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Youth Football Issues


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Teams poaching young kids is pathetic. For what, so the coach can pretend he's some tactical genius?

 

My wee boy plays football in his local team cause it's where his mates from school play. Meant to be about having fun and learning the basics for fuck sake. Plenty time for winning when they are older.

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LOL.

 

It hasn't, Albion and Lewis Utd carry on like Celtic and Rangers, at 2007 level anyway.

 

Lewis have just stolen our best two players. They sniff about, asking whereabouts your boy will be playing on the saturday, for his school, so they can have a look at him in action. At the end of the day, its the parents of the boys who are also at fault, they should tell any boys clubs coaches sniffing about that their sons are staying where they are. But there needs to be guidelines put in place whereby boys cannot be "traded" in this way till at least in secondary school

 

MInd you, AFC are no better. Taking boys at 8 years old, stopping them playing for both their school and Boys club. Then dump them when they don't shape up.

 

Anyway, back on track. I'm sure both me and my son signed a form whereby we agree to abide by the rules of the club, in relation to stuff like behaviour. Doesn't matter if the boy has ADHD, however regretable that is, you are not a school, you're trying to build a football team. Get shot of him. All he is doing is affecting the development of his team mates. And parents shouldn't be interfering and telling the coaches which position their son should be playing, I leave my son in the care of his coach and where he plays, he plays.

 

 

This happened when I was a kid in the 80s, got approached all over the place.

 

The bribes were fairly simple, pair of boots club trackies etc

 

My parents weren't for it.

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I've always thought that AFC stopping kids from playing for their boys club and or school is strange. Surely you just want them playing as much football as is humanly possible at that age?

 

You don't want them learning bad habits from the sort of coaches mentioned above - will at all cost, would be one reason.

 

Limiting as opposed to banning would also be a management of the workload on young developing bodies, but surely only at teen years.

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It still depresses me that we just can't move on from trying to win matches at the youngest youth levels. The SFA insist that coaches now have various coaching certificates which they hand out pretty much on the basis of attending the sessions. It's a handy wee money making scheme for the SFA but does little to alleviate the real issues.

So now most of the coaches at youth level go through all the ball exercises at their training nights but the problem is game day at the weekend. Introducing small sided games and taking away 11 a sides up to under 12s was a good start but many teams are still simply trying to win these games believing that winning means they are doing well.

 

I believe that what the SFA should be doing with their community coaches is have them go to these matches and just stay back and listen to the instructions the coaches are giving the kids. They should then be able to approach the coaches at their training nights and educate them that shouting "Clear it, clear it" and other such rubbish is not the correct approach to take. Seeing the ball booted up the park and battered in by a big guy up front is not worthy of loud roars of approval. Screaming for penalties is worthless as getting or not getting a penalty will have no effect on the development of your players and that is the ONLY thing they should be concerned with.

 

Certainly the poaching of players from other clubs at this level is one sure way of spotting an arsehole.

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It still depresses me that we just can't move on from trying to win matches at the youngest youth levels. The SFA insist that coaches now have various coaching certificates which they hand out pretty much on the basis of attending the sessions. It's a handy wee money making scheme for the SFA but does little to alleviate the real issues.

So now most of the coaches at youth level go through all the ball exercises at their training nights but the problem is game day at the weekend. Introducing small sided games and taking away 11 a sides up to under 12s was a good start but many teams are still simply trying to win these games believing that winning means they are doing well.

 

I believe that what the SFA should be doing with their community coaches is have them go to these matches and just stay back and listen to the instructions the coaches are giving the kids. They should then be able to approach the coaches at their training nights and educate them that shouting "Clear it, clear it" and other such rubbish is not the correct approach to take. Seeing the ball booted up the park and battered in by a big guy up front is not worthy of loud roars of approval. Screaming for penalties is worthless as getting or not getting a penalty will have no effect on the development of your players and that is the ONLY thing they should be concerned with.

