Grassroots Football Coaches - Advice Please

[Bluesince1979]

I coach my sons u9 team. We are mid to lower level, lose more than we win, couple of good ish players and a couple that i imagine in the not too distant future will probs stop playing and do something else.

But the sole purpose of a kids football coach is to ensure your lads ENJOY the experience. So for the lads who wont play forever i take it personally responsible to ensure the years they do play are enjoyable

I had a similar situation foisted on to me a few months back. I had a lad who is dad was bigging up. I said i would give him a go in training with no promises. He just wasnt up to it, he would have been at the lower level of my boys.
Horrible decision and conversation but i just decided i couldnt take him on.
My responsibility is to my boys at the moment and i would not only dilute the team talent wise , most importantly an extra boy would mean less game time for all.

You have to do what you think is best for your team and the parents , wnd yourself

Being a kids coach is a thankless task. Have a talented group of players who win games and you feel like pep guardiola, have lads who lose most games and you question yourself constantly. But the fact is when the team is out on the pitch you have as much influence on a bad team (not a lot) as you do a good team (not a lot).
Your job is mostly logistics.

I have been involved in football all my life but am also new to kids coaching.
I do it alone and its tough.

If you want to pm me for a chat im here as it can be a lonely job on your todd

 

[Otamendi's Beard]

I coach an u10 girls team and have had a core of 5 players since u8. Which means the majority of the squad (11 players) are now made up of players who've joined us along the way.

At the start there was a huge difference in ability and it meant we lost more than we won. However, they've since caught up and we win more than we lose.

I'd take them on and treat them the same as the others. In 6 months you'll be surprised at how much they've improved.

 

[Shuffs]

U7 mate I appreciate I’m probably overthinking it

Massively over thinking mate, and sorry if that sounds rude.

At that level nobody should be caring about results and just be ensuring that the kids have a good time in training and come the match, give everything they can. High level or low level - they are all starting on the football journey and you can't pigeon hole them already (yes some are seemingly better than others admittedly).

I've coached my son and nieces team since U9's (now u14's) and I have seen players deemed "not good enough" at the start, fly to be stalwarts of the team and players I can't do with out. Don't shatter the confidence before they've even got it.

Last year, we were battered every week (probably out of our depth in the division we were placed in) but every single player played with commitment when they were on the pitch. Only a handful of players were good enough.

This year, after gaining a couple of new recruits - we have 100% record going into the last stretch of the season. I have players that do impact on the overall quality of the team, but they still get games and get all the encouragement that anyone else would get.

Also, whilst it's rolling subs - it's alot easier to manage the playing time, be thankful for that! Especially when they get older and start to switch on.

Ignore the parents - if they can't be adult enough to see at that age that everyone should get a chance, then you don't need them at the club.

Don't fall into the "Win at all cost" mentality. It's a horrible place to be in kids football.

 

[Bluesince1979]

You are a coach?

Coach them.

And also it's kids football, who cares what league they are in. Stop moaning about it and get coaching. You never know...

A very simplistic view. At that age you are limited to what imput you will have

Kids Coaches are majorly under appreciated. Too many parents have the attitude of “coach my kid, make him better”. If only it was that easy.

Also your comment ,”its kids football”. Yep. And where as thats totally true we should also be realistic in admitted that where as its not all about winning, it bloody helps the kids enjoy it.

Be interested to know your experience of coaching kids?

 

[chris85mcfc]

Let's be honest, the issue here is the parents that are completely out of touch, and think that their kids are the next Foden and can't handle being given a bit of a reality check.

The fact that you're having to think about having to let the parents know that they're down the pecking order says it all. It's clearly all about enjoyment and fun, but parents should also have the awareness of knowing their kids level, and consider moving them to another team, to save you a job.

I get that kids might want to play with their mates, but personally I think it's on the parents to manage this properly, and not the responsibility of someone is is effectively volunteering.

 

[johnnytapia]

U7 mate I appreciate I’m probably overthinking it

Under 7: you should be rotating the players, give everyone same game time and make every coaching session and subsequent match as enjoyable as possible. The time to start wondering about A and B teams is when they’re at least 10/11 years old. Not when they’re six.
Make it clear to parents and players: everyone gets same game time.

 

[gazinho]

They're under 7s let them play, if you're worried about losing the 'better' players if they start to get beat a few times then I guarantee you'll be losing them anyway in the coming years. At the age you're coaching at every kid should, in my opinion, get equal game time. If you're that bothered about the new kids being a detriment to the team make sure to plan your starting 5 and subs so you can manage which players are on the pitch at the same time

I coached my lads team from under 6s to under 17s loved and hated it in equal measure the kids were brilliant (most of the time) most of the adults were arseholes. I've seen loads of the lads I coached out and about in the few years since I hung up my tactics board and without fail I buy them a beer and they (usually) reciprocate, I like to think in some small way ive contributed to them becoming decent young adults and that is pretty much all we can do at an amateur coaching level.

If you want any advice, session plans, moans my pm's are always open

 

[m32blue]

I coached from u6 to u17s in the Timperley League.Had a mixture of really talented lads and those who just wanted to hang out with their mates.
At u7 there is still chance that with the right coaching these 2 new lads would become decent players and you also need to consider how they mix with other lads do they want to improve etc
Might be worth being honest with parents,can they have a few months free,pay a lower subs rate ?

 

[johnnytapia]

I coached from u6 to u17s in the Timperley League.Had a mixture of really talented lads and those who just wanted to hang out with their mates.
At u7 there is still chance that with the right coaching these 2 new lads would become decent players and you also need to consider how they mix with other lads do they want to improve etc
Might be worth being honest with parents,can they have a few months free,pay a lower subs rate ?

Absolute path to carnage offering different subs etc. leaving you/ the club wide open to claims of favouritism.

 

[West Yorks Owl]

U7 mate I appreciate I’m probably overthinking it

One problem you will have is some clubs will operate mixed ability teams and some won't so it will be first, second third team.

From my experience mixed ability is fine at this age but after mini-soccer (U10) the structure shouldm be based on ability, as otherwise the better players will get frustrated that not everybody is like them, and the lesser able players will feel the pressure to perform.

Both ends of the scale though will most likely leave the club and look for others that will give them what they want.

When my lad played players were moved up & down depending on how they developed through the age groups. I think players should be able to see a pathway to a better team if that is what they want.

One thing that you will notice over time though is some players who look good at U7 may not be the better ones once they get to U12/13 and vice versa with late bloomers.