With all of these age groups do not try to teach too much in one practice; their attention spans are too short & it won't be fun. SoccerHelp Practice Games are the ideal way to teach these age groups. The Games are fun, they keep all the players involved and active, and they are "self-teaching" and players learn by simply playing the games. The Games are designed to teach different skills and concepts. Simply select the Games that teach the things you want your team to learn.
SoccerHelp Testimonials from U-4 Coaches (these letters were posted on the SoccerHelp Forum):
"I loved Coach Doug's video. I struggled coaching my son's U-6 until I watched his video. It made all the difference in the world. I now make all our U-6 coaches watch his video and they love it as well." -Amy, coach and league administrator
I NEVER played soccer before. My daughter's team needed a coach and no one stepped forward. The team was going to be canceled - that's how it started for me. I now coach two teams each season and 'learned' how to coach all on SoccerHelp. PLAY THE GAMES and read the helps. You will be amazed. I use the patches, too. I love the current suggestions found on the website, but previously I had used them only for assists. The results were amazing. I had 8 kids on the team and we played 4v4. By the third game in the season, we had 100% of the kids scoring a goal in just about every game because our more skilled players WANTED a patch, so they set up the less aggressive players. Once those less aggressive players got the taste of scoring and having the crowd cheer for them, well, let's just say it was exciting! My parents loved our league games because all their kids scored (we were VERY liberal on determining who had assists so that all the kids had multiple patches before the end of the season). To see 3 year olds passing and assisting astounded me, too - I never would have thought it possible. This is compared to our competitors who had one or two skilled kids score all their goals. Even at that, with the SoccerHelp system, we generally outscored the other teams 3 or 4 goals to every one they made. We often scored 18 or more goals in a game. Several of the other teams had kids cry or walk off the field because they were 'too tired', or some would simply play with the grass. NOT the SoccerHelp kids. We had a blast!
You have no idea how much my 3.5-4 year old all girls Team has improved!!! In fact, I had a Dad come up to me after the game on Sat 03-17-07. he had not been to a game since the 1st game and here we are at game 5. He advised he cannot believe how much of a progression all the girls have shown. Yes, my girls started out very slow, lost, non-aggressive etc. Granted in our league we do not keep score, but we probably lost our 1st game by 20 goals. Since that time, if we were keeping score, we have not lost a game. AND, each week a new girl scores a goal!!!! ...amazing. I owe all of this to SoccerHelp. The practice games are AMAZINGLY EFFECTIVE!! MY Girls are so engaged, and I have parents tell me that their girls cannot wait to go to practice. I end every Practice with MONSTER INVASTION!!! And it is so effective for getting them to come back.....!!! I can go on and on about the success stories. But I will leave you with one - my own Daughters. Last Year my daughter played soccer as a almost 3 Year old. The coaches did nothing but throw the ball out there and let them run around. They did not engage that much at all. My daughter was so disinterested that, on game day, she did not even want to get into the game and play. She even got to the point where she did not want to go to practice. It was a grind. For games and practice, She would stay on the side and dig in the dirt and pick flowers. THIS YEAR - I said I am going to coach and use the SoccerHelp methods - WOW...WHAT A DIFFERENCE. My daughter is now one of the better players on the team, has scored goals and dribbles the ball down the field with both feet w/o looking down!! WOW...I AM SHOCKED!!! Anyway...A success STORY!!! I am behind this website 100%!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
Hi Coach Doug, I was so successful and found your methods so helpful as a first year coach that I can only imagine the results if our league adopted this methodology across our league. Thanks,
Mark
"I recently bought your soccer DVD on coaching Ages 3, 4, 5, and 6 and was really amazed by your training techniques." Michael, TX, USA
"I am very impressed with Coach Doug's video and training. First and formost kuddo's I have been searching for a good training tool for coaches of U6 players, I think you have it!" Geoff, Director of Recreational Soccer
"The SoccerHelp Coach Doug Program really worked well on two girls, who at the beginning of the year, I wouldn't have picked to play on my team. One cried every time she fell and the other just stood there. It was Doug's Video that gave me the tools and encouragement to train these two and help them obtain the confidence to play at a level beyond anyone's expectations. The examples Doug showed of the various personalities on his team were tremendous. Doug showed me that patience and fun works in the long run. These girls never scored a goal but they always stopped the ball and turned it around and helped the team. They were always in the right place at the right time. In the semi final, when it really counted, they performed and because of them the other team did not score a goal. The patch rewards and fun games worked extremely well for these girls. Thanks again and again." Troy, U8, Member of Coach Doug's Site
From www.soccerhelp.com
Copyright 1999-2010, David and Kay Huddleston
Want to Re-Print this article or part of it? You are allowed to link back to this article or to Soccerhelp.com. You may also copy on paper for handouts up to 10 pages from Soccerhelp.com PROVIDED: you don't remove any references to SoccerHelp, don't give the impression you own the information, and you MUST include "Copyright www.Soccerhelp.com" at the top or bottom of the article. To copy our work without crediting us is stealing and we will protect our copyrights. We would rather be nice than mean, so please save us some trouble and credit Soccerhelp.com if you copy any information from this website. It is illegal to post any information from SoccerHelp on the internet without written permission from David or Kay Huddleston, except we will allow quotes of up to one page to be posted PROVIDED you add a FUNCTIONING LINK on the bottom of the same page that goes to www.Soccerhelp.com and says "Copyright www.Soccerhelp.com". The link MUST work for both visitors AND search engines. We have to enforce this due to blatant theft and to protect our copyrights and we hire a service to look for copyright violations. Thanks for your cooperation in this matter.