 

Certainly the poaching of players from other clubs at this level is one sure way of spotting an arsehole.

Lewis Utd, who I think have merged with East End, have this year created whole new 2007 A side, with players poached from other boys clubs. Even take them for conditioning training one night a week in a local gym, then train on 2 other nights, with a game on a sunday. 10/11 years old!!

 

Not only the Boys Clubs fault, have to question the boy's dads thinking behind moving to another club at that age. For what reason?

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Lewis Utd, who I think have merged with East End, have this year created whole new 2007 A side, with players poached from other boys clubs. Even take them for conditioning training one night a week in a local gym, then train on 2 other nights, with a game on a sunday. 10/11 years old!!

 

Not only the Boys Clubs fault, have to question the boy's dads thinking behind moving to another club at that age. For what reason?

 

Yeah I said in my previous post that parents are a pain in the arse. As for "conditioning training" - would be funny if it weren't sad. 10 year olds do not need conditioning training. They do not need doggy runs, they do not need laps of the park. They need the fucking BALL.

Drives me nuts when I hear radio shows when they talk about our kids "not having the same technical abitity" as they do in Spain or Germany or Italy etc, like they are born with some fucking technique disability. The adults are responsible for that not the kids. We simply don't teach technique here. We teach winning matches, tackling, running, formations, offside traps and other such useless shite.

How many times have you heard of these kids teams going to the likes of Holland for Easter tournaments and coming back with a trophy and coaches beaming like they've won the Champions league? Ever wondered why our kids win a lot of these competitions? It's simple. They come across the kids from European countries who just aren't used to being tackled. They haven't got to that yet. They learn that later and very quickly. They spend the formative years practising technique while our kids are away doing, what was it? Conditioning training? Fuck off with that pish.

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It still depresses me that we just can't move on from trying to win matches at the youngest youth levels. The SFA insist that coaches now have various coaching certificates which they hand out pretty much on the basis of attending the sessions. It's a handy wee money making scheme for the SFA but does little to alleviate the real issues.

So now most of the coaches at youth level go through all the ball exercises at their training nights but the problem is game day at the weekend. Introducing small sided games and taking away 11 a sides up to under 12s was a good start but many teams are still simply trying to win these games believing that winning means they are doing well.

 

I believe that what the SFA should be doing with their community coaches is have them go to these matches and just stay back and listen to the instructions the coaches are giving the kids. They should then be able to approach the coaches at their training nights and educate them that shouting "Clear it, clear it" and other such rubbish is not the correct approach to take. Seeing the ball booted up the park and battered in by a big guy up front is not worthy of loud roars of approval. Screaming for penalties is worthless as getting or not getting a penalty will have no effect on the development of your players and that is the ONLY thing they should be concerned with.

 

Certainly the poaching of players from other clubs at this level is one sure way of spotting an arsehole.

Your suggestion about SFA community coaches going to games and then providing feedback is a great shout. They'd have a field day listening to the instructions from coaches and parents.

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Yeah I said in my previous post that parents are a pain in the arse. As for "conditioning training" - would be funny if it weren't sad. 10 year olds do not need conditioning training. They do not need doggy runs, they do not need laps of the park. They need the fucking BALL.

Drives me nuts when I hear radio shows when they talk about our kids "not having the same technical abitity" as they do in Spain or Germany or Italy etc, like they are born with some fucking technique disability. The adults are responsible for that not the kids. We simply don't teach technique here. We teach winning matches, tackling, running, formations, offside traps and other such useless shite.

How many times have you heard of these kids teams going to the likes of Holland for Easter tournaments and coming back with a trophy and coaches beaming like they've won the Champions league? Ever wondered why our kids win a lot of these competitions? It's simple. They come across the kids from European countries who just aren't used to being tackled. They haven't got to that yet. They learn that later and very quickly. They spend the formative years practising technique while our kids are away doing, what was it? Conditioning training? Fuck off with that pish.

