Soccer Coaches, What Did You Like/dislike?

I love that my son's coach kneels/crouches down to talk eye to eye to my son and his teammates. He also knew ever kid's name by the second practice, which is awesome!

What I disliked was that the coach didn't feel he needed to keep tabs on all the kids and let some - including my child - wander around instead of encouraging and enforcing her to play as a team. The practice was minimal and even I felt that age group could have done more in terms of learning the basics. He concentrated on his own child and the 2 others (out of 7) who were older and more experienced in soccer. It was my daughter's first time in an organized sport and I felt she should have had better instruction. We did not go again this year.

i totally agree with the previous poster - the one thing i would like to see my son's coach do more (he is 4) is keep everyone in a group and focused. i have some really cute pictures of my son using the orange cones as goggles. but it's frustrating. he doesn't have the greatest attention span and the coach is a younger guy, i would say early 20's, and he is great with the kids, but he doesn't really keep tabs on everyone. i think he's not comfortable with the authority thing, he's more interested in just having fun with the kids. which is what i LOVE about him. he makes it fun, he has creative games for the kids to play that are age-appropriate, but incorporate soccer skills. he does great with them.

Disliked coaches who didn't give kids equal playing time.

I hate screamers! I dislike coaches who play favorites or allow certain parents to take over.
I love the coaches that make it fun for the kids, that let everyone play, that don't allow a child to be blamed for losing the game, and cupcakes. I stunk at basketball, but I kept going because the M. baked and mine didn't.

My daughter has had the same soccer coach since she was four, and the teamm has pretty much stayed intact because our coach is so great. One of the things I love about him is that he ALWAYS encourages good sportsmanship and good character, over the game. The girls know that winning the game is secondary to having fun and showing everyone respect.

Also, I think he does a great job of keeping it age appropriate. He never tries to over-complicate. As the girls have grown, he adds new rules, creates new positions, etc., but never before it is age appropriate.

He also does things to keep the girls' attention. That age, the attention-span is pretty short, so you gotta keep it fast-moving and interesting.

My only complaint would be that he does not tend to address problem girls. For example, one girl on our team is a ball-hog. She refuses to pass, she steals from her own team mates, etc. Ideally, I would love it if the coach would talk with her parents about teaching her to share, respect her team mates and pass, at home. Along those lines, I think he should provide more feedback, positive or negative, to ALL of the parents.

I was a little league soccer coach many many years ago with 2 other ppl. We ended up telling the other man to calm it down a bit. He was starting to yell at the kids and they would come to me crying. I mean they are just kids out to have some fun. He was taking it to literally. Just make sure that win or lose that they are having fun and that they are all involved in the game. I remember one little girl, she was so cute. One of the kids asked what the score was and she said "we're winning! It's 0 0!"
Just do the basics and don't get to involved with the fancy stuff. Just have fun and they will have fun too. Good luck and enjoy every minute of it!

My DH helped coach soccer for that age group this past fall. The biggest hurdle they had was keeping the children's attention! Breaking practice up with games like duck duck goose or a silly face making contest as well as water breaks helped a lot with that.

My husband and I have coached for several years. Your biggest challenge will be keeping their attention :) After stretches, make each drill a game (sharks & mino's, dribble through the cones, etc) - kids love games and they don't realize they're actually learning skills. Google soccer drills for 4 year olds (or 5,etc) and you'll probably get a great list. Also keep the practice at an hour. Any more than that and you'll lose them. Have a great time!!

You already have gotten a lot of good advice here. My daughter began playing soccer at age 4 1/2, and continued through 12th grade, playing for competitive teams and for her high school. Her first coaches were truly kind and caring people who made sure the girls had fun. These early experiences contributed to her enjoyment of the game. At this age, your drills should keep all of the children engaged. If they have to wait their turn, you're likely to lose them! The online isoccer training information has some activities for this age. It's a skills based program to help development through high school. Good luck and most importantly, have fun.