New to coaching

Hi so I recently passed my introduction to coaching and have never done any practical coaching and I am about to start coaching an under 11 girls team I'm just wondering if there any tips or things to start positively 

  • Identify your teams strengths and weaknesees and then design your drills to that. Repetition of drills is key but also make sure its fun. Plus do you have  older age groups ie under 14/15 who may have someone who wants to get into coaching and could be part of your coaching set up as we find our group engage well with someone closer to their age. Good luck

  • Some things I learned

    Match like drills help so much - kids enjoy them and they're developing teamwork at the same time.

    Explain the drills - why are you doing them, what is the aim, and reflect with them afterwards on how they did and could improve next time. 

    I'm not a big fan of drills with massive lines of kids waiting a turn, shooting drills are the exception so we tend to do that in a smaller group at a time so nobody is waiting around too long and usually focussed on technique. 

    Keep the session structured - we do three drills per session max, but usually with a progression built in - you can decide if you to work on multiple things in one session or deeper into one area (ie, pressing session, passing session, formation etc)

    Be adaptable - sometimes what you have planned isn't working, so be flexible about the plans. For example, the other week we were doing a drill and the kids body shape when receiving the ball wasn't quite right, so we threw in a different drill for 10 minutes on receiving the ball - very specific skill, but one we can then challenge them in a small match to practise. 

    More than that, you'll work out what your own style is - and also remember they're 10 and 11 - they'll have off days!