A soccer video review about Blast The Ball youth soccer training video.

The world of youth soccer training is happy to find that a new DVD is shipping world wide and getting strong reviews. Soccer coaches, parents and players alike are giving this one “two thumbs up”. The evolution of a soccer player and soccer coach is a strange thing. Many players and coaches get introduced into the sport without an extensive background in soccer. Others play for years on very advanced levels and get appointed a “youth soccer coach” only when no one else will volunteer. Whatever the situation, learning to become a soccer teacher / trainer takes years of practice and the willingness to explore your own personal growth.

Blast The Ball was created because it was apparent that most players and coaches never received detailed instruction on simply kicking the soccer ball. While this task seems simple, there are many “home brew” instructions and teachings that are simply wrong. Many coaches teach youth soccer players to “not look at the ball” when kicking. However, this is the biggest mistake that youth players make. Total focus on the soccer ball while striking it is critical for both accuracy and power. Most youth soccer players also kick the ball with their toe. The sad part about this type of kick is that many players up into middle school and even high school still have a “toe kick”. The lack of proper soccer kick training prompted the release of the video. While many soccer videos are designed for “beginners” Blast The Ball ™ is designed for all levels of play. Reviews from coaches at all levels are praising its detailed instruction and teachings.

Youth Soccer Coaching and Soccer Parenting

Well the first thing you will learn about youth soccer coaching is that it is a lifelong growing experience that never ends. Think you know it all? Trust me you don’t. Everyone keeps learning and improving. I hope you will find this kind of “brutally honest” lesson very helpful as many others have.

#1 - Great soccer coaches are made, not born. If you OPEN your mind and resist the temptation to think you know a lot, you will be great coach. Understand that the greatest coaches of all time started off knowing NOTHING about coaching. Many never played soccer before, yet they are fantastic coaches. Simply the interest in a sport and a child that has a desire has created many great soccer coaches. Just think… What would have happened to Tiger Woods if his Dad was a soccer fan, not a golf fan?

#2 – If you are coaching to “win” everyone loses. Easier said than done. You have pressures from parents, players, spouses, yourself and everyone else about your “winning record”. You need to address this with EVERYONE at the beginning of the season. Let them know that you are there to train individual soccer players improve their individual skills. Yes, there will be teamwork lessons and some tactical lessons, but the main focus will be on improving each player’s individual skills and growing as a player. Bad Coach – “I have a 55 and 0 winning record over the past 4 years. My teams are trained to win.” Good Coach – “I don’t keep track of wins or losses. I only make sure that we spend as much time as possible on improving our skills. We win some and we loose some, but in the end my players walk away with fantastic skills.”

#3 – Coaching “certifications” and classes teach you HOW to coach and deal with general issues you may face. They don’t teach you WHAT to coach or get very specific. As an example, both NAYS and the USSF classes for youth coaches are generally 4 – 8 hours long. You are then a “soccer coach”. Even the advanced levels are mostly a few days long and cover so many topics related to administration, behavior, liability, first aid and more that SPECIFIC skills training is not and can’t be taught. The higher the “certification” the higher the age group that it deals with and it turns more tactical than youth skill driven. You as a soccer coach must watch videos, watch other coaches, attend camps and watch them train, read books and articles from experienced coaches. This is where your “skill sessions” and lessons will come from, not a “certificate”. These national and local courses are vital to improving you as a soccer coach, but you must learn that they are a VERY small part of growing process.

#4 - Be a quiet coach. Let kids play the game and think for themselves. They will make mistakes and that is fine. Reminding them of things you practiced during the week is fine, but constantly BARKING out orders does nothing for their decision making process. Example: Bad Coach - “What are you doing? You need to stop sitting back waiting for the ball; go win it.” Good Coach- “Tommy, great effort on that throw in. Remember what we practiced this week? Try and be the first one to the ball just like we practiced.”

#5 – KILL THE LINES. Try and never have kids sitting and waiting in lines while others do the movement or skill. It is much better to have players work in pairs or small groups so that they are constantly busy.

#6 – Don’t turn a skill session into a conditioning session. They will learn less if they think you are working them rather than teaching them. Conditioning for youth players should come through high activity games or small sided games. 1 v 1 challenge and finishing games are very demanding and a great way to work on conditioning.

#7 – Try and get as many 3 v 3 or 4 v 4 games in as possible. This is where players get a great amount of touches and have to make decisions often. Going to full field scrimmages is a bad idea. “full field time is used to explain tactical positioning and movement, not improve skills.
#8 – Make sure you understand basic skills and make sure your players can perform them. Watching videos such as Blast The Ball, www.BlastTheBall.com , is critical to your coaching success. Understanding why players do what they do vs. just how to show them the right way is critical.

#9 – Take your training seriously, but remember that to most of these kids soccer is not the “end of the world. If you are in a Rec league, this is often the children’s first exposure to the sport.

#10 – Repeat, repeat, repeat. So often youth soccer players are exposed to a skills session that lasts 15 minutes and then it is never revisited for the rest of the year. You are better to have 5 minute drills that you repeat at every practice. Do you know how children learn the “times table”? They repeat it over and over until it is an instinct. Focus on the skills that are essential to their age group and make it a routine. It will go very quickly and this constant repetition will make them great at it. As an example, learning to “jockey” as a defender is very hard for a youth player. They always want to “jump in and stab”. Have them practice jockeying every practice with a partner. Do it for 5 minutes and then move on. By the end of the season, you will have an amazing looking defense.

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Youth soccer training for all ages and levels of soccer coaches and parents.
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A soccer video review about Blast The Ball youth soccer training video.

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