If you want to do conditioning and fitness training then that can still be carried out with a ball at the feet. Plenty of drills can keep you fit and improve your touch and technique at the same time.

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I was asked to look at a youth team a few years back by a chap I knew whose son played for them.

 

U12s big lad dominating the training - bigger, stronger etc.

 

Was the day of a CL final with Barcelona in it.

 

They'd been showing them training at the stadium on SSN the night before, rondos and ball work.

Scottish kids rushing about chasing a ball like dogs and the session being dominated by the biggest kid.

 

And we wonder why...

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Having come back into youth football after doing adult football then having a break I've been quite surprised at one or two things.

 

Most notably that the coaches of the team I am now also helping to coach are picking the team on the Friday, which is fine, but also setting out at what time the subs will be made and who they will be.

 

I appreciate its youth football and there is an element of giving everybody a game but these are young men not Wee boys we are talking about. Make the subs as and where you see fit during the game, not off the back of a discussion two days before!

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First thing I do when I'm coaching at the start of the year is buy about 15-20 balls so that every kid will have one.

 

I see other coaches with a line of kids all waiting their turn to shoot at the goalie, or the same kids watching other kids do drills with the couple of fitbas that the coach brought along.

 

Meanwhile every one of my kids has a ball at their feet, learning to dribble with left and right feet, or paired up practicing passing, keepie-up, trapping the ball, receiving, first touch and one touch.

 

From 10 years on they should be learning what their role is in a team. If you're a Striker then here's what's expected of you. If you're a defender, this is how you do it. I've found that prior to U-12 the comprehension levels aren't great, so a general understanding is all they need or are able to grasp.

 

And if you want kids to work on developing their skills give them a drill that's basically nothing more than a trick that they can work on. Rainbow Kicks, The Maradonna, and stepovers are fantastic at getting kids interested in being able to control the ball with their feet. They'll practice them in their backie then show me their progress at every single training session.

 

Some kids are just not co-ordinated, or they're slow, clumsy, or otherwise not on the same level as the other kids though, and it's the coach's job to get those kids motivated by giving them a specific role that they can focus on.

 

But seriously, the most depressing thing you can ever see at a training session is that line of kids waiting for ten seconds of on-the-ball time every 5-10 minutes. They may as well not even be there if that's all they're getting.

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First thing I do when I'm coaching at the start of the year is buy about 15-20 balls so that every kid will have one.

 

I see other coaches with a line of kids all waiting their turn to shoot at the goalie, or the same kids watching other kids do drills with the couple of fitbas that the coach brought along.

 

Meanwhile every one of my kids has a ball at their feet, learning to dribble with left and right feet, or paired up practicing passing, keepie-up, trapping the ball, receiving, first touch and one touch.

 

From 10 years on they should be learning what their role is in a team. If you're a Striker then here's what's expected of you. If you're a defender, this is how you do it. I've found that prior to U-12 the comprehension levels aren't great, so a general understanding is all they need or are able to grasp.

 

And if you want kids to work on developing their skills give them a drill that's basically nothing more than a trick that they can work on. Rainbow Kicks, The Maradonna, and stepovers are fantastic at getting kids interested in being able to control the ball with their feet. They'll practice them in their backie then show me their progress at every single training session.

 

Some kids are just not co-ordinated, or they're slow, clumsy, or otherwise not on the same level as the other kids though, and it's the coach's job to get those kids motivated by giving them a specific role that they can focus on.

 

But seriously, the most depressing thing you can ever see at a training session is that line of kids waiting for ten seconds of on-the-ball time every 5-10 minutes. They may as well not even be there if that's all they're getting.

See and hear that a lot about kids standing for 10 mins at a time.

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First thing I do when I'm coaching at the start of the year is buy about 15-20 balls so that every kid will have one.

