Spring is upon us, and for many families, that means that it’s time to sign up to play spring soccer and encourage your kids to be active. Youth soccer leagues are always looking for volunteers to coach, and do you know who would be great at coaching? You! Your child would love to have you coach their team. They get to spend more time with you, and you might be surprised to find that you enjoy it too.
Coaching sports can be daunting, especially if you aren’t sure about soccer rules and have never coached before. Here are a few ideas to help smooth out the process. You’ll look like a coaching pro in no time!
Good communication
As a coach, you have a lot of information to communicate and a lot of people to talk with. Set up a group communication tool right away. This will allow you to communicate with the parents of your team members all at once, and using an app will help make sure everyone receives the information promptly.
And speaking of communication, be sure to communicate promptly. Give as much notice as you can with regards to where and when practices and games are and make sure to let parents know if there’s anything they should bring.
Practices
If you’re not sure what to do during practices, a quick Google search will give you plenty of ideas. Soccer drills help your team work on skills like dribbling and passing while making sure the kids have fun. A combination of drills and some time spent on scrimmaging and learning the rules will get your team off to a good start.
Shirts
Cool team shirts are one of the most fun parts of playing soccer for kids. Custom shirts help your kids look and feel like a team, and even when the season is over they’ll be able to wear their shirts and remember how much fun they had. Custom soccer uniforms allow you to pick a fun design and add the name and number of each child.
Postseason party
Your team will appreciate it if you throw a party when the season is over. It could be as simple as a pizza picnic at a park with a few soccer balls to kick around, or something more extravagant like heading to a bounce house or even something not soccer-related, such as the zoo. Spend some time together at the end of the season to relax and enjoy each other’s company. The party would be a great time to hand out awards as well.
The great thing about coaching youth sports is that kids are very forgiving. They know you aren’t perfect, so be honest if you’ve made a mistake. The whole team and learn from it together, and the kids and their parents will appreciate your honesty. The most important part of coaching youth soccer is that everyone has fun and learns something from the experience. Even the toughest seasons can be fun with a positive, encouraging coach heading the team.
