“Give them a ball and set them free, young footballers have a great way of working the rest out for themselves.”

Michael Beale, Rangers FC

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Coaching success can be measured in many ways. And, while winning is fun, so is fun. Your goal as a coach must be to create a positive experience for your players so they keep coming back each year. Your goal should be to develop and prepare each player to play the next level: Recreational, Travel, ODP, Regions, National; and/or Recreational, Travel, Middle School, High School, College.

GAMES
The most important thing to remember at the youth soccer level is that players are developing their individual skills, soccer IQ, and love for the game. A coach’s success at this level is not measured by wins and losses, rather, by player development and enjoyment. Coaches should aim for equal playing time at least 50% of each game, should not allow outcomes to influence player development and playing time, and should play players in multiple positions so they can learn all phases of the game, and so they can develop their understanding of total football.

TRAININGS
Coaches should adopt US Soccer’s Play-Practice-Play methodology, based on their Grassroots initiatives. Play-Practice-Play (PPP) is a player-centered approach to coaching that emphasizes game-like situations. This approach to coaching and structuring training sessions differs from the traditional approach that may have had children standing, watching, waiting in lines, and participating in drills that don’t resemble the game of soccer. At no time should players be uninvolved in a training session.

Whenever you are in doubt on what to do for practice, know that you can never play too many small-sided games. Particularly, 4 v 4 games are a great way for players to develop in game-like settings. Just as a teacher would approach a lesson plan, coaches should simplify their training sessions to focus on a single or limited number of topics or concepts, so that players can practice and demonstrate proficiency.

STYLE OF PLAY
There is a correlation between possession and winning. In the Champions League this year, the team with more possession won 66.7% of the games. While there are exceptions, generally speaking, the team who best keeps the ball wins the game, while the team who fails to keep the ball loses the game.

To encourage our players to play possession, encourage them to keep the ball. Key words to emphasize as the coach can be “Go to space,” “Play to space,” and “Play away from pressure,” even if that means playing backwards and resetting. It should also be encouraged that players take the space that is given to them when they have the ball so that this possession play can progress forward, peeling back the layers and lines of defenders. The key words to emphasize here is “Take your space.”

For an example, watch Akron Soccer: Death by 1,000 Passes.

POSITIONS
Youth players must learn how to play multiple positions. Too often in my own experience, when I have asked an incoming player which position prefer, they respond with something like, “I play offense,” “I can’t play defense,” or “I play left forward, Coach.” Two concerns come to mind by these comments. Of the first two responses, I am concerned that the player does not understand that top athletes play both sides of the ball, defending and attacking with their teammates. There should be no taking plays off. I can conclude that this player also does not yet understand that even defenders can and should be involved in the attack and moving forward, and that forward players need to drop to help their teammates cover and keep numbers up on their opponent. On the latter response, I am concerned that this player has limited him/herself to a single position and place on the field.

Even a goalkeepers should learn how to play other positions. Not only do they need to know how to play with their feet in case a teammate passes backwards to them, but goalkeepers need to understand the entire game, and need to be able to provide teammates with directions during play.

TOTAL FOOTBALL
Total Football (or positionless soccer) is a style of play made most famous by the 1974 Netherlands side. Total football is the utilization of space and the fluidity of positions. Players press and defend as a team, and they attack as a team, with contributions from attacking-minded defensive players. Positions on all three phases of the field become interchangeable, with the spine up the field responsible for covering and maintaining balance when players switch.

For a description and example, watch Total Football Explained and Football’s Greatest International Teams–Netherlands 1974.

STAGES OF PLAYER DEVELOPMENT BY AGE GROUP

INITIAL STAGE – U6 & U8
Training sessions should be based on a series of fun games that involve all players and include a 1:1 player-to-ball ratio in order to maximize touches on the ball and to help players build their own experience. Competitiveness of activities can increase as player development progresses and when players become more developed in both their skillset and game awareness.

BASIC STAGE – U10 & U12
Training sessions should focus on developing specific soccer techniques and skills through small-sided games that incorporate basic attacking and defensive principles–emphasizing 1v1 and 2v1 attacking and defending situations. Sessions can also begin to include physical aspects such as speed, coordination, balance and agility.

INTERMEDIATE STAGE – U14
Training sessions should focus on tactics, while still incorporating opportunities to practice techniques. Sessions should also include fitness training that focuses on strength, endurance, and flexibility.