How to Coach Your Team on Game Day
What is appropriate behavior for a soccer coach during game time?Soccer America Magazine recently came up with some tips for youth soccer coaches on how to coach effectively once the game is underway.
- Keep your comments to a minimum during the game so that it carries more weight. Give short tidbits of information to your players. Always be positive. As your players get older, you can talk to them in more detail.
- Keep a small note pad and pen with you so that you can record your observations. This will help you to remember those key points to stress to your team moments before the game, at halftime, after the match and to guide your upcoming training sessions. Note everything from injuries to equipment needs!
- Relax and have patience. In a very real sense you are the teacher, your players are the students and the game is the "exam." What you observe in the game will dictate what you need to work upon in future training sessions to improve upcoming "exams." All youth players (as do students) need plenty of time to develop and learn the game.