There are thousands of children of all ages playing soccer today, with most of these youngsters in the six- to sixteen-year age bracket. Whilst this high participation rate is very encouraging for the sport and its fans, soccer clubs and sports organisations often have to rely on mums and dads to act as volunteer coaching staff.
Here is a valuable guidebook for parents and coaches of children's soccer teams, particularly those who have little or no knowledge of the game. The first section looks at the role of the coach, providing simple, sensible guidelines for an effective coaching season. Information on how best to teach children is also included, with an emphasis on repetition, praise, constructive criticism and, of course, fun.
The second section covers the most important aspects of young player games, including basic skill development, through a series of safe, basic exercises accompanied by easy-to-follow illustrations and diagrams covering everything from simple passes to the safe and correct method for heading a ball. These exercises are easy for novice coaches to incorporate into their training sessions. There are also sections on the rules of the game, dealing with injuries and warming up.
The final section focuses on training different age groups, putting all the previous information into practice and, of course, the main objective: helping kids enjoy a healthy, active outdoor game that is fun to play.
