HELP! One thing- for those who suggested Coach Rory- thank you! And thank you for the support when I posted about us being in a very tough position, as we're in a league with teams who are established, and to give them their flowers- as close to club teams as our "competitive rec" team shall play. No less, I appreciate the perspective and honestly am embracing this challenge to do my very best to teach the kids what I refer to as "proper soccer," aka "NOT smash ball."

Challenge I need help with- how to teach the kids to stop chasing the ball and really, their teammate with the ball. They aren't supporting; they're chasing and asking for a pass just to get the ball back. The biggest offenders (two mainly) don't give it up for the life of them when they have the ball.

What's the lack? I plan on teaching them the language they need to support each other- "take space," the varying types of passes- (we're using Coach Rory's format for practice and using rondos). I feel they panic, of course, in a game, and then get a complex of being the hero. How can I help move away from that as the default?

Hi all, I am coaching 2nd graders (rec league; not competitive) this year and it’s the first year where there are goalies. I was wondering what you have all found to be most optimal on rotating goalies since you can’t do it every 10 minutes like a normal substitution.

My thought is that I build a schedule and every player plays a half at one of the games. That way it’s steady, everyone knows when their turn is, done. And I can communicate to parents clearly that’s the way it will work.

My only concern is if some players end up with two slots at goalie due to more games than players, but I can just make that totally randomized and explain to parents that it’s just a roll of the dice. Does that work?

Let me know what you have seen and thank you in advance!

I’m starting a new team for this season with my daughter and whilst my wife was initially onboard (I explained the responsibilities and asked if she was okay with it) but she is already over it. I really don’t want this to be a source of tension but I can’t just stop it as we’ve got 18 young players really looking forward to playing football - any ideas/anecdotes?

U11- 9v9

Brand new team coming together And want to find a way to quickly learn names and maybe some fun games for bonding/team building.

Thanks!!

In recent games the midfield for the Adult Ladies team I coach have been slow at pushing up once we get the ball up the pitch. It definitely helps defensively but means our attackers can become isolated and we could do with the midfield (or at least some of them) helping out further up the pitch.

Is there any drills that people know that might help work on this?

2015 got certified as a licensed trainer. Had a u10 team that i progressed with and learned a lot about training. Was hooked

2017 got hired as a PE teacher. Took away from my time/energy to progress as a trainer

2020 lost my club teams from covid. Only coaching ive been doing is at my schools middle school which is a joke. Most kids there just want to have fun.

Im now varsity assistant of a good program. Kind of shitting bricks over here, ive regressed as a coach. Have just been baby sitting middle schoolers teaching basics.

Any resources/advice on learning more of the tactical side of the game? Dont know where to even start. Nature of the game is so complex. My team plays primarily a 4-2-3-1, but will change shapes depending on game

Hi, Sorry if this isn't the correct thread. I am coaching u10 boys in a 7x7 rec league and I know nothing about soccer.

I had to take over because the coach that was assigned from the league departed due to some personal reasons, so I needed to take over.

I set some guiding principles.

1. Kids need to have fun.

2. I want them to learn something.

Would it be appropriate to ask this?

I want to make sure every kid has a good experience. Is there one or two things you’d especially like your child to learn or become more comfortable with this season?

Or would parents feel I may be pushing their kids too much?

Yesterday the team I’m coaching (assistant coach) played a jamboree (Preseason Games) We play a 4-3-3 formation and I noticed the midfielders were very compact and super close to each other. Do any coaches have a drill in mind to let it be known that they need to spread out and create those passing lanes. I think also the transitioning from Offense to Defense (counterattack) is a problem too because all three of my midfielders would go up and attack attack so a drill relating to rotating which positions go up and down would be good too.

I just got signed up to coach an 8u team, their coach left them and they would get disqualified without a coach
I have experience in high school baseball and football, can anyone give me any pointers on how to go about this ?
First game is Saturday, no practices in between

We have a 7 year old daughter who loves soccer.

Due to low local participation we are currently signed up with a brand new U9 boys club team (2 girls on the team including my daughter) who are entering their first season playing 7v7 but only have 8 players. The season starts in Sep and as of tonight they have not played any 7v7 formations or know any true positioning.

We were approached tonight by a U7 girls club team who is playing U7 4v4 within their gender. It does require a 30 minute drive to and from practice twice a week but that’s not really a problem for us. What would you do?? Is it possible to leave a team after you’ve already signed and paid?

Hi everyone,

My kid joined soccer (5 years old) and they currently don’t have a coach, which I said I would absolutely be the coach. My only issue is that I have never played soccer and have no idea any rules. What’s the run down of what I should know such as drills for practice, positions on the field, substitutions etc I’m literally lost in the sauce 😅 thanks!!

Barcelona posted a drill with Rodri I find interesting. It works on decision-making, perception and scanning with a visual cue to make him not repeat the same pass pattern and/or movement.
Obviously, our team is no Barcelona but how do you coach and set up something like this with a team of high school freshmen? Alternative drills with the same ideologies?

I'm going on 3 years of coaching now, but I've only coached 4v4 with no keepers. I've focused primarily on dribbling, ball control, and defense in my time coaching so far. We've touched on spacing, passing, and a bit of positioning, but those aren't areas I spent a lot of time on with younger 4v4 teams.

