Please keep in mind, this blog post is an opinion and you can agree to disagree :).
You take your child to a new club team, drills are decent and the other players on the team are not bad either. You are looking for a new team for your child but don’t know what GREAT really is. How do you measure great? What is the “right” fit for my child and who is the right coach?
Some youth coaches aren’t that great! Just like some plumbers aren’t that great, some teachers aren’t that great. You have your youth soccer coaches that just don’t cut it! Especially if you are paying club fees, registration fees, tournament fees, uniforms, warm-ups, fundraising…am I missing something?
You get to a level of soccer, where it is no longer recreation and should expect a coach to get the absolute best out of the players each and every time! You not only invest your money but most importantly, YOUR TIME! This is something that you will NEVER, I repeat, NEVER GET BACK!
What makes a great youth coach?
Many factors play into the equation, but we will focus on a key factor that separates those amazing coaches. We can all find resources on some of the best drills that academies around the world use to develop their players but this key ingredient mixed along with the top-notch drills will help an average to novice coach become elite!
What is the key ingredient?
The key to improving youth coaches is…are you ready? Are you ready?
Competition! Competition, competition, competition! Soccer is a competitive sport. Life is competitive. You compete with others in your business, applying for a position, finding parking at the mall, etc! Instilling competition in young players separates the elite from the butterfly chasers.
Get the Best out of them!
Before training begins, you MUST have the kids competing. Who will be the first one to juggle 10, 20, 100? Who can get 20 bells first?
These little wins and coaches pushing their players to perform at their fastest level is what speeds up development and the level of each session. Not only do we see the players having fun but trying their absolute best!
“The way you train is the way you play”
Coaches who get the best from their players at training will prepare them for the league games, tournament games, friendly games. Don’t be afraid to encourage competition and chippy play at training, no one is going to take it easy on anyone when it comes to game time! Competitive youth soccer has no room for mercy.
If you feel like this isn’t for your child, your team or not looking for this, I understand. We here at Olé Soccer are talking to those who want to take soccer, football, futbol, in the United States to the next level! We are passionate about competing at the international level. We want to see the U.S. Men’s National team win their first World Cup. We want to see the U.S. Women’s National team win another World Cup and stay on top!
In order for the United States to compete at the international level, we need better youth level coaches all over the country. Why aren’t youth coaches that great? They just don’t know better or maybe just don’t care. Well, we care here at Olé!
If you feel like you would like to learn more about our sessions, training, online courses, drills, etc. Please contact us directly! Don’t be afraid of being a bad coach, we can only get better. Olé prides itself in personal development on and off the field.
Let’s do this together and stop being embarrassed about being a supporter of the U.S. National teams. We can create elite players domestically by improving our youth coaches! Do something about it…TODAY!
Written By:
Walter Merino
@OleSoccer
info@olesoccer.org
