How to Become a Successful Football Coach

Whether you are a professional league football coach or teach the sport to youngsters, your coaching skills and values are vital to molding and creating a healthy, successful team environment. Football coaches should not be judged solely by their win-loss records, but by how they interact with their players. By fostering a healthy relationship with your players, you will build a team that can play up to their natural abilities, whether they win or lose.

Instructions

    • 1

      Be properly trained. A good coach should be trained not just in basic football techniques, but also in more theoretical areas, such as the rules of the game, health and safety regulations, team strategies and organization. Strive towards both skill-building goals and character-building goals on your team.

    • 2

      Teach your players the basics in a way that is knowledgeable, safe and easy to understand. Make practices organized and fun for players. Lead by example by exhibiting confidence in your word, strong leadership and integrity. Respect your players and your players will reciprocate.

    • 3

      Recognize clearly the abilities of every player. Motivate each player to work to the best of his abilities. Provide constructive criticism, making sure you also provide positive reinforcement. Get to know your players personally and what drives them.

    • 4

      Talk to and listen openly to your players. Gather them together and ask them what their goals and expectations are for the season. Teach them to avoid statistical goals, such as the number of touchdowns, passes or interceptions per game, as such goals can sometimes be impossible to control. Instead, they should focus on goals they can build and achieve with hard work, such as body building or improving pass techniques. Go back and review these goals throughout the course of the season.

    • 5

      Avoid coaching during the game. Coaching and developing the skills of your players is for practices. This can be a difficult temptation for a coach to overcome, especially if you see fatal errors on the field that need improvement. Let your players play and learn on their own without too much input from you. Be subtle, with quick yet constructive comments. A team that learns on their own will be better off than a team that always depends on the coach for guidance.

    • 6

      Teach and instill short-term memory in your players. In other words, make sure they don't dwell on their mistakes. Tell them that getting flustered or upset in the middle of the game will only make matters worse.