oaching a Soccer Team is about so much more than helping your team learn how to pass, shoot, and score. It is about helping your players learn how to improve their skills on the soccer field AND in their personal lives.
Here are three things you can do as a Coach to help your team and players develop their skills on the Soccer Field and as people.
Work Your Team
Nobody ever became the best at something overnight. The best of the best worked for that title. So the best thing that you can do for your team is practice.
It’s often called, “chopping wood” or “doing the boring stuff”. Running the same drills over and over can get boring, but it will also determine a win or a loss for your team. Apart from the importance of working hard to improve their soccer skills, this will also teach them how to work hard in all aspects of their lives. Teach them how to work hard, and they will be forever grateful.
Create Friendships
A team full of friends is much more likely to succeed than a team of acquaintances.
According to Rachel Pewsey, “A recent study conducted into friendship and teamwork showed that friendship resulted in a big boost to team performance. Teammates who become friends come to truly value each other’s skills and traits.” (Rachel Pewsey, The power of friendship in successful teamwork, Lifestyle)
The goal is to make the players of your team become friends. Not only do you want them to become friends during soccer practice, they should become friends outside of soccer. This will increase the level of trust between players, improve team chemistry, and create support systems for your players.
Foster A Positive Team Culture
Having a team culture that values good sportsmanship, respect, and teamwork will make the biggest difference in your team.
It seems pretty obvious, but you’d be surprised by effect that a positive team culture has on a teams’ players. A positive team culture will motivate, inspire, build confidence, encourage players to perform well, and have other team support when times get difficult.
Let’s keep helping our players develop and keep scoring goals on and off the field.
Kyle.