What do I need to be a volunteer coach?

What do I need to be a volunteer coach? not much Patience Time A willingness to learn And more patience

Coaching Philosophy pg. 4 Warm Ups pg. 4 Activities / Games Kick The Cone pg. 5 Fox and Rabbits pg. 6 Robot Coach pg. 7 Red Light, Green Light pg. 8 Soccer Bowling pg. 9 The Numbers Game pg. 10 Progressive Dribbling pg. 11 The Ladder Game pg. 12 Small Sided Switch pg. 13 Shooting By Number pg. 14 Go Get It pg. 15

We re not just coaches Coaching players can be such a rewarding experience from their failures to their successes. Watching the players grow and learn from the moment they walk onto your pitch to when they leave and move on can be an exciting fulfilling path. We re not just coaches We re also mentors and teachers and through the beautiful game of soccer we can teach the players lessons that they can take with them and use for the rest of their lives. Soccer is a series of problems to be solved, challenges to met and limits to be pushed. We re not just coaches But guides on a journey to the player s self discovery. We can help them fined inner strength and self confidence. Help them to feel successful and that they can accomplish what they set out to do. As coaches we want to keep our players safe. Create environments in which they can play, learn and succeed. We want our players to start to learn and think for themselves and become creative in their play. We want to develop their skills and knowledge of the game. Mostly we want them to have fun and fall in love with soccer so they keep coming back for years to come. Tucker Roveto A cold muscle is stiff and rigid. Sudden twisting, turning and stretching can place greater tension on muscles and connective tissue than they can handle.. For younger ones stretching isn t so much about the actual stretching as it is forming the habit of stretching before training or a match. New studies have shown that a light warm-up combined with movement stretching is more conducive to game readiness. A session warm-up can consist of: A very light jog in a large area Jogging and adding in short cuts to the left and right 6 jogging steps forward, 3 jogging steps backward Light jogging with short sprints Jogging and then reaching down to touch the grass, alternating hands Skipping followed by skipping leaps With a partner, back to back pass a ball from one side to the other Still with a partner, over their head and underneath This is a great opportunity to be creative and challenge your players with balancing tasks, coordination movements and partnered movements. Have fun with it and so will they!!!

Number of Players: Any Object: Knock over the cones, then put them back up using only your feet Instructions: Have the players knock over as many cones as they can. Once all cones are knocked down have them put them back up right. Players should be instructed to use the instep of the foot. Use both feet!!! Equipment: 6 inch cones, as many as needed What does this do? It helps with coordination and gets the players used to using their feet. Also teaches players to use the inside of their feet. Increasing Intensity To get the players to try a little harder you could go around ask each player how many they knocked down and then put back up. Then challenge them to try and beat their last number. You may want to add more cones! 5

Number of Players: Any Object: One assigned fox who is out to catch the rabbits, players must avoid the fox and stay within a contained space Equipment: practice pinnies, and balls Instructions: Setup a coned off area. Assign one player as the Fox, the rest of rabbits. Rabbits must place the practice pinnies like tails. No balls to start. The fox when let loose catches the rabbits by pulling out their tails until all rabbits are caught. The final player without being caught can be the fox next round. After a round or two the rabbits can then use a ball and dribbles away from the fox. They must keep the ball at their feet at all times. What does this activity do? RABBIT TAIL It helps with coordination and gets players to look up while playing. They must be aware of the fox! THE FOX Guided Questioning This is a perfect game to ask the players how can they avoid the fox? Answer: By keeping our heads up and looking out for the fox. 6

Guided Questioning Number of Players: Any Object: kick the ball at the coach who is a robot and getting damaged and slower with every hit Equipment: each player has a ball This game is more or less just a fun game. It does help increase kicking accuracy. If many of the players are missing you could then ask How could you get the robots faster? Answer: With better aimed shots. Discuss further how to make a better aimed kick. Instructions: This is fun game for the kids and creates great interaction between the players and coaches. Each player has a ball at their feet. All they need to do is simply hit the coach with the ball as he or she moves around like a robot. With each hit the robots move slower and slower until they a broken. Green light! 7

Number of Players: Any Object: To get to the other side by following the rules Equipment: each player has a ball Instructions: This is just like the childhood game of Red Light, Green Light except with a soccer ball! From one end of the field a coach calls out a color. Green Light they should dribble quickly but in control. Yellow Light dribble slow, small touches. Red Light players have to stop the ball quickly. If they do not then they are sent to the starting line with their balls Green light! Increasing Difficulty Instead of calling out the colors you can use hand signals. Hold up one finger for Green, 2 for yellow and 3 for red. This will force the kids to get their heads up! Guided Questioning How do you keep from getting sent back to the beginning? Answer: By keeping the ball close. Also you can ask about different surfaces to play the ball with. 8

Number of Players: works best with teams of 3 Object: be the first to knock three balls off their cones to win Equipment: 8 balls, 18 cones (can set more Instructions: This is a race to see which team can knock all three balls off their cones first. Players should line up behind the cone gates. The first player dribbles to the shooting area and then takes a shot at knocking off a ball. Whether they miss or hit they must collect the ball and pass it back to the next person in line. And the process continues. The shooting area! What does this activity do? This is an exciting game that gets the kids moving quickly! It incorporates dribbling, shooting and passing skills. As well as having a conditioning element. 9