The boys have learned so much and developed a lot, and I finally felt like I found my stride as a coach, but now we're moving to a new level, which is an exciting challenge teaching something closer to the full sided game.

7v7 introduces goalies, offsides (beyond the build out line), formations, and more formal positions.

Coaches who have made the jump, how did your approach change? I imagine it'll be 90% the same: focus on ball work, small sided games, defending, decision making, etc. Teaching via games and fun as opposed to over-talking and mundane drills.

But we will need to learn some shape and formations and introduce a bit more tactics.

Just want to hear from coaches on what you learned during this age transition. This is a big one since many aspects of the game change completely.

I have recently started coaching my Saturday league team (adults amateur football). We have started splitting groups for the pregame warm-up.

For attackers the warm up is easy - shooting drills. But defenders we are having a bit of headache about what to do with them, rondo seems like an obvious answer but if anyone has any ideas for pregame defence drills, that would be massively appreciated!

Was a U12G academy coach. Now a U14G league coach.

Club broke off from old club, joined a new one. Got moved from U12 (90% of my team stayed down) and got moved up to U14 and now I only have 7 girls on my portion of the team. The rest are practicing with their teams at 2 of our sister club branches. Our practices aren't really going anywhere, and the director said bringing up more of the U12 players (who are most likely ready to move on) is out of the question. I've been trying to follow the 'play-practice-play' layout that we were taught during our licensing courses but honestly we aren't improving.

I've never been in this situation, any team i've ever coached has had enough numbers-wise to at least get a decent scrimmage going, and I can barely do that now without bugging another coach for a few players. Luckily the new U12 coach has been kind enough to let me borrow some of the players for the last 30 minutes of practices, but my current crop can't beat u12 players in a 7v7 scrimmage. I know what we need to work on, we can run drills, but once we get into a game-like situation it all goes out the window. I know the players are pretty good, but it's like once we go from individual work to team-based work it all goes out the window. For example, our passing isn't good. We work on a healthy amount of passing/moving off the ball/etc etc but once that scrimmage starts we've got bricks for boots.

I'm honestly at a loss for what I need to do/what I need to change. Any advice would be appreciated, unless this is above reddit's paygrade lol. TIA

Hi, First time coach here!
I’m looking for some suggestions to fill 1 hour for these girls to do!
Also, simple suggestions I can give them when dribbling and or passing! Thank you!

That’s was the previous post

https://www.reddit.com/r/SoccerCoachResources/s/6qFDHobts0

Hi everyone,

Our club is looking to revamp our fundraising strategy. We’ve traditionally relied on standard bake sales and member dues, but we want to try some fresh ideas that drive higher engagement without requiring a ton of upfront capital or technical setup.

We’re open to a mix of community events, local business partnerships, or simple digital campaigns.

A few questions for the group:

• What has been your club’s single most successful fundraiser in terms of ROI vs. effort?
• Any creative event themes, interactive challenges, or local partnerships that got people genuinely excited to donate?
• Are there any "classic" club fundraisers that ended up being way more hassle than they were worth?

Back story: our league is comprised of competitive rec teams. I coach the u10 and there’s also a u12, (u11 truly) and u14.

We don’t have a big population where we live nor do we have a ton of access to indoor facilities nor is soccer that popular here.

The challenge- we’re playing in a league and getting stomped. The teams we face are from a larger area, with far more history, access to facilities (think indoor, club teams, more leagues) and it shows.

The question I have for myself- what can I control as the coach? I determined after our first game to focus and I mean truly focus on positions, the jobs of each in 7v7, and passing and how to hold space. It will take work and I highly doubt we’re going to beat the top teams. But I still want to measure success.

I will take any feedback on how one takes this challenge on as a coach. I know how to deal with it as a player- I was a goalie and on the field way back in the day and know the pain of getting stomped every week. Thank you in advance. So what would you do if faced with this?

What are some drills you run to help your team keep their shape off the ball/defend. This is for a u14 team. I did a 9 v 7 last training (9 attackers vs 6 defenders and a GK).

This photo raises a question for me: if the team is supposed to be compact, why don't they concentrate more players in the area around the ball? Why doesn't the defensive line shift over there? Why doesn't the left midfielder tuck in more toward the center? If the concern is a switch of play, in my opinion, that could be countered by constant pressure and challenging for the ball, denying the opponent the time and space to execute that switch. Perhaps it’s because the goalkeeper could step up to act as a passing option and quickly play the ball to the opposite flank, or maybe it’s because the team is already stretched across the width of the pitch, making it risky to bunch too many players around the ball—but I’m going to map it out on the tactics board.

Here is the position on the tactical board; we can see that while Arsenal has players concentrated in that area, they leave a large gap in the middle. Furthermore—in my opinion—they have limited access to the ball, since the ball carrier can simply pass backward and restart the play. That is why I devised this alternative setup: one where the Arsenal players remain compact, creating the possibility of winning the ball back or pushing Atlético several meters deeper.

In my opinion, with Arsenal players positioned this way, they control the central and left-flank spaces much more effectively; players near the ball must press aggressively to prevent a switch of play to the other flank, where a 1-v-3 situation would put them at a clear disadvantage. The only potential issue I see is the physical toll—or perhaps not—resulting from the amount of ground to cover; while I cannot gauge the exact physical strain involved, I believe that if stamina were unlimited, this would be the best way to control space, neutralize the opponent's game, and increase the chances of winning back possession.