Coaching is not about controlling the outcomes…

Something to bear in mind at training and games for parents and coaches.

It is so hard to not try to control the outcomes when it comes to kids’ football.

We’ve all been there, lost in the emotion of a game and wanting our players to win so much that we start trying to control what the players are doing.

Or, as coaches, wanting everything to look great and each kid do exactly what you were hoping they would do at your training session, so we start telling them what to do and when to do it.

But the most effective type of coaching is when we offer guidance, ask effective questions then let the players explore the outcomes.

They might not get it right straight away.

And it can be painful watching them when all we want to do is shout and tell them how to do it!

But if all we do is tell them, they won’t learn.

They need to figure things out because, when they do, the learning is way more powerful.

But will also need to consider that some children may not wish to learn yet or aren’t ready to learn.

They might be there for different reasons – their friends go, their parents have forced them etc.

Or they may be very young at the start of their football journey.

The worst thing we can do with those players is try to force them to learn by barking instructions.

It isn’t fun and will put them off wanting to stick at it.

At matches, the best thing we can all do is stand back, encourage, praise and let them play.

At training, the best thing coaches can do is plan activities that are fun but teach the players the things they need in context of the game – no line drills, no stood around listening to the coach who has just stopped the session for the 38th time to tell everyone how much they think they know about football, pre-planned activities that are relevant to the needs of each player.

A lot of the time we focus on the outcome – a win, how a session looks to onlookers etc.

When really, the only focus should be on providing the best environment for children to learn at their own pace whist enjoying it all as much as possible.

It is those children who will stay in the game the longest.