Have you ever seen young soccer players getting ready for a match and noticed how confident they are? How they’re ready to win that match, and overcome anything that their opponents might bring to the game? The way that players regard soccer as a sport and as a game has a huge impact on their attitude, and as a result, on their performance. Can you affect and increase confidence in your players? You bet! You can start by learning how to spot indicators that tell you which players are displaying healthy confidence. Why is this important? A successful team starts with confident players who can cope...

Being a parent is hard enough. It’s even harder when your child is a competitive soccer player. You have to know just what to say before, during, and after every game, and this is no easy task. Will you be helping or hindering the coach? Do you care? Some parents aren’t involved in the game at all. So here’s some insight into the minds of the parents that are standing on the sidelines. Parents have a lot of questions because they’re not sure how to help nurture their child’s soccer playing ability. These days, many soccer pundits are too ready to give advice to parents, restating advice tips...

Three Techniques for Better Coach to Player Communications Part 1 #3 Coaching during the game Here are three proven methods that will help coaches during game play and training sessions. Conditions One great way to get players to practice a specific element of the game is to play a small sided game with a condition attached to it. One example would be first time passing during the last third of the pitch. To set this up, physically mark the last third with red cones. This gives players a visual cue so they’ll know when to use a first time pass. But the ability to hit a first time pass is one thing....

We’ve all seen it: the coach stands on the sidelines shouting orders to the team, but nothing changes on the pitch. The coach repeats the instructions, his voice a little louder this time. Still, no change in the players’ maneuvers. Eventually, the coach’s voice becomes a frantic scream as he becomes frustrated with his players’ apparent refusal to listen. Agitation leads to anger. Why can’t he get the players to listen and follow simple instructions? If this scenario sounds familiar, then you’re in luck, because here are three simple and effective ways for a coach to communicate more...

How To Play A Pressing Football Match Part 1 Pressure Putting on the pressure in a pressing game means a quick attempt to regain possession of the ball from your opponent. The player nearest the ball is responsible for this. A player who loses the ball may be the first to give chase (putting on pressure from the rear), but a second defender should also try to close off chances for the player who has the ball. This player applies pressure at the front. With this move, the opposing player has to concentrate on keeping the ball, which limits their options to short passes or dribbling the ball. The players...