So every Saturday morning I work at a mini soccer centre, working with the year 2 age group which is a mixed group of girls and boys. Every year as they go up in school I get a new group and this was the first time I had got to work with this certain group of players.
So as normal my first session was focused on dribbling as a topic. I always start with dribbling as it helps to players become more aware of the space they have or what is around them and also because no kid likes passing. In the session I wanted to take a session where I could see individual ability to help with future session planning and challenges. I used this session really just to get to know individuals and how they worked and how I'm going to be able to help them while they are with me.
I should probably give you a quick run through of my session. I got the group on the ball straight away allowing them to do individual dribbling with added challenges to test knowledge and ability, such as different parts of the foot, both feet, skills etc. From there I went into a 1v1 and trying to use dribbling to keep the ball and get passed their partner, then gave the game direction with end zones. Took a big jump after this and went in to an 4v4 end zone game which I thought might be too much for them but they handled it well. To finish the session off I then played a game. A really simple session I know but just wanted to get used to the group and them get used to me.
One obvious thing that I noticed and hadn't thought about while I planning the session, all the players have moved up from the year 1 group which session lasts 1 hour, mine lasts and hour and a half. Because of the huge jump in the length of session players found sustaining their concentration more difficult and more physically demanding as well. Having realised this I will be able to take this into consideration in future planning and allow time for breaks and less physically demanding games. I've been thinking about it and currently have 2 solutions to try. 1, playing a game right at the beginning with the aim of grabbing their attention straight away and getting them concentrated and in the right mind set to carry on with the session. My 2nd idea being to make it more related to kids, by that I mean relatable game names 'Finding nemo' etc and also using the 6 methods of motivation to keep their concentration and engagement.
I think I mentioned this in my last self assessment and I think it's still true now that a big part of my coaching that needs to be worked on is challenging individual players based on ability and really meeting all their needs. Whether that be the observation of which group each players fits in to or just not thinking about it in my sessions. In this group I have quite a mixed group with regards to ability and I need to make sure that all players gain something from it by using individual challenges and adaptions which is something i need to use in all sessions not just with this group. I will definitely make a conscious effort to try and add this to my coaching style for the sake of the players. By doing this I may also have a solution to keeping the concentration and engagement of the group by getting their brains working and setting challenges (1 of the 6 methods of motivation). Just another thought as well as individual challenges when questioning and challenging the group as a whole I want to try and use even more Q+A and guided discovery.
At the beginning of the session I had a quick chat with the kids and asked them their expectation of themselves while they were there and also their expectations of me, by doing this this way I wanted to set ground rules that they were more likely to stick to having set them themselves. (that sentence was far too long). These ground rules helped through the session I was able to refer back to the rules they set when they weren't sticking to them. There weren't many but they were to the point and looked like this..
I hope you can read that and I apologise for my hand writing I do know it's appalling but I figure there are more important things in life haha.
As well as this I felt I helped to set a good first impression and environment for the players. One player at the beginning of the session was very nervous about joining a new group with a new coach and was hesitant to join in with the rest of the group especially as she was the only girl. I didn't push her to join in but did give occasional reminders that she was free to join in whenever she wanted. By the end of the session she was taking part in everything and was laughing and talking to everyone, I like to think this was because the boys were doing the same thing and that I wasn't telling them off for making mistakes or trying things, just allowing them to experiment. I kept a happy light feel to the session to help players feel comfortable. All players joined in well and I hope this was because of the environment set right from the beginning (whether it was or not is a different story, you'd have to ask the kids haha)
So that's about it for my self assessment I think, after going back through it it seems that the kids enjoyed it although maybe it could be more related to them. When planning sessions I really need to think of the outcomes and what I want out of it so that i can challenge them, both on a group and individual level. As well as using different coaching methods again to get them thinking more and really get their brains working as a team and as a player. I am really looking forward to the next 7 week block with this group.
Again I hope anyone that reads this blog finds it either helpful or thought provoking and any comments or help that could be given will be gratefully received so don't hesitate to say and give me a message :)
Before I go I have also got a picture of the coaching scheme I am going to try with them over the next block and would really like peoples thoughts on it. Whether they think I'm moving too fast or if it's in the wrong order or maybe too much for them, any comments will be taken on board. Also if you get confused by the topic names just get hold of me and I'll gladly explain my thinking process.
Thanks again and hope you enjoy!! Until next time..
