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 Teaching
Your Child Soccer at Home
Struggling to teach soccer to your child or
younger soccer players?
Many soccer parents want to work with their
children at home on soccer technical skills. However, sometimes
it just gets frustrating. It is critical that you understand
why you are struggling and how to effectively teach what they
need.
Repeating the skill is not improving the
skill.
I can’t tell you the number of times I have
been at the local soccer field and seen the same picture over
and over. A parent will be working with their child trying to
teach them how to kick, how to dribble, how to receive air
balls, etc. It seems that the child is simply repeating the
‘wrong’ skill over and over and never improving. Don’t worry,
you’re not alone. Soccer players DON’T learn by REPEATING the
skill over and over. It simply reinforces the wrong technique.
Most parents are not ‘Soccer Players’.
Let’s face it. A huge percentage of soccer
coaches never played soccer at any competitive level. Don’t
feel bad if you’re a parent that knows nothing about soccer. You
CAN teach your child but it is critical you understand what to
teach and how to teach it.
Parents must get a soccer ball and practice
right along with their child. They must learn the skill and
understand what the body is struggling with. You know what? You
will be surprised what tension this relieves with younger
players. “It’s OK dad, I can’t get it right either.” What a
great statement from a 10 year old.
The SoccerU series is designed to teach
the teacher.
The average soccer parent and soccer coach
will be able to sit down, watch the series and actually ‘live’
through soccer training sessions. You will experience the wrong
way, corrections and the right way to not only perform the
skill, but also how to teach it.
I can’t repeat this often enough, the only
way to teach your child is to learn it yourself and learn how to
teach it. A step by step breakdown of the skills and how to
teach them.
Take it slow.
Two of the biggest problems I see with
parents and young soccer coaches are the lack of repetition and
trying to learn too much, too quickly. These are the golden
years, so take your time.
Work on one new skill a week while
repeating older skills at the same time.
Keep the sessions short and don’t let them
get frustrating.
Reward your child for the effort, not the
result.
Focus on what they are doing in a game when
young. Dribbling, passing and ball control.
Have a 3 – 6 month plan. (2 days a week for
30 minutes or what ever works.)
The greatest gift.
It has been said many times and is my FIRM
belief. The greatest gift you can give to your child is your
time. It will be cherished by both of you forever.
Those afternoons and weekends just messing
around in the backyard and learning new skills will be memories
you keep forever. I have mine and I will never let them go.
Coach "V"
The SoccerU series is the perfect series
for the soccer parent or learning soccer coach.
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