Ask Rory?
00:00 Start
00:44 Practices
01:55 Games
03:00 Communication
03:51 Philosophy
05:17 What’s not important?
source
22 thoughts on “How to know if your son or daughters youth coach is good.”
Comments are closed.
Ask Rory?
00:00 Start
00:44 Practices
01:55 Games
03:00 Communication
03:51 Philosophy
05:17 What’s not important?
source
Comments are closed.
How do you deal with young players flinching or turning slightly to avoid being hit from the ball?
How can I get the fear out of my 12U Girls. Girls are scared to head and they tend to move out of the way when the ball is heading there direction. So frustrating
How can I get the fear out of my 12U Girls. Girls are scared to head and move out of the way when the ball is heading there direction. So frustrating
My dad coach's u-10 and u-18 and he is a great coach is loved in the community we live in, he is someone that always communicates and tries to do his best to develop each kid! I loved playing for him!!
This is such a difficult question, because there are bad coaches, good coaches, and great coaches.
I would describe the three this way:
Bad coach: Doesn't prepare the kids and then yells at them during a game.
Good coach: Teaches them and encourages them during the game.
Great coach: Builds a team that feels confident and knows what to do and every player has a valuable role.
I ask every new team this question at the beginning of the first practice:
"Is it possible to become one of the most valuable players on a team if you are the worst dribbler, the worst passer, AND the worst shooter?" The answer is "YES". HOW?
Be the best at awareness (scanning), be the best at making better decisions than other players, & play without fear of failure.
My opinion is if you’re paying a private club for your children, they ALL need to have a minimum of a C License. If a coach doesn’t possess a license, then that coach is a volunteer in a recreational league and you hope for the best. Personally, I want a coach who is educated and invested into the game itself.
SPOT ON. Well said Sir! I do think the Grassroots licenses and D course help with U12 or younger in giving coaches structure to setting up practice, games, setting expectations, etc. Not essential but helpful especially if coaches haven't played at a high level or haven't been exposed to other good coaches.
Anyone else watch this to find out they are not a good coach😂
Hey Coach Rory, know this is an older video.. but felt it was the right one for my comment. I'm a huge supporter of the channel, and have been coaching both an 8U and 10U AYSO Team for a Spring and Fall season.. our Teams change every season, and as a new coach and former player that loves this sport I'm trying to understand and judge my ability to Coach.. of the ~34 games between the two Teams and two seasons I've won 6 with the majority of the wins being under my 8U Team and in the Spring season.. I've only won 1 8U game this season and none within my 10U Team. I do not weigh an importance on winning with my Teams, but as a Coach in trying to understand maybe some other ways of realizing how "good" or "bad" I may be at Coaching outside of just Ws and Ls.
I will add, I provide little oversight to my Teams during games, other than the occasional reshuffle to the correct position, and empower my Teams to communicate and experiment on the field, which they do better then many Teams in the league. Appreciate any insight you might have for a new Coach kind of feeling down with their current performances, thanks!
To level set, what level do you typically coach? I would think there would be different expectations from parents of the coaches when they are paying thousands for travel ball as opposed to the local rec/club soccer where coachers are volunteers. Also, you mention the A/B/D licenses, but what about the grassroots licenses? Do you think that would be beneficial if for nothing else to help coaches understand what training sessions should be? I did play in the day where "boom ball" was all the rage, and I know things have evolved and US soccer has been pushing to get more information out there for coaches. I appreciate all the videos you provide to help myself and others coaching local teams trying to help them develop and to have fun.
I'm wondering if this makes me a bad coach: I coach 10 year old girls in the silver bracket of our local competitive league. We do local tournaments (about 4 to 7 a year) that are within 40 min drive, but I don't bring them to out of city tournaments. In my mind the cost goes up by a 10x factor and I doubt the roi makes those 3 to 4 games worth it. Should my parents flee? I'd rather them spend the money on personal training… or maybe a 529 account.
I try to coach off the ball and from the back to the front. Most of my in-game coaching is helping the kids remember where they're supposed to be in their shape. Once they start learning the shape I can just ask, "Ethan where should you be?" He realizes his positioning and gets there quick. I'll also say, "Ethan, what's behind you?" Little things like that that get the kids in the right places so they can be ready. Never ever "pass, shoot, dribble!"