- U-4 Soccer Players, How To Coach (and Practice Games for U-6 and U-8)
- U-6 Soccer Players, How To Coach (see U-4 above for some excellent U-6 Practice Games)
- U-8 Soccer Players, How To Coach (read U-6 above first)
I NEVER played soccer before. My daughter's team needed a coach and no one stepped forward. The team was going to be canceled - that's how it started for me. I now coach two teams each season and 'learned' how to coach all on SoccerHelp. PLAY THE GAMES and read the helps. You will be amazed. I use the patches, too. I love the current suggestions found on the website, but previously I had used them only for assists. The results were amazing. I had 8 kids on the team and we played 4v4. By the third game in the season, we had 100% of the kids scoring a goal in just about every game because our more skilled players WANTED a patch, so they set up the less aggressive players. Once those less aggressive players got the taste of scoring and having the crowd cheer for them, well, let's just say it was exciting! My parents loved our league games because all their kids scored (we were VERY liberal on determining who had assists so that all the kids had multiple patches before the end of the season). To see 3 year olds passing and assisting astounded me, too - I never would have thought it possible. This is compared to our competitors who had one or two skilled kids score all their goals. Even at that, with the SoccerHelp system, we generally outscored the other teams 3 or 4 goals to every one they made. We often scored 18 or more goals in a game. Several of the other teams had kids cry or walk off the field because they were 'too tired', or some would simply play with the grass. NOT the SoccerHelp kids. We had a blast!
You have no idea how much my 3.5-4 year old all girls Team has improved!!! In fact, I had a Dad come up to me after the game on Sat 03-17-07. he had not been to a game since the 1st game and here we are at game 5. He advised he cannot believe how much of a progression all the girls have shown. Yes, my girls started out very slow, lost, non-aggressive etc. Granted in our league we do not keep score, but we probably lost our 1st game by 20 goals. Since that time, if we were keeping score, we have not lost a game. AND, each week a new girl scores a goal!!!! ...amazing. I owe all of this to SoccerHelp. The practice games are AMAZINGLY EFFECTIVE!! MY Girls are so engaged, and I have parents tell me that their girls cannot wait to go to practice. I end every Practice with MONSTER INVASTION!!! And it is so effective for getting them to come back.....!!! I can go on and on about the success stories. But I will leave you with one - my own Daughters. Last Year my daughter played soccer as a almost 3 Year old. The coaches did nothing but throw the ball out there and let them run around. They did not engage that much at all. My daughter was so disinterested that, on game day, she did not even want to get into the game and play. She even got to the point where she did not want to go to practice. It was a grind. For games and practice, She would stay on the side and dig in the dirt and pick flowers. THIS YEAR - I said I am going to coach and use the SoccerHelp methods - WOW...WHAT A DIFFERENCE. My daughter is now one of the better players on the team, has scored goals and dribbles the ball down the field with both feet w/o looking down!! WOW...I AM SHOCKED!!! Anyway...A success STORY!!! I am behind this website 100%!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
Hi Coach Doug, I was so successful and found your methods so helpful as a first year coach that I can only imagine the results if our league adopted this methodology across our league. Thanks,
Mark
"I recently bought your soccer DVD on coaching Ages 3, 4, 5, and 6 and was really amazed by your training techniques." Michael, TX, USA
"I am very impressed with Coach Doug's video and training. First and formost kuddo's I have been searching for a good training tool for coaches of U6 players, I think you have it!" Geoff, Director of Recreational Soccer
"Received and reviewed the Coach Doug DVD. I love it, just what we are looking for." Geoff, U6 Program Director, FL
"The SoccerHelp Coach Doug Program really worked well on two girls, who at the beginning of the year, I wouldn't have picked to play on my team. One cried every time she fell and the other just stood there. It was Doug's Video that gave me the tools and encouragement to train these two and help them obtain the confidence to play at a level beyond anyone's expectations. The examples Doug showed of the various personalities on his team were tremendous. Doug showed me that patience and fun works in the long run. These girls never scored a goal but they always stopped the ball and turned it around and helped the team. They were always in the right place at the right time. In the semi final, when it really counted, they performed and because of them the other team did not score a goal. The patch rewards and fun games worked extremely well for these girls. Thanks again and again." Troy, U8, Member of Coach Doug's Site
Soccer Drills soccer drills soccer training drills youth soccer drills
soccer drills soccer drills kids fun soccer drills for kids
soccer drills soccer drills positions soccer formations
soccer positions assigning and coaching soccer positions
Soccer Rules soccer rules and rules of soccer
Soccer Coaching soccer coaching and how to coach soccer
Soccer Positions soccer positions
soccer formations soccer formations for 4v4 to 11v11
Soccer Rules soccer rules and kids soccer rules
soccer formations soccer formations
Youth Soccer Drills youth soccer drills
Soccer Drills and Youth Soccer Drills soccer drills for kids that are fun
Want to Re-Print this article or part of it? You are allowed to link back to this article or to Soccerhelp.com. You may also copy on paper for handouts up to 10 pages from Soccerhelp.com PROVIDED: you don't remove any references to SoccerHelp, don't give the impression you own the information, and you MUST include "Copyright www.Soccerhelp.com" at the top or bottom of the article. To copy our work without crediting us is stealing and we will protect our copyrights. We would rather be nice than mean, so please save us some trouble and credit Soccerhelp.com if you copy any information from this website. It is illegal to post any information from SoccerHelp on the internet without written permission from David or Kay Huddleston, except we will allow quotes of up to one page to be posted PROVIDED you add a FUNCTIONING LINK on the bottom of the same page that goes to www.Soccerhelp.com and says "Copyright www.Soccerhelp.com". The link MUST work for both visitors AND search engines. We have to enforce this due to blatant theft and to protect our copyrights and we hire a service to look for copyright violations. Thanks for your cooperation in this matter.
