the novice coach’s guide to a successful soccer season...the novice coach’s guide to a...

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The Novice Coach’s Guide to a Successful Soccer Season

Practical Advice on Coaching a Competitive Youth Soccer Team

Ohio Youth Soccer Association North

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The vast majority of soccer coaches in the United States are still Moms and Dads who volunteer to coach their sons or daughters.



While a growing proportion of these parents have some soccer-playing background, most youth coaches

are new to the sport.

The term “novice” includes those who are new to soccer and also those with a soccer background who

are inexperienced in their role as “coach.”



This self-paced course provides theoretical and practical information for novice coaches working with

the U-10, U-12 and U-14 age groups. For the purposes of this presentation… “U-10” includes U-9 and U-10 “U-12” includes U-11 and U-12 “U-14” includes U-13 and U-14



The information is organized Into six sections.

What is Soccer? Understanding Your Players.

Understanding Tactics and Skills. Team Management.

Practice Management. Parent Management.


Section 2 Understanding Your Players


Understanding Your Players

The general guidelines for coaching youth soccer are based on the age and ability of the players.

Most youth coaches over-estimate their players’ abilities, needs, and motivations by stressing team play over individual development at the younger ages.


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The most important and exciting skill in soccer is scoring a goal. In the youth game, the ability to

dribble the ball is a critical prerequisite for creating scoring chances.

Players dribble the ball for three reasons… a) to keep the ball away from defenders (possession), b) to beat

opponents (penetration), and c) to run into open space (possession or penetration).



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It is impossible to teach creative dribbling or goal scoring instincts to older players, so youth coaches should adopt dribbling and goal scoring as the cornerstones of their practice activities.



Understanding Your Players by Age


Attempting to describe players by age is a difficult task because social and emotional forces frequently

produce contrary examples.

Players brought up in soccer cultures are different from those who aren’t. Soccer-playing parents make a

difference. Soccer-playing siblings make a difference. The media makes a difference. Money and facilities make a difference. The soccer environment makes a

difference. Player motivation makes all the difference.


Players by Age - Disclaimer

The following information should therefore be read as a descriptive continuum.

In general, the typical American soccer population

follows a normal developmental pattern, but there are always those who are far in advance of their peers and

also those who lag well behind.

With that said…


Players by Age - Disclaimer

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Players by Age


Age General Skill Progression Recurring Themes

U-6 Dribbling and Shooting

U-8 Passing and Receiving on the Ground U-6

U-10 Heading and Receiving out of the Air U-6 + U-8

U-12 Long Passing and Individual Defending U-6 + U-8 + U-10

U-14+ Positional Techniques U-6 + U-8 + U-10 + U-12

General Technical Emphases by Age

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Players by Age


Age Main Theme Recurring Themes

U-6 Me and My Ball

U-8 Sharing the Ball U-6

U-10 Playing Around the Ball U-6 + U-8

U-12 Playing Away From the Ball U-6 + U-8 + U-10

U-14+ Team Development U-6 + U-8 + U-10 + U-12

General Tactical Emphases by Age

At U-6, young children are very ego-centric and do not understand the concept of team sports.

They play “beside” friends, but not with them.

The U-6’s main focus is on themselves and any organized soccer game will essentially become “One versus The Rest.”


Players by Age

For U-6’s, soccer practice should include lots of opportunities to build a comfort level with the ball.

Fantasy and imagination are important motivators and real soccer games (2v2, 3v3) are often complimentary to activities that teach agility, balance, coordination,

speed and ball manipulation through fun games.

U-6’s will develop much more quickly when they have older role models to help them get started.


Players by Age

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By U-8, young children are still quite ego-centric, but start to play “with” their friends. They will share the ball if they have enough time and space to figure out

how, but most have no concept of spacing.


Players by Age

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Like the U-6’s, they will develop much faster and learn better soccer habits when they have older children or

adults as role models and game managers.


Players by Age

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The U-8 practice should continue to include lots of dribbling-based games, but should also feature an increased number of games between 1v1 and 4v4.

Boundaries and their related restarts become relevant.

Elementary juggling and an ever-expanding range of skill

challenges should be introduced for U-8’s.


Players by Age

As players approach U-10, their ability to think abstractly allows them to better appreciate space

and they will start to spread out away from the ball.

U-10 is the first age where something resembling “soccer” should be expected and the first age where

most players will start to enjoy training as the foundation of improvement.


Players by Age

The U-10 practice begins to rely more on real soccer games than fun activities, although those elements

should never be completely discarded.

U-10’s love to be challenged, so competitive activities should be the norm. Games of between 1v1 and 6v6

utilizing a variety of scoring options are the foundation of the training sessions, with skill drills

providing lower intensity rest periods.


Players by Age

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To make progress, motivated U-12’s must work with knowledgeable coaches. By this age, the more

experienced players can perform all the main skills and have a good understanding of space and rhythm.

For the general population, U-12 is the best age to formally start refining and expanding the range of

techniques – particularly individual defending - and the best age to demand good training habits.


Players by Age

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The U-12 training session incorporates much of the U-10 experience, but should add offside lines to games. The U-12’s should experience playing 8v8 in practice.

Because ten and eleven year-olds can often be quite combative, the U-12 coach must be a skillful teacher. Good training habits must be established. Skills must

be honed and expanded. Tactical insight must be developed. U-12 players must continue to learn to

continue to be motivated!


Players by Age

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By U-14, the better players will have moved to higher levels and the main focus for the novice coach will be the assignment of positions and the management of

playing time during games.

Understanding how to best position players to maximize their soccer personalities and help them enjoy the game is the key to successful coaching.


Players by Age

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The U-14 training session should strive to improve technical and tactical speed of play, with the activities

primarily featuring possession games, skill training, and positional games.

However, the motivation of U-14 players can vary from

recreational to elite and the attitude of the coach should vary accordingly. “Warm-up and play” may be the best approach to coaching an unmotivated team.


Players by Age

End of Section 2


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