Getting Started

So you've signed up to coach and you don't know whats next. For starters, THANK YOU for stepping up to coach grassroots soccer!  Reach out to CoachCarrie@northaustinsoccer.org if you need additional support during your season. 

Tips for first time coaches:

• organize your team parents - you decide what means of communication works best: email, group text, team site or app

• line up sideline helpers - enlist a few parents to help with team management or snacks, depending on your age group 

• plan and prepare for player-centered grassroots training sessions - research session plans in advance, being well organized will help your practices run smoothly. We recommend following the Play-Practice-Play model, with a weekly focus on a key objective. 

• game day prep - plan to arrive early to games for any field prep you may be responsible for before the game (i.e. depending on your age group; field lining, goal setup/removal, corner flags, unlocking gates/sheds) Communicate with parents to let them know your game location and early arrival time to account for warm ups and referee check-in (recommend, 15-30 minutes early depending on your age group)  

Practice Session Planning  

Following the Play-Practice-Play model is the best way to organize your grassroots practices.  

1. PLAY - setup a simple individual skill game or unstructured play opportunity for pre-practice to allow players to quickly get a ball moving without having to wait for others to arrive over the next 5-10 minutes. Warm up can be worked into the end of the play session when most of the team has arrived. 

2. PRACTICE - organize 2-3 small games/activities that target working on a specific goal for that session (i.e. passing, defending, shooting, possession) 

3. PLAY - scrimmage or play in a small-sided game. Add key targets with addition bonus points if the weekly objective can be displayed during the game. 

Tips for first time coaches:

• PLAN your sessions ahead of time. Aim for one key topic to focus on per week: dribbling, passing, defending, attacking, shooting, 1v1s - 3v3s, possession

• PREPARE in advance. Have all your equipment ready and practice field layout for all session activities before players arrive. This allows for smooth transitions from one activity to the next. Define field/activity boundaries with cones or markers. Utilize true game-like boundaries when possible (use sidelines/goal lines, proper restarts, goal areas as target zones). Good planning and organization will keep the balls rolling more during your practice time. 

• PLAY- make practices FUN! Help foster a love for the game by utilizing small-sided training games that resemble game-like scenarios (i.e. have a goal or target, and an opponent/attacker or defender). Kids learn the game best by playing it, so let them play!     

• OBSERVE & ADAPT training activities based off of the results you desire to achieve. Is the activity objective met too easily? Add challenges to individuals or entire teams (i.e. left/right foot only, pass X amount of times, add more opponents). What if a group is not able to complete the targeted task? Try to remove limitations or add more teammates to create an imbalanced overload to accomplish your goal. As the goal becomes easier to accomplish, remove advantages to increase the challenge as needed. 

Coaching tips for practices: Keep it positive! Make soccer FUN! Ask discovery questions. Avoid drills with kids waiting in lines, play more small-sided games. Make multiple grids for smaller groups so everyone can participate simultaneously if needed. Use water breaks to transition in-between play-practice modes so that you're able to use the time kids are hydrating to rearrange cones and gear needed for the next practice phase. Connect with players individually, ask them how their day at school went. Meet players where they are developmentally, look to praise effort and progress more often than you correct individuals mistakes. 

Many free & paid resources are available for new coaches online. Video resources are often categorized by age groups. Any activity could be modified to be easier for younger kids to understand or more challenging for older players to still enjoy. Feel free to use this website, and the resources linked, as a starting block for exploration.  More skill mastery videos & additional resources for beginner's can be found in the links at the bottom of this page and on the Basic Training Page.

*Remember, do what works best for you and your team! You will learn to recognize which types of games/activities work best for your group. If you find a great session plan that your players love, look for ways to expand and modify that game plan to provide further challenges. Alternatively, you will need to learn to recognize when an activity is not working (i.e. upon review the activity isn't developmentally appropriate for the group, mass chaos begins when they don't understand the flow of an activity, or the group is disengaged and uninterested - aka not having fun.)  and learn to quickly scale down the activity level or move on to keep the positivity level up and get the kids back into action on the field. 

Session Plan Examples

The Tennessee State Soccer Association has put together some great sample practice sessions for various age groups, with challenge variations and coaching tips + a few technical explanation videos. 

More Fun Practice Plans & Small-sided Games from MOJO 

Find MOJO's full video playlist on YouTube here and check out the FREE MOJO APP for easy practice plan customization for your age group! 

Things to consider when planning a practice: age group and number of players, field space/equipment available, key topic. Input a few variables and you can let the MOJO app help you custom pick practice plans according to your needs. 

Advance TECHNICAL SkillS to Grow into