (and the parents who are hanging around like vultures, waiting to drive their children to their next engagement) to let everyone leave immediately after the match.