Coaching

Being a great football coach means more than knowing how to execute a particular skill or how to set up a 3-5-2 formation. The articles in this section will highlight some of the important issues facing coaches and will show you how to approach them to become a better coach. These articles look at issues such as playing against sides that cheat, coping with problem players, getting a winning mentality and much more.

My Youth Team Won’t Listen - Youth coaches often bemoan the lack of attention by their charges. Here are some solutions from experienced age group coaches.

Playing Against a Side That Cheats - Your players are playing the game for the right reasons and you come up against a side that is prepared to play unfair. It is difficult to know what is regarded as cheating. Is it also gamesmanship, or just sometimes playing dumb of the laws?

Getting the winning habits - There are tried and tested ways of improving your winning chances. For example, before match day - get players' minds and bodies right.

How to set football objectives - Setting goals to help your players gain the skills necessary to succeed is one of your main jobs as a coach.

Youth Football Coaching That Works - Perhaps the most important key to successful youth football coaching is making training sessions fun for everyone - including you.

Dealing with parental complaints - Almost every parent occasionally disagrees with your decisions as a coach (whether or not you hear about it). Usually, the parent is simply putting the interests of the child first - and seeing things from the child's point of view.

Get fitter players with no extra effort - How? Simply by getting them to sleep more. A good night of sleep is vital to a football player's physical and mental preparation for a game.

“PESTS” – a philosophy for youth coaching - Top international coaches say "determine your philosophy and run with it". Why not apply this to your youth team? It may be easier than you think. Here is a simple way of remembering some key factors required - PESTS.

Disruptive players - causes and cures - It is rare for even professional teams not to have at least one player who has disruptive tendencies. In youth football, this form of distracting behaviour can be particularly acute. Here is some advice.

The best 4v4 by far - It should be Government policy that football coaches use small sided games before the age of 13. The 4v4 system accelerates development of technical ability and game intelligence. Over the next few months David Clarke will be looking at coaching the 4v4 system, what it involves and what you and your players will get out of it.

Are You A Good Or Bad Coach? - The art of coaching football to kids requires one thing in abundance... enthusiasm. It's your most important quality. Kids will respond to you if you're an eager, hard working leader. Some kids find learning boring, some don't care about winning, and some can't remember which goal they are kicking towards. But what unites them, what they all want is to have fun and play a game. And that's your job, making learning fun. This is our blueprint for you to get the mix right as a coach.

The big kick-off. Very big when you’re four - One question I am always being asked by parents who are keen for their child to be playing football from an early age is: How do I go about starting my own team of 4/5 year olds? Boys and girls of this age love turning up for an hour on a Saturday morning keen to play football. Charging around after the ball like bees after a honey pot. But you can make it a very rewarding experience for yourself and the children.

Which is your management style? - The Tannenbaum-Schmidt continuum.

Warm-Up for 30-minutes before you kick-off - Time spent before kick-off is well rewarded when the players run out onto the pitch. It has happened to me where, due to poor directions or traffic, or just plain bad timing, my teams have staggered onto the pitch just before the whistle blows. And boy does it tell.

Change the elements - The 4v4 system is about solving problems, the players respond to the area you have marked out for them, all the elements of a real game are there for the players to understand and solve the problem. However sometimes the correct pitch layout is not enough, your team has a problem but you are not creating a situation to solve it. This is where changing the dimensions comes in.

Put 4v4 into action - Based on the central ideas behind Dutch Vision, 4v4 is a coaching system dramatically different from most other systems. Created by the Dutch Football Association its success is evident in the number of world class players produced by such a small country.

Win In The Mind And You Win On The Pitch - Football teams with winning reputations like Barcelona, Juventus or Bayern Munich have a serious approach to the mental game. They think victory, and positive thinking dominates the club. They are winners and winning inspires positive thought. But even if you coach a losing team you can inspire your players to victory.

Make Your Half-Time Talk Count - Encouragement and motivation are key.

Moving Up to 11-a-Side - Moving from the smaller 7-a-side games to the 11-a-side format presents a number of problems that you the coach have to solve. Over the next few months I will make it easier for you to make that transition. I've done it twice with both my sons' teams.

How to Trial New Players - Whether you are putting together a new team, getting in players to strengthen during the season, or the next door neighbour is badgering you to let little Jonny join your team, you need to be able to assess their playing ability. And there are better ways to do it than training matches.

How to Get Your Players to Talk to Each Other - Good communication between team members is an essential ingredient in a good team. A pass should be called for and players need to be told whether they have space to turn or are closely marked.

Talk Your Team Through an Attacking Session - There's nothing better at a training session than to get your players talking to you about how they feel. Talking at training helps the players feel part of the team. Then launch an attack on your defenders.

How the First 15 Minutes are Key to Your Training Sessions - Giving your players the responsibility of looking after their own ball and getting them to start each session with 15 minutes of passing is key to their development and key to your training sessions, says David Clarke.

How to Change Your Tactics to Play Better Football - Changing tactics is something every coach has to consider when he can't find a winning combination. Young players need to begin their football careers with a sound understanding that tactics matter, says David Clarke.

Have Fun With Headers and Build Player Confidence - Players shouldn’t be scared of heading a football. You need to get them used to doing it and build up their confidence so they can do it in matches. Don’t spend too long on it, but do make it fun, says David Clarke.