Coaching question

[Unregistered]

Hate nuts like this guy. Clearly he is all about being about to puff out HIS chest and say HE created the team and their success. I always run as fast as I can from these types.

yeah - someone who cared and the kids had fun and learned some things. hate those people

[Unregistered]

This is my thread and if I didn't give a s*** I wouldn't have asked for advice. Obviously I don't want to put these girls in a position where they won't be successful and end up getting frustrated and quit and I don't care much about wins or losses but don't want to get beat 15-0 if you know what I mean. That's never any fun for anyone involved. People always have to twist things around and make a jerk of themselves. If I didn't give a damn, there would be no team.

[Unregistered]

This is my thread and if I didn't give a s*** I wouldn't have asked for advice. Obviously I don't want to put these girls in a position where they won't be successful and end up getting frustrated and quit and I don't care much about wins or losses but don't want to get beat 15-0 if you know what I mean. That's never any fun for anyone involved. People always have to twist things around and make a jerk of themselves. If I didn't give a damn, there would be no team.

Ignore the aholes on this site and keep doing what you're doing. There aren't enough people like you who actually care.

[Unregistered]

Huh?

What I read was the guy didn't know soccer tactics and skills, and succeeded by setting up simple incentives for his young players to meet, trust, and support each other. All of which helped form a love of the game. What to hate? (Other than a long-winded lack of capitalization, of course.)

[Unregistered]

To the OP:

I tried to read all of the responses. I'm a long-time rec coach. Here's my recommendation. The knee jerk reaction is to put a slow kid in defense but someone correctly pointed out that you'll give up goals that way. If you do put them on defense, put them as an outside defender and then make sure you have a fast kid as center defender and a fast midfielder in front of them to "babysit" them.

My recommendation would be to put them as a right or left midfielder, surrounded by faster players, with the understanding that at the rec level, the responsibilities of the outside midfielders is lower than an older or more talented team. Later on, much more responsibility and speed will be required of the outside midfielders.

Lastly, I hinted at this in a previous thread, but if you're only working with these kids a couple hours or less per week, you aren't going to give them a substantial improvement in their level of physical fitness or their footwork. Therefore, your time is better spent working on helping them understand the game and what their role is on the field (Soccer IQ).

As for the naysayers who tell you it's not about winning, consider this. Parents who sign their kids up for rec-level aren't as focused on development as the parents of the "elite" kids. Many of them are looking for wins, as it is a barometer they understand. But realize to create wins you will need to develop the kids. So give them a crash course in soccer IQ, and then work on developing your weak links first.

[Unregistered]

Oh, and Rec coaches do change lives. I've put a lot of kids onto the track for higher level soccer. I've helped to instill the love of the game into them and then handed them off to better coaches who took over from there. I did this by encouraging them and not taking the position that "this is rec and it doesn't matter what happens here". Quite the opposite. I've told them that we're going to do our best and work together as a team to be the best that we can be, even if that means we'll only be the best rec team. And the kids learned how their effort can equate to success.

I've also inspired sedentary, overweight kids to keep coming out for soccer and perhaps changed their lives that way. I've watched them shed pounds through their love of the game and their parents couldn't have been more pleased.

[Unregistered]

Hello everyone. I've come here for some coaching advice. I am taking on a rec team this spring and have a pretty good team with the exception of a few, who are slow and lack technical ability. Where is the safest position for these 3 players? Hate to start off on the wrong foot.

then don't start off on the wrong foot. Realize what you are and what team you are coaching. You are a town coach with a bunch of U12 kids whose parents are paying the same fee for their kids to get the same opportunity. That is the bottom line!!!
If the parents want their kids to experience a more competitive team in a more competitive league with coaches that will play kids as only they see fit and in positions that best suit the team....and, dare I say, club then there are plenty of other options out there aside from a local Rec team.

Seriously, unless you want to look the kid in the face and tell them that they are not worth the effort then your best bet is to play the kids equally in all the positions and give them the same opportunity to learn the same skills. By the way, I am yet to meet an intelligent, caring, compassionate adult that has the ability or even idea to tell a U12 kid (or any young kid) that they are not worth the time and effort.

At some point in life (and I don't know when) the child and parents come to the realization that their child may have a different path in life.....but not at U12 on a rec team.

[Unregistered]

Hello everyone. I've come here for some coaching advice. I am taking on a rec team this spring and have a pretty good team with the exception of a few, who are slow and lack technical ability. Where is the safest position for these 3 players? Hate to start off on the wrong foot.

Find a coaching mentor. That will be invaluable to you and the players you coach.