Soccer JONG in need of some quick help!!!

[mnflyfish]

My 4 year old wanted to sign up for soccer so I got her stuff in on time. On Friday, I get a call from the coordinator that they don't have enough coaches to fill all the teams and if some parents don't step up they won't be able to have the "little kids" season. Ok, I coached high school ski racing, I raced in high school and college and soccer was a huge part of dry land for us so I agreed to coach(I was thinking assistant), then they told me that I'm the head coach for the Westonka Sharks!?!?!?!?!?!

Anyone have any advice? I played one year of organized soccer, in kindergarten (I'm 37!!) and the dry land stuff just was a chance for us to screw around and get in some running. I could really use some advice on some fun drills for 4 and 5 year olds that will hold their attention for about 5 minutes a piece and hopefully they'll learn a skill or two in the process. Frankly I'm currently reading through the rules of soccer, wow not what I remember, guess we weren't too concerned when we were using soccer as a training piece, but I really want to keep this fun, not a ton of structure. I grew up in a hockey program that was far too serious from the start. It was too much for me and I quit. My goal is for the kids to have fun, that none of them quit because of the program I put together, and that they have a decent shot of learning something! Oh, and I have a cooler full of juice boxes so that's covered.

So any advice would be great! I'll be sitting here with a glass of wine trying to put together some stuff until late tonight and checking in here tomorrow. Please help!

Thanks,
Jay

[hutash]

Don't worry about coaching the little ones, there is very little coaching involved. Your goal will be to keep them entertained for an hour once or twice a week. AYSO has tons of fun activities that the kids play, and actually learn basic skills at the same the same time. I have never coached, but I helped out plenty of times while my two girls played at the age. Forget coaching, think playing games with soccer balls. Be supportive, encouraging, all that stuff. Most of all have fun. It is not about winning at this age, but instilling the love of the game.

[hutash]

I guess I should list some games. Monkey in the middle- one (or more) kid in the center, others in a circle around him kicking balls at him. Who ever hits him leaves the center. Streakers- kids line up in two lines other kid(s) run down the center while the others kick balls at them. If you hit them you get to run down the middle. Sharks and minnow- basically tag with a soccer ball.One kid has the ball, and who ever he hits is now it, and has to hit the next person to become it. Variation on S and M- one kid has the ball and the other kids try to steal it. If they kick it out of the circle they become it, and dibble the ball teying to keep others from stealing it.

[RShea]

At that age the fun and fundamentals are the key. Get them started with some ball handling drills, teach them good kicking and passing, throw in's etc. Do not get too carried away with too much other than preparing for games and not being in one big bunch all around the ball (looks more like a rugby match or definitely school yard pick up games)

Maybe pick up a book video or 2 on soccer coaching fundamentals.

[mnflyfish]

Get them started with some ball handling drills, teach them good kicking and passing, throw in's etc.

Yeah, first off I have to get myself doing some ball handling drills! As soon as it stops raining this morning I'm going outside and try some of the drills I found last night on various sites. All the sites said that kids need a picture and that I should demonstrate eah drill for the kids-Oh No! So if your driving by the field by my office today at lunch sit back and have a good laugh on me!

That and if anyone has any examples as to how a coach got the parents involved I'm all ears! I'll be thrilled if a parent steps up each practice with a treat for the kids, but I would be thrilled if one had actual soccer experience.

I'm still studying but will continue to keep checking here right up until practice time!

Jay

[BeanDip4All]

Jay, that's so cute! AWWWW. Your daughter is going to have a blast! It's always so fun when "dad" is the coach!

A little older than 4 and 5 year olds, but I run a program where we coach 3rd & 4th grade girls to train for a 5k over the course of 12 weeks. www.jillrabbit.org

We have a couple of fun drills and games that we use that I would imagine would crossover to soccer. The good thing is that every drill I use has been studied to death for maximum impact, effectiveness, etc (we have 1020, so everything has to be documented like crazy). A lot of them are silly and fun, but also are designed to get them moving.

If you want, PM me and I'll call you and give you some ideas from our curriculum.

[Mr.Scruff]

Let the goalie get some practise, I was an award winning goalie when I was a littlun but I didn't get to do anything at team training

Do like cone dribbling, passing, setups etc. followed by a shot on goal, give it a reward for getting it right.