Number of Players: two teams, no more than 6 per team Object: Win the ball and then score as quickly as possible Equipment: ball, cones, pinnies and two goals Guided Questioning How can we score more easily? Answer: By going away from the other team. Instructions: Create two teams. Assign a number to each player (1 thru 6) and the same the numbers to the opposing team (and they will forget their numbers the first time you play this). Set a point total that needs to be reached to win. The coach will throw a ball out and call a number. The players with those numbers will run out, try and win the ball and then try and score. They can score in any goal. If the balls goes out of set area the play is over. What does this activity do? Helps the players move to an open ball, collect and control the ball. The ability to score in any goal presents the player with a choice that he or she must make as they get to the ball. Increasing Difficulty You can eventually call multiple numbers and also require at least one pass before attempting to score. Also cones could be put in the goal to block off the center forcing the players to shoot for the corners. 10

Number of Players: Any Object: To get players to dribble in an open space, get their heads up and gain confidence with the ball Equipment: balls and cones What does this activity do? It helps players gain confidence with the ball. Plus each player can move at his or her own pace. Instructions: This activity can be done in progressive steps, increasing in difficulty. Start by having players simply dribble around in a large open space without bumping into each other for a set period of time. Have them rest, ask what parts of the foot they used and what other parts can be used. Then have them use a named part. You can have then try any moves they know while dribbling. You can increase the difficulty by adding short bursts of movement on the word go or having to leave your ball and find another as quickly as possible. Guided Questioning This is also perfect game to ask the players how can they avoid each other? Answer: By keeping our heads up and looking where we are going. Also you want them to think about all the parts of their foot that a ball can played off of and then try them. Ask about the different surfaces. Inside, out side, on the laces and the bottom of your foot are all good answers. 11

Number of Players: Even numbers of players Object: Score points by dribbling over the opposing player s end line Equipment: a ball per set of players and cones What does this do? Helps players to learn to take on another player one on one as well as increasing ball control and dribbling skills. This activity also has a great conditioning element. Instructions: This is a one on one dribbling activity. Players are lined up against another player with end line goals on either side. The one rule is that to score the players must dribble across the line with the ball in control. Play in intervals of about 30 seconds. The player with the most goals moves right, the player with the least moves left. If there is a tie try and get the players to come to an agreement of who should move right or left. Players of similar ability will eventually be playing each other. Controlling Play What s great about this game is that the coach controls the time and therefore can control the action sometimes to favor a player who might be struggling. If a player scores who doesn t always you can stop play. Time flies! Little wins can mean a lot! 12

Number of Players: 3 teams, 3-5 players per team Object: First team to score gets to stay on the field of play Equipment: ball, cones, 3 different colored pinnies and two goals NO GOALIES!!!! Instructions: Set up a small field of play with two goals. Create three teams with equal number of players. Two teams take the field while the other rests. A ball is put into play until one team scores. The winning team stays on to face the new team on the field. The ball should be played in quickly by the coach forcing the oncoming team to engage quickly. The off team should rest and be ready to jump back on. No goalies! What does this activity do? This activity simulates game play and is meant to have quick team changes, fast play and lots of scoring opportunities. Guided Questioning This game provides lots of coachable moments. Ask the players how they might create better opportunities to score. Your looking for by passing more. Then ask how do we pass more, how do you make that happen? Get the players to think about spacing and passing on their own will begin to spark their own creativity in the game play. 13

Number of Players: 6-12 players Object: To practice shooting and dribbling in space Equipment: each player with a ball, cones and two goals What does this activity do? Firstly it gives the players lots of shots. It also gives players practice dribbling in a small area. Also it forces the players to get their heads up and make decisions. Instructions: Set up the playing field as shown below. Two sets of players should be assigned numbers (1 thru 5). Each player should have a ball and instructed to start dribbling in the restricted area. The coach will call a number. The player with the number must dribble quickly towards a goal and shoot. If a player is already in the shooting area the other player must turn and shoot on the other goal. They the collect the ball and begin dribbling again in the restricted area. Guided Questioning Ask players what other surfaces can they shoot with? Instep, laces and the outside of the foot. Get them to try different shoots. What are some of the ways to avoid bumping into other players in the dribbling area? Looking up, dribbling with the ball close and small touches are all good responses. Increasing Difficulty You can eventually call multiple numbers to create more chaos. Also cones could be put in the goal to block off the center forcing the players to shoot for the corners. Eventually goalies could be added. 14

Guided Questioning Number of Players: Any Object: Coach throws out the players ball and instructs them to bring the ball back in various ways Equipment: each player has a ball This game is more or less just a fun game. It helps the players in coordination, movement and using different parts of the body. Get them involved by asked What other ways can we bring the ball back?. This another game you can get creative with. You can have the kids throw the ball up and jump up the catch it. Instructions: This is fun game for the kids and creates great interaction between the players and coaches. The coach determines how the players should return the ball to them. The coach then takes the players ball and throws it away. The player should print to the ball and return it using the method described outside of left foot, only using the bottom of their foot. This game allows player to move at their own pace and skill level. Green light! 15