Silicon Valley Eagles Blog

In our quest to help the younger soccer players improve, we may have started something that is more harmful than helpful.

It is natural for adults to shout encouragement and advice to children as they are playing. The instinct to help is prevalent in all of us.  As role models, however, we may need to take a look at some other more familiar sports and learn from them.

Picture these examples:

• The long fly ball is heading toward left-center field. The fielders begin to run underneath the ball. Do the coach or parents start yelling directions to the fielders as who, what, where and how to catch the ball?
• The quarterback drops back into the pocket to throw a pass, and his pass protection starts breaking down. Does the football coach or quarterbacks’ parents begin yelling instructions to the scrambler as to where and how to run in order to avoid being sacked?
• The ball handler is in the lane ready to shoot a lay-up. An opponent is coming from the right side to block the shot. Can the coach or shooters parents call out any instruction that will help the player protect the ball from the opponent to get a clear shot at the basket?

You, of course, know that the answer in all the above situations is a loud and resounding – NO!

Practices are a good way to test what snacks work best for your child in regards to energy and performance.  Just as the old adage goes for adult athletes, “Do not try anything new on race day;” this also can be applied to youth soccer players.  Testing what food works well for pre/post practice can then be applied to pre/post games.

A snack before a soccer practice or game should be something that isn’t heavy, but is enough to keep kids fueled. Try to fuel muscles 1-2 hours before an athletic event. Some kids will need two hours to digest before they play. This depends on the individual kid and timing of eating needs to be experimented with at practices. Also, a snack that travels well is best, since travel to and from games is commonplace.Make sure to avoid fatty foods, extra sweet foods, and caffeine. These cause spikes in blood sugar, and then sugar levels can drop quickly during performance. This will make kids feel sluggish.

Here are some examples of good pre-practice and pre-game snacks:

Oh, the weather outside is becoming delightful…
And getting ready for the soccer season can be a little frightful.
Since it is possible for you to make some time to play…
Here are some ideas on preparing your child for the season starting today!

Parents, surely you realize that you are your child’s first and most influential teacher/coach. The stimulation and support you provide can instill a desire for your child to want to improve. So, it is important that you make learning experiences as fun as possible in the hope that your child will eventually become self-motivated to want to improve.

Foremost, you must find out if your child is actually interested in improving during the off-season. Make a conscientious effort to listen to your child by engaging in two-way conversation, meaning you’re talking and listening. Be sure to talk about in which areas of the game your child would like to improve.

1. Teach Your Players the Skills They Need. Strong Basic Skills win games.

SoccerHelp has free No Lines Soccer Drills for ages 4 to 18 that teach Skills and Aggressive Play. 

2. Motivate Your Players to be “Brave” and to “Win 50/50 Balls.”

Every kid wants to be Brave – “Brave” is a more motivating word than “aggressive” or “tough”. Being Brave means not being afraid of the ball, of contact, or of trying. There are lots of ideas about how to motivate this on SoccerHelp.

3. At Practice, Minimize Lines and Maximize Activity.

Lines waste time. The key to learning skills is “Touches on the Ball” – the more touches, the faster kids learn skills. The SoccerHelp No Lines Drills teach players skills and Aggressive Play. Players will get 300% more touches per practice, so one practice is equal to 3.

Has your young athlete ever gone into a game competing against him or herself?

You might be thinking, Of course not! Why would anyone do that? Well, no one goes out there trying to make themselves fail on purpose. But some athletes are still their own worst enemy. The truth is, if you go into a game with low confidence, you are indeed competing against yourself.

Confidence, in a nutshell, is how much conviction athletes have in their ability to succeed. Even if young athletes have the physical ability and raw talent required to be successful, they won’t perform up to that ability if they don’t have confidence in themselves.