 

Meanwhile every one of my kids has a ball at their feet, learning to dribble with left and right feet, or paired up practicing passing, keepie-up, trapping the ball, receiving, first touch and one touch.

 

From 10 years on they should be learning what their role is in a team. If you're a Striker then here's what's expected of you. If you're a defender, this is how you do it. I've found that prior to U-12 the comprehension levels aren't great, so a general understanding is all they need or are able to grasp.

 

And if you want kids to work on developing their skills give them a drill that's basically nothing more than a trick that they can work on. Rainbow Kicks, The Maradonna, and stepovers are fantastic at getting kids interested in being able to control the ball with their feet. They'll practice them in their backie then show me their progress at every single training session.

 

Some kids are just not co-ordinated, or they're slow, clumsy, or otherwise not on the same level as the other kids though, and it's the coach's job to get those kids motivated by giving them a specific role that they can focus on.

 

 

I'd say 10 is still too young to be labelling a kid into a certain role Ke1t. I think 12 is a better age to begin that. Technique, skills, dribbling, running with the ball, control, shielding, passing/possession, movement.

 

Absolutely agree that a ball each, or at least 1 between 2, is critical. Way we used to start was to set up any cones or whatever before the kids arrived and as soon as the first kid was ready to start he got a ball and instructions on what was wanted. Once they were all in they'd be paired in 2s or 3s depending on the exercise they'd be doing.

 

We tended to keep the better players paired together as they do get frustrated by boys with less talent continually messing up a passing movement. Constant focus on praising anything they did well and don't give them the chance to stand around getting bored. Conditioning training? Our kids were always sweating like pigs by the end of their time with not a second wasted on warm ups or warm downs. In 20 years coaching kids I've never seen a single boy pull up with a hammy or the likes.

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I'd say 10 is still too young to be labelling a kid into a certain role Ke1t. I think 12 is a better age to begin that. Technique, skills, dribbling, running with the ball, control, shielding, passing/possession, movement.

 

Absolutely agree that a ball each, or at least 1 between 2, is critical. Way we used to start was to set up any cones or whatever before the kids arrived and as soon as the first kid was ready to start he got a ball and instructions on what was wanted. Once they were all in they'd be paired in 2s or 3s depending on the exercise they'd be doing.

 

We tended to keep the better players paired together as they do get frustrated by boys with less talent continually messing up a passing movement. Constant focus on praising anything they did well and don't give them the chance to stand around getting bored. Conditioning training? Our kids were always sweating like pigs by the end of their time with not a second wasted on warm ups or warm downs. In 20 years coaching kids I've never seen a single boy pull up with a hammy or the likes.

 

 

My observations exactly.

 

Kids under 14 have pretty much no 'muscles' to strain or stretch. Their entire day is one long 'warm up', so when they come to the practice pitches in the evening or on a Sunday morning they're already ready to get into it.

 

I've had parents ask me why my warm ups are cursory... I have them stretch for 10 counts on three or four basic exercises, followed by one jog the width of the field and one sprint the width of the field (and motivating them for the sprint is as simple as saying "There WILL be a winner")... and I ask them to have their kid flex their bicep to see how much muscle mass they have to work on.

 

As for 10 being too young to assign fixed positions, I have these kids for 2 seasons max, and in that time I try to have them understand that each role requires a specific skill set and responsibility. At this age they can grasp concepts they couldn't have a couple of years earlier, so now is the time to begin educating them in what each position demands. That's not to say that they're assigned a single role, just that they need to understand their job when they're playing a specific position. If I have a kid playing defence he needs to understand the duties of a defender beyond just standing between the keeper and the midfield.

 

What do you do when the midfield breaks forward... what do you do when the other team breaks up the field... it doesn't need three defenders attacking the guy with the ball when there are two opposition players standing on the edge of your box unmarked... simple things that seem obvious just never get taught to kids.

 

Even a tiny amount of understanding makes a huge difference at U-12/14 levels.

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