[hutash]

Don't ask parents if they want to help, tell them they each will have a job to do. Find a good team "Mom" which can be a Dad and have them organize all the ancillary things like snacks, banners, trophies, team party,et cetera.

[72Twenty]

"Kick the ball that way."

[pechelman]

Id imagine you could modify the drills you are accostomed to from having grown up in hockey. Should be pretty similar. maybe?

Also Id say to utilize drills where there is more than just one soccer ball so no one gets excluded. If you do the circle thingies, maybe make 2 smaller groups or one large group with two balls? I have no idea, im talking out of my ass.
But I think my not being excluded point is a good one.

[strawjack]

i was in the same boat as you five yrs ago and im still in it!

soccer is the easiest of all the sports to coach. 4yrs is really young for structure. that should be the last thing on your mind...let them be little kids. they will want to chase the ball...and let them. you'll find most books to be geared toward 6-8+ in age.

take this for what its worth...

every kid should have a ball during practice.

a good drill for awareness is having them dribble the ball from one point to another. have them trap it when you blow the whistle or tell them to stop. change the traps up...feet, knee, butt, head...they love the goofy ones. that drill teaches to keep the ball close...they don't want to be last. as they get older use hand signals instead of verbal commands...keep their heads up.

shoot on goal drills...they're just fun...kids love to do that.

short sided games should occupy most of your time. 3 vs 3 or 4 v 4 depending on how many kids you have. if you have more than that try using two balls. that will incorporate more kids into the action. you'll find that there will be certain kids that are much stronger and aware at the younger ages. they will dominate...two balls gives the others a chance to touch the ball.

no goalies...too young. our K program just got rid of them this year. no need.

[mnflyfish]

Id imagine you could modify the drills you are accostomed to from having grown up in hockey. Should be pretty similar. maybe?

That is pretty funny. My father-in-law was giving me shit on Sat about my new coaching position. He said something about getting the kids to set up the power play... But he does have a point, it's a pretty similar game.

Jay

[PNWbrit]

Try to encourage anything that get's them moving the ball to each other rather them moving to the ball.

[mnflyfish]

OK, I think I have some good ideas, and I broke down the list of things the park board wants the kids to learn. Today I have to have a parents meeting first, then we'll get the kids moving with some stretching, "ships across the ocean" etc. It's cold out today, low 40's, so I'll cut the meeting short to get the kids moving and ask the parents to hold their questions until the end while the kids enjoy the juice boxes I bought. The first skill I'm suppose to teach is dribbling, so I have a game or two that we can do for this. Then if time allows we'll move on to a little passing, or better yet just line them up and let them kick into the net. I'll play goal, though in their games they don't have a goalie yet.
Then I'll pass out the juice and rope the parents into helping out!

Thanks to everyone for your advice, Tacoma I will PM you tomorrow about your drills, they sound great! Now I'm off to buy name tags that I can stick on the kids to help me with their names. Can you believe that my daughter is the only Johnson on a team in Minnesota? Half of the names I can't even pronounce, and I have a Norsk background. I'm going to sound like a short order cook at a Lutefisk diner cheering on my team. Hunter, Lars, Inga, go get that ball!!!

Thanks again,
Jay

[hutash]

Check out the AYSO (american youth soccer organization) website if you are not part of that organization. It is hugh here in Califonia, and they have tons of info.

Don't cut the parents any slack, or you will wind up doing everything. I have seen it happen too many times in the years my kids played.

[Sinecure]

I've coached my kids' teams from age 4 through around 10. Its a blast. The best is when you see all the kids downtown and they run up and say "hi coach" with a big smile.

At that age, drills are a joke. The most important thing of all is that the kids have fun. In fact I taught them that the number one rule of soccer is to have fun and number two is be safe (they don't get that part, but they understand have fun).

Critical: Remind parents that their job is to cheer, not coach and never to run out on the field when their little baby falls down.

My goal was to make it so much fun that the kids wanted to play soccer again the next season (same rule I apply to my kids regarding skiing).

The drills mentioned above are good (some are too complex - keep it really simple). Be sure to do some goalie training for a few of them each week. Sharks and Minnows is a very popular game and does a few things. You line them up on one line with a kid in the middle. They have to dribble the ball to the other side and the kid in the middle (the shark) has to try to steal the ball and kick it out to the side. If you get your ball stolen, you become a shark. There's another version where you start with the kids at one end and a coach on either side with a bunch of balls. The kids have to run the guantlet without getting hit by a ball. If they get hit, they become a shooter. They're only allowed to aim below the waist. The kickers learn to lead the runner and the other kids get some exercise.

