Relationship

Creating and maintaining environments for youth in football

Over the past four weeks (and after having been training for 18 years) I have noticed some very disturbing environments. It is concerning for me as a coach, parent and independent observer to have witnessed the high level academies, the middle ground and the bases and to be constantly told “it is improving”.

I’ve seen some good examples of well-meaning people managing security while giving property to young people. It is not easy to do. The other thing that is not easy to do is to manage the adrenaline and the feelings. We all want our own children to do well. That’s a fact. Whether it’s doing homework, modeling, swimming, or playing soccer. However, from the above, how do people change their methods? How would an adult change his way of thinking?

The game is exciting – Done. People visit stadiums, watch adults, complain about the referee’s decisions, and complain all week if our supported teams lose. To the point of becoming almost like Piers Morgan. However, there is a clear difference. The people you yell at, cheer for, and lament at are adults. They can cope in pressurized adult environments. The best can even block them and work. It takes years of practice. Playing in the Champions League for millions of pounds is one thing, playing in front of 30 people on a 5v5 artificial grass pitch is just another.

The two environments are not linked. They are not replicas. Children, with their imagination, will mentally try to visit and dream of such a stadium. This is all the pressure they need.

We are missing a great trick. The street and the patio that we used to comment on while we played and pretended to be gazza or maradona was our pressure. The next defender is pressure. The last gasp that saves is pressure.

Unfortunately, the following is additional pressure on young people:

Getting kids to play in set positions, most of those who have played will tell you, you don’t end up playing in it for long.

· Yelling things like “don’t mess with that in your box, get rid of it, clean it up, pass it, put the line down” and so on. I said from my last 4 weeks up to 25 times in an hour by an adult to 1-5 children. Confusion and pressure.

· Spectators yelling “board it, pass-pass-pass, deep inside.” It’s been done for years, I know I played, but it’s no use.

· A parent yelling “tackle” is also a motivation to increase aggression. Was the boy going to board anyway? Probably.

Good Players Can’t Play – They face young team managers going from man to man, even 2 players mark them, but not led by children, just so the adult can win.

· I have witnessed excessive fouls by young players who, instead of shaking hands and lifting children, laugh when the “tackle” has become too emphasized. Just wait until the tackle guy plays at a good level (if they pull it off without technique or skill, probably not), the tackle will turn into a chase as players will dance around it or play through it.

Do you want your child to play and enjoy and be good and win at 15, 16 and over? I am sure the answer is yes. So you need to stop now and think. The 7 to 9 year old age groups are the key to the following to make them good 16 year olds:

Freedom to try things – 1v1 moves without fear of losing the ball, playing from the goalkeeper and dribbling anywhere on the field.

Remember that the 5v5 pitch is only a quarter of a full-size pitch. What they do in front of their own goal they will do in the whole room when they are older. If they just clear the ball now, they won’t know anything different.

· Scores should not be recorded. In my opinion, any league that asks for scores for u7-14 games is failing the kids. It makes adults check them in and makes them take developmental shortcuts. It does not make any sense.

Man of the match trophies and awards – I have rarely seen an award given for a good series of turns, skills, and technicalities. I heard a lot of “brave, worked hard and even his … shift this week. What’s the point? Again, an adult idea for some strange reason not the child’s (uncontaminated beginner) idea.”

Not commenting on children showing off and forcing them to pass – many skills are lost not only in facing the players – agility, acceleration and deceleration, movement, awareness, touch and use of both feet, use of different parts of the foot, etc. . By not allowing dribbling and self-decisions, you are holding back all children’s athletic development.

The best gaming environments I’ve seen are as follows:

· The children arrive, shake hands with the coaches.

Costume: random selection, age group matching, non-biased from birth, let the children choose their teams, prepare together if possible for social reasons

· Few words from the coaches: Besides “have fun, be an exciting player, can you think of how to improve while you play?”

· No training organization – let this happen. The children will move to the positions, but they know that they can move anywhere on the field. I often hear “you are the defenders and don’t go over the midway line.” You can also say not to play.

· Never say things like “do a job or work hard” it’s not a chore, it’s a fun game

· Questions are asked only at intervals – what if? How could you? If that happens, what should we do? Scenario planning.

Don’t say anything to them while you play. They will communicate if allowed anyway. They will communicate like other 7-year-olds do. Somehow they get it. Saying things during the game is one of the worst things any coach or parent can do adding pressure, stifling creativity and decision making and ending in panic over the results.

· Is a referee needed? Or just a facilitator managing security? The latter is fine. If we encourage honesty and fair play and set good guidelines, it works.

Certain rules – allow dribbling, futsal passes – why do we encourage throw-ins with young children? Mix.

· Parents’ comments: are they encouraging? If I am a goalkeeper and I stop a certain scoring opportunity, I have just saved it. I am happy in myself as I was. I already know or I even got ahead of myself. So why do I need a “great save” chorus, as it was probably not a great save but my own achievement and that of my teams? Debatable?

If you have 4 outfield players, instead of saying “we’re going to play with 2 defenders, 1 midfielder and 1 forward,” ask the children. They’ll come up with some wonderful concoctions and then they can go and play that way or go and follow the ball. The ball, you must remember, is the real reason we played the game from a young age. This changes a bit over time when we spend almost no time working on tactics as we get older and play at a higher level. There is absolutely nothing wrong with children wanting the ball. There is nothing wrong with encouraging dribbling. They will lose the ball. That’s when the next player has their turn. Too many are ramming passes and dumping the ball down the children’s throats. Let’s put your techniques on point and then worry about winning later.

I have seen 4 weeks of games as of late and have yet to see any kid who played in goal get out of line. Why aren’t children taught the whole game? Again, the adult instruction is not intelligence, but more aggression and the spirit of Dunkirk.

Faced with such frustration, a grandfather told his grandson that just to start the field “I might as well be there so they don’t score.”

I’ve also seen a rise in the aspiring match reporter. They also talk about scores, wins, etc. Gladly, the team my son has started to play for does not promote this. Children do not know the score. They keep playing after the game. They have the social and psychological corners taken care of. They answer questions and behave in a pleasant manner. They’re playing. An opposition coach said his team had won “again” 11-7 (I think). He told his player, since they didn’t know, of course. He then proceeded to hand out the MOM award to applause from the parents. Fortunately, my children’s team continued to play each other on a goal while still smiling. No one asked “why don’t we get a medal?” This particular game, whatever the score, was full of “pass, pass, down the line,” but a goal was scored with a dribble without the player listening. Nice job, didn’t really. “We won” said the coach; the other team had shared the same playing time and had eliminated the two best players who were not worried about the score. They changed the goalkeeper 3 times. The kids had fun. The ‘coach’ did not take this information into account, since many only live from the final result, not the process. They don’t see the potential 16-year-old.

I write this with a great passion for the development of young players. I’ve seen some great kids thrive in the last 10 years and unfortunately I’ve seen some with great potential get ruined by coaches. Trainers who are not really putting themselves in children’s boots.

Compare the smile to the serious, pressurized face and I know which one I prefer to see.

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