As a coach of young girls and boys, I have quickly realized how intelligent these young people are. It is a huge mistake to think 9 and 10 year old’s cannot absorb information and apply what you say on the soccer field. They do. I see it every week. Some concepts of course are beyond their capabilities, but it is all attainable. Lay the foundations for future success early on. For me, the focus must be teamwork, work rate, energy, enthusiasm, and communication. If you have players who want to give their all, and play with imagination and commitment, you can teach the rest. You can teach a player to pass a ball from point A to point B, but it is much more difficult to have them run from point A to point B as fast as they can every time.
Challenge players early on. If you set expectations and build an environment in practice of quality and competitiveness, the future will be bright. Build the habits that you want as a coach, and reinforce it. If a player doesn’t close the ball down, tell them. If they are sloppy and lazy in their passing, tell them. Once a player develops bad habits, it is incredibly difficult to break them of it. Players who work to their maximum during practices and games learned these vital traits at an early age. It is paramount that a player immerses themselves in a playing environment that is both fun and challenging. Playing with a smile on their face is number 1, and it is their early youth coach that allows that smile to stay throughout their career.
