Great post imo.

by Mark, O Town, Thursday, July 24, 2014, 15:15 (3586 days ago) @ Puck52
edited by Mark, Thursday, July 24, 2014, 15:26

The only thing I would add (when it comes to my youth coaching philosophy):

8. Every player should have their own ball at practice.

A portion of practice is drilling and every kid needs dedicated time working with the ball. It can be juggling, trapping, passing, shooting, heading, practicing holding the ball and staying between the ball and the defender, running cones with the ball at your foot (left footed, right footed, instep, outstep, top of ball, backwards etc), playing keep away whatever.

Just get the kids dedicated to playing with the ball in their possession for a good portion of their time.

Whether they enjoy it or not comes down to how you manage their expectations.

Like Puck's post, if its not fun, kids wont do it. However, kids loved doing drills when we did them, bc we did them fast and moved on to small sided games. Great energy in the practice makes a big difference in how a kid is enjoying their experience with the game.

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Complete thread:

A soccer note - Greg, 2014-07-24, 08:15
- Not to put too fine a point on it - IrishGuard, 2014-07-25, 07:04
  - Is baseball? - Greg, 2014-07-25, 07:47
    - Baseball is in a world of hurt - crazychester, 2014-07-25, 08:17
      - Somewhat related... - Jim (OFD), 2014-07-25, 08:26
- Well, for all the dudes in this thread .... - Puck52, 2014-07-24, 13:50
  - Great post imo. - Mark, 2014-07-24, 15:15
    - Very true -- we required that they each ... - Puck52, 2014-07-24, 15:50
      - From experience there is only one problem with that. - River, 2014-07-24, 16:12
  - Thanks. Two questions and an explanation - Greg, 2014-07-24, 14:02
    - a few thoughts - Mark, 2014-07-24, 15:06
      - Thanks! A couple thoughts. - Greg, 2014-07-24, 15:19
        
        On No. 2, if you want to be heartened, check out Cromwell - Ken Fowler, 2014-07-24, 15:58
        
        I wonder how much of that - Mark, 2014-07-24, 15:26
    - A few thoughts - Puck52, 2014-07-24, 14:41
      - I like your ideas - Greg, 2014-07-24, 14:50
- To be fair, MLS teams often do well in these friendlies - HCE, 2014-07-24, 09:01
  - Bear in mind that the European teams... - ndroman21, 2014-07-24, 09:06
    - Indeed,which is why these friendlies should be taken - HCE, 2014-07-24, 11:33
- What happened yesterday better open some eyes in the MLS. - River, 2014-07-24, 08:42
  - Not only would I not keep score... - Greg, 2014-07-24, 09:16
  - After watching Chicago play last night... - ndroman21, 2014-07-24, 08:58
  - CASL does that here in Raleigh. - Chris, 2014-07-24, 08:49
    - Good. - River, 2014-07-24, 09:22
  - Don't keep score until middle school? - CK08, 2014-07-24, 08:45
    - My son's U9 coach has an approach I like. - Kevin, 2014-07-24, 10:42
    - Essentially, yes. - River, 2014-07-24, 09:18
    - The tactics that win games in U9 don't develop players. - ndroman21, 2014-07-24, 08:51
      - Maybe other rule changes then? - CK08, 2014-07-24, 09:15
        
        IMO the best way to go is to keep score and make - BillyGoat, 2014-07-24, 09:23
        
        "The world" does not keep score - ndphilo, 2014-07-24, 10:47
        
        There are two different things - CK08, 2014-07-24, 10:50
        
        that's not the world keeping score - Spesh, 2014-07-24, 11:00
        
        I've lost a hell of a lot more than I've won - CK08, 2014-07-24, 11:04
        
        I like the idea of not officially keeping score. - Kevin, 2014-07-24, 12:32
        
        I also like the idea of no trophies - Greg, 2014-07-24, 12:49
        
        No, that is people keeping score - ndphilo, 2014-07-24, 11:00
        
        On a broad scale - CK08, 2014-07-24, 11:03
        
        That's also not score keeping - ndphilo, 2014-07-24, 11:11
        
        I guess I'm not talking about being a good winner - CK08, 2014-07-24, 11:18
        
        Here's hoping you win! - ndphilo, 2014-07-24, 11:37
        
        Interesting - Greg, 2014-07-24, 09:19
        
        In order to be employed, someone is judging us - Ken Fowler, 2014-07-24, 09:25
        
        Here's my thought - CK08, 2014-07-24, 10:13
        
        I just think we need to change what it means to score - Ken Fowler, 2014-07-24, 10:34
        
        This seems truthy - Dylan, 2014-07-24, 10:32
        
        I can only speak for myself - CK08, 2014-07-24, 10:38
        
        How can you say this? - Dylan, 2014-07-24, 10:41
        
        I whole-heartedly agree with the benefits of scorekeeping - crazychester, 2014-07-24, 10:47
        
        No one - Spesh, 2014-07-24, 10:45
        
        Keeping score can equal praise for effort - CK08, 2014-07-24, 10:46
        
        Keeping score in a game so reliant on teamwork - Kevin, 2014-07-24, 10:57
        
        Is your coach named Chuck Martin? - Tim, 2014-07-24, 12:10
        
        I like your coach a lot - Greg, 2014-07-24, 11:03
        
        Again, agreed - crazychester, 2014-07-24, 10:52
        
        Isn't half the world bitching about "entitled millenials"? - CK08, 2014-07-24, 10:44
        
