Skills & Strategies for Coaching Soccer

Soccer is hugely popular around the world. But while the basics of the sport are easy enough to learn, when it comes to team play, coaching helps a team succeed. Some of the coaching variables that help determine coaching success are parents, team goals and the type of coach you want to be.

  1. Coaching Style

    • There's no one way to coach a soccer team. Much depends on the coach's personality and the team's goals. A team intent on winning will play differently than one mainly focused on having fun and learning about the game. If winning is a concern, then the coaching style should include a great deal of discipline. Conversely, if the team's goal is to enjoy the sport, then the coach can give some control of the game to the players. However, ensuring that all players are aware of the team rules is important, and those rules should apply regardless of a player's skill. The coach should also make it clear to the parents what level of involvement they're allowed during a game because it may confuse the player to have his parent shouting instructions at him that conflict with the ones from his coach.

    Be Organized

    • Coaches should have plans both for game days and for practices. Valuable time can be wasted if the players or parents don't know what's going on. This doesn't mean that every moment of a game or practice must be scheduled, but there should never be a question about when or where things are meant to happen. At practice, to avoid wasting time the coach should come prepared with at least a basic itinerary of what he'd like to accomplish during the allotted time.

    Dealing with Parents

    • When coaching soccer, it's inevitable that you'll have to deal with parents. With many parents, keeping them happy is as simple as praising their child when they're within hearing range. However, if more serious problems arise, it's important not to discuss those problems in front of the players and other parents. Schedule time apart from the games and practices to talk to the parents about their concerns. The two main objectives parents usually have when signing up their child for a sport are to do well and to have fun. So long as both those needs are being met, parents are generally happy.