Sunday, March 25, 2012

Coaching 5-6 year olds




This group can be the most difficult but also the most rewarding to work with. Their attention span is very short so you will have to create drills that will keep them engaged. If you are working with a large group it would be a good idea to have a few assistant coaches so that you can break them up into smaller groups so they won't get bored and start to become busy (playing with grass, chasing each other, not paying attention, etc). Your approach to this age group will determine how successful you are with them. At this age most of your team will have been to school and have learned (to some degree) a routine. Use that to your advantage. Make your practices very routine and structured so that they know what to expect each day. Repetition is the key with youngsters. Even though you may be tired of seeing it and may not see any improvement that day, trust me, they are learning. Focus on the fundamentals.

If you are teaching them formations, be patient. They wont remember it at first or get it right all the time but the key is to drill them repetitiously until they can do it in their sleep. Focus on the one formation until they can break the huddle and line up without you saying anything. Once they can line up and run one play then you can expand. I like to use the same formation so they are familiar and don't have to shift around. I usually build my playbook around 2 to 3 formations. Keeping it simple will allow them to be comfortable running the plays so if I have to add a wrinkle, it doesn't throw them off. One of my favorite expressions is "inspect what you expect" so teach them what you expect (the play), look for them to implement it (run it correctly), and praise them when they do it right.

I will expound upon this at a later time but remember that patience is the key to making them successful. Keep it fun for them and remember, "Praise, don't punish."



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