This confirms my son’s U7 coach is great. Thank you. “No random kicks” is his #1 rule. My son gets exited to go to practice. Coach grounds the kids not paying attention or fooling around. Send them to
Sit with their parent for maybe 3-5 minutes. Passing drills. Skill drills. LOTS OF CONES. My son sometimes get pulled to the side for 1 one 1 talks with him.
I went to my 8 yr old grandson’s third game this weekend. The coach seemed to only be there for his own child. I could tell pretty quickly that these kids have zero coaching. Kids standing on the sideline, nobody attacking, no heads up, kicking the ball the wrong direction, bunching up .. I could go on. This team is a city sponsored league and I think they just let anyone coach if they volunteered. It was pretty sad and I just about walked over to ask the coach if he wanted any help…I didn’t because it as the middle of the game. I’m thinking about getting his info and emailing him. Growing up in Panama 🇵🇦, playing all through school and into college is my background watching this was pretty tough….. the score was 9-1. We lost! 😂
4:06 – "In youth soccer we have an epidemic of coaches who don't know how to play"… wow Rory… way to call me out! I told our director I literally knew nothing about soccer, but he just kept saying "the kids won't get to play if none of the parents steps up to coach". 😉
Our 13U girls team is having their best season yet, we have a great group of girls and very supportive parents. The thing I still have to work on is my yelling on the sidelines, how do I keep my emotions in check? Thank you Coach
Our kid plays rec level U10 and you get what you get coach-wise. That said, this year's coach has been my favorite. They seem to really be emphasizing communication and getting the kids experience in a variety of positions. They also do a retrospective after the game (highlighting all the good stuff first – which is so important with kids).
Unfortunately some of the parents are pretty toxic, and some are probably going to drive their kid away from the sport. The league has basic training videos for refs and coaches, I wish they had one for parents too.
Greetings from Finland! I've gotten good comments from our rec team parents, which is great. My main focus is on good encouraging atmosphere, where kids (U10) are not afraid to make mistakes. I'm quite strict on equal playtime too, sometimes in tournaments we play our most reliable defender more than others, but other than that I try to make sure we're all equal, no matter how good one is. One thing that got me was the joysticking part. I don't really consider myself "joysticking", but do you think calling stuff like "remember to keep the game wide!" and "take it easy, you have a lot of space now!" is joysticking? I often think I've spoken too much stuff like this during a game, and I'm trying to actively get away from it 🙂 But damn it's hard sometimes haha 🙂 Your videos are great, been doing quite a few of your drills in our training. Thanks for doing these!
I'm a U8B coach and this season i wanted to be up front about playing time in games. I try to give players equal amounts of time on the field, but I want to give more time to players that come to practices with more time and less time for players that don't come to practices. Thoughts?
Thanks for this, Coach Rory. My kid has two coaches and one of them joy sticks. So much so, last night my son stopped playing in the second half cause he was worn out by it. He's a sensitive kid and all the shouting from the coach stresses him out. What do you suggest I do? I'd love to suggest to my son to talk to the coach but I'm not sure the coach listens very well. He seems to be the type who always has the answers. I'm concerned about approaching him myself as I'm worried about making things worse. My son loves the sport and is developing some great skills and understanding of the game but I'm worried this coach is going to joy stick the love of the game out of my son.
I’ve been a youth certified developmental soccer coach since 2008, and I must say this is a very honest and real guideline for parents. Too many times I’ve seen coaches simply chasing trophies and for 8-12 yr old players this is a serious red flag on the coaches. Soccer development is not linear and the game changes exponentially with the transitions from 7v7 size 3 balls to 11v11 size 5. All good coaches should have their eye on the big game and always teach skills that can support a player for their entire career. Also it’s important to keep in mind they aren’t all going to be Messi and soccer can teach valuable life skills, encourage individual effort, focus on being a good teammate and sportsman.
Well done video, thanks for making it
Winning is a tough line to put your finger on, although development is the main priority, but when it comes to gametime, if you can't perform in training, then you're getting less playing time. Execute in training and your playing time will increase. I'm not going to punish the team by putting an ineffective player on the field. The parents have too much time and money involved to be in an important game and see the coach put Timmy in the game when he's not at the level the game calls for. I coach to win, and I coach to develop players. Until you've been a part of a real winning team and culture, you won't understand how cutthroat it has to be in order for the group to have success.