Kids that age fall down a lot. Some are tough and will shake it off easily. Others will want to cry at first. We instituted a remedy called Shake It Out. If a kid fell down and got hurt (hurt is a relative term - you'll know if they are really hurt and then I'd never do what I'm about to suggest). As coach you are responsible to tend to the kid (again, remind parents not to run out and start commiserating with their kids - it'll just make it worse). I always would ask how they were and then ask if they want me to "shake it out". 8/10 times they'd say yes. I always showed them what shake it out meant at one of the first practices (usually demonstrating with my daughter) and always warned parents that I was going to do this. If they agree to shake it out, I pick them up by the ankles and shake them. Every kid on both teams will begin laughing histerically and the kid will almost instantly be ready to go again.

Another drill that I like and the kids think is cool: Stand them in a single file line at midfield. You stand about 1/2 way to the goal. The kids have to take 2-3 steps (running) then do a sommersault. As they tumble, you roll the ball slowly to a spot a step or two from where they'll come back up. They have to stand back up, pick up the ball, dribble down field and put it in the net. Its a great way to teach them how to deal with falling down and getting right back up. Plus they'll love getting dirty. A similar version requires two coaches. Same line up. Except one of the coaches lies on the field where the sommersault would have been. The kids have to jump over the coach and collect the ball that the other coach is rolling just beyond the prone coach. Then dribble down and shoot.

As for the games, if you can get them to all go in the same direction and not totally bunch on the ball, you'll be doing great. For some kids, its a great game if they just get to kick the ball once. You'll have one or two kids on the team who actually understand how to shoot and score. They'll score 90% of your goals. You'll have 1 or 2 daisy pickers who literally stand around completely oblivious to the game. If they can kick the ball, they make good defensemen. If you are playing AYSO, you may have a limit to how many goals you are allowed to be up by. Be sure to come up with a code word for the kids that they know means they can't score any more. Or if they're really clever (this really only works when they are a little older), when you get up by 3-4 goals, force them to shoot with their weak foot, after 2-3 passes. Putting the weakest kid in goal and the two strongest on defense is also a good way to slow the scoring.

Be sure to set expectations with parents, and require (don't ask, tell) them to participate in some fashion. Photographer, Team Parent, Banner Person are important. Photog is obvious. Team parent is responsible for organizing the snack schedule and the end-of-season party. Banner person orders the banner and makes sure it gets to each game. Orange slices at half time are cool and there are some surprisingly good healthy snacks out there (apple slices at costco/safeway are popular, so are Nature Valley granola bars).

Like you I played very little soccer. I was on the JV team in high school, but only because it was great dry-land training for ski team. What little knowledge I had was good enough up to about the U10 level.

[mnflyfish]

Sinecure,

Well the first night went pretty well except is rained like hell and there were too many kids to take it inside to kick the ball around. We did however have a team/parent meeting. I "forgot" a pen for the snacks sign-up so the first mom to volunteer to bring snacks for the next practice, I handed the sign-up sheet to and put her in charge. I did get another Dad to volunteer as an assistant coach o I have some help. We got all the documents out, and I emplained that the goal for me was that every kids have a great time, and if they take a skill or two with them super. Secretely my real goal is that they have fun and none of them quit because of something I did. That is my biggest fear, I had a baseball coach fo that to me. I didn't go back to the sport until high school and frankly I was a really good pitcher. I may have been a lot better if there hadn't been that gap. I don't blame the coach, but I don't want to give some kid an excuse.

Back to the fun part, my daughter did a summer soccer camp and I went to the video and picked up a few fun games to introduce over the coming weeks. My daughter's favorite is Mr. Fox. The kids yell Mr. Fox, what time is it, and me (the fox) says it's 8 o'clock, and the kids dribble 8 times in my direction. When the fox replies LUNCH TIME, all the kids reverse and dribble back to the safe zone as fast as they can but if I steal the ball they become foxes.

That and some of the others and of course snack time and things should go pretty good. Oh and I brought the snack this week and brought a bunch extra anticipating brothers and sisters and had one extra. Cool, a treat for me on the drive home.

Again thanks for everything and when we get the team pic, I'll try to scan it and post it.

Jay