Welcome, Coaches & Assistant Coaches!
Useful Info for 2010 Fall Soccer
New Coach Info Below
Thank you for volunteering your time and service to our program. You have the opportunity to help children learn a beautiful game in a fun, fair, and safe environment! You've signed up to coach a team - so as a Region, we say THANK YOU!
Now you're asking yourself, what's next? What am I in for? What do I do? How do I run a team? These are all great questions, so let's answer them.
- You must be trained to help the kids learn at their level. For example, you wouldn't teach 8 year olds to do what 14 year olds should do! You need 2 training classes to start, and many times they are taught as a part of one class:
- Safe Haven Coaching U6 U8 U10 U12 Intermediate or Advanced Go to www.eayso.com to find a class that meets your schedule. Make sure you do it BEFORE you start to instruct the kids.
Get Organized
Things to plan ahead of meeting with your team include:
- Player roster - typed and ready for parent review
- Team meeting Agenda - For team meeting tips (click here)
- Sample outline of a practice & game schedule (so parents and players know what to expect – do you warm-up 20 minutes or 40 minutes before a game, etc.)
- Know the rules of the game
- Know the 6 philosophies of AYSO
- Know the Regional Board names/numbers (so you can contact the right person with questions as they come up)
- General Calendar of events for the season- games, practices & picture day
- A first aid kit (have it handy at ALL practices and games)
- Free Team Website from Shutterfly http://www.shutterfly.com/ayso/ (available late-August)
Know Yourself Well
What kind of coach are you? Organized/”seat-of-your-pants”, quiet/loud, funny/dry, encouraging/tough, positive/negative? Whatever type of person you are, if you make it fun for the kids, if you’re consistent in your approach, if you teach them the skills to succeed on the field, … you’ll be fine. We encourage you to be a Positive Role Model for the kids and parents. To help with this we offer you these tools:
- Coaching Help from AYSO - Click here to journey to the National AYSO. You'll find many tools to help you.
- KidZone info from AYSO - Click here to learn more from the National AYSO - you'll promote positive training and sideline cheering!
- The New Winner – This document is based on research from the Positive Coaching Alliance and it’s condensed into one paper to use for both coaches, parents and players. Click here to download it.
- Toolkit from the Positive Coaching Alliance – you can use all of their tools for free by clicking on this link.
Preparation
Just remember that you’ll get out of your season (and kids/parents) what you put into it.
- Prepare for your practices by having an agenda of things to address. Kids have fun when they feel like they’re a bit in charge (so give some options for games and drills to get them involved). A simple 10 minutes of prep before your practice will help you stay on track and addressing the things your team needs to work on. For detailed drills and ideas for addressing particular situations, you can click here for many resources to help you.
- Make sure to teach them age appropriate skills based on the 6 AYSO philosophies & age-guidelines.
- Encourage the kids to try different positions (and have success in them). Success means tangible progress, not perfection.
- Build up their self-esteem and you’ll have enthusiastic players. This means the team is made up of individuals working together, not one star player doing all the work. Winning is NOT the ultimate goal, it’s a part of the process and a by-product of a really good day. Make sure the kids know that not winning is OK too, if they’ve given Effort to be successful.
Do Your Best
You have it in you to inspire these kids, and you've already taken the step to Coach. Why not give it your best shot?! We will support you along the way. Contact the
Coach Administrator or your
Divisional Coordinator with questions or for assistance.