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What expectations do you set around training attendance?

Laura Wildbore

Coach U7s going to U8s next year and we have several players who are 100% committed and turn up twice a week to training and the matches. We then have a handful of players who have other commitments and only show for games and rarely make training. These players are then all given equal game time and with a squad of 10 @ 5 a side it means that 4 of them only get 10mns on pitch and have to play 10mns in goal. It also becomes hard to then work on areas for improvement after games as half the team are missing. I also think team building is so important at this age and is integral for their development.  Interested to hear how you manage these situations and how you set expectations with parents around commitment and attendance? Obviously first port of call is to talk to the parents so it was more club stance on attendance and playing time I was looking for insight on.

Parents
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    Hi Laura. My experience over different ages and different clubs is that principles are easier to instil than fixed rules. My current team, young teenage girls, are not that fussed or even notice a team selection that was absent from training. We have multiple rolling subs and and I reinforce 'you are starting as sub because we did X in training and that will give you some time to watch what we do/what you missed (they know the difference!) We also have separated parents and the challenges that can bring (so I never want a kid to think they are being punished for their parents feud), and at 13 they are also experiencing puberty and react differently. My take away is that you can use your substitution policy and time with those kids to help them make those attendance decisions or at least help you understand if it is motivation or other stuff in their often busy (too busy) lives. They personally often have little or no control over attendance (i was told no late kids, only late parents - bit simplistic I know) hope this is helpful

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  • 0

    Hi Laura. My experience over different ages and different clubs is that principles are easier to instil than fixed rules. My current team, young teenage girls, are not that fussed or even notice a team selection that was absent from training. We have multiple rolling subs and and I reinforce 'you are starting as sub because we did X in training and that will give you some time to watch what we do/what you missed (they know the difference!) We also have separated parents and the challenges that can bring (so I never want a kid to think they are being punished for their parents feud), and at 13 they are also experiencing puberty and react differently. My take away is that you can use your substitution policy and time with those kids to help them make those attendance decisions or at least help you understand if it is motivation or other stuff in their often busy (too busy) lives. They personally often have little or no control over attendance (i was told no late kids, only late parents - bit simplistic I know) hope this is helpful

Children
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