        Or do they just show up because they know they won't "win" - ndphilo, 2014-07-24, 10:56
        
        We don't have to emphasize score keeping - CK08, 2014-07-24, 11:00
        
        The alternative ignores the score - Dylan, 2014-07-24, 11:09
        
        Playing is fun. Winning is more fun. - Ken Fowler, 2014-07-24, 11:23
        
        Winning is fun when you're old enough to know - Dylan, 2014-07-24, 11:28
        
        I recall my kids' teams all taking their losses .... - Puck52, 2014-07-24, 18:26
        
        this really isn't that hard - what are the learning targets? - Spesh, 2014-07-24, 11:20
        
        Winning is one of the …. - Puck52, 2014-07-24, 22:05
        
        Ken's idea would achieve both - CK08, 2014-07-24, 11:25
        
        What happened to both/and? - Ken Fowler, 2014-07-24, 10:58
        
        Sure - ndphilo, 2014-07-24, 11:08
        
        They may be. But like most PopPsy bullshit, - Dylan, 2014-07-24, 10:48
        
        I think it teaches kids... - Greg, 2014-07-24, 10:35
        
        I was the smallest kid on almost any field, even in HS - CK08, 2014-07-24, 10:42
        
        How many did quit? - Dylan, 2014-07-24, 10:45
        
        I honestly can't think of one - CK08, 2014-07-24, 10:58
        
        That's a parent problem, not a sports problem - Ken Fowler, 2014-07-24, 10:42
        
        I love this line - Greg, 2014-07-24, 10:47
        
        12 just seems really late to me - CK08, 2014-07-24, 10:53
        
        Are you sure? How many such leagues did you play in? - JN, 2014-07-24, 11:10
        
        I agree with almost everything you wrote - CK08, 2014-07-24, 11:16
        
        Not quite - JN, 2014-07-24, 11:27
        
        But... - Greg, 2014-07-24, 10:59
        
        But your argument goes further than that - Ken Fowler, 2014-07-24, 10:52
        
        Let's see - Greg, 2014-07-24, 10:57
        
        Kids can't be competitive at 11 years old? - Ken Fowler, 2014-07-24, 10:59
        
        Why do they need to be? - River, 2014-07-24, 11:15
        
        Because it's enjoyable - Ken Fowler, 2014-07-24, 11:24
        
        I get that, but so is just playing. - River, 2014-07-24, 11:46
        
        I think the worry about HS soccer is a tempest ... - Puck52, 2014-07-24, 18:32
        
        Have to draw a line somewhere - Greg, 2014-07-24, 11:05
        
        That's not true for Ken and I - CK08, 2014-07-24, 11:06
        
        THEY *COMPETED* FOR THAT EGG - Ken Fowler, 2014-07-24, 11:06
        
        ~75% of boys keep score anyway, across all sports. - Buck Mulligan, 2014-07-24, 09:42
        
        This. - CK08, 2014-07-24, 10:15
        
        Chicken and egg - Dylan, 2014-07-24, 10:35
        
        If the six year olds had never played in a keep-score game - CK08, 2014-07-24, 10:40
        
        By incessant chatter from overweening parents - Dylan, 2014-07-24, 10:42
        
        That's a parent problem. - CK08, 2014-07-24, 10:47
        
        Um - Greg, 2014-07-24, 10:54
        
        So should we stop talking ND scores with kids? - Ken Fowler, 2014-07-24, 10:55
        
        How do you get that? - Greg, 2014-07-24, 11:06
        
        The subthread leads to that pretty readily - Ken Fowler, 2014-07-24, 11:08
        
        uh, ALL OF THEM - Dylan, 2014-07-24, 10:52
        
        But that's what you're doing - Ken Fowler, 2014-07-24, 10:54
        
        Then let the kids keep score in their heads - Greg, 2014-07-24, 10:32
        
        I'm not sure kids need to learn that at 10 years old. - ndroman21, 2014-07-24, 09:32
        
        I think they do - CK08, 2014-07-24, 10:20
        
        practice vs. games, natch. - Buck Mulligan, 2014-07-24, 10:36
        
        Bingo. - River, 2014-07-24, 09:34
        
        We're in complete agreement. - ndroman21, 2014-07-24, 09:40
        
        Hey Johnny, you scored 6 goals today. You rule! - Greg, 2014-07-24, 09:28
        
        12-13 is too late though - CK08, 2014-07-24, 10:18
        
        That about sums it up. - River, 2014-07-24, 09:42
- The Galaxy? - Chris, 2014-07-24, 08:33
- Homerist comment on Manchester United - Pat (Moco), 2014-07-24, 08:20
  - God bless David Moyes. - tex29, 2014-07-24, 08:22
    - Your mother was a hamster. - Pat (Moco), 2014-07-24, 10:43
- And yet, guys like Besler and Zusi chose to stay at home - Jim (OFD), 2014-07-24, 08:19
  - I tend to think that... - Greg, 2014-07-24, 08:25
    - I'd say our best players have a duty to answer - Dylan, 2014-07-24, 08:28
      - I don't know that's it's a desire not to play the best... - ndroman21, 2014-07-24, 08:46
        
        The league is much closer to buying than selling now - irishoutsider, 2014-07-24, 10:49

the Polo Grounds

Great post imo.