Guide for parents and coaches - Soccer For Kids

Welcome soccer parents and coaches!  

You've reluctantly volunteered to help, but where should you start. Whether you're a newbie soccer coach or taking on the job of a soccer team parent, you need some guidance. 

The Soccer-For-Kids website gives you the tips and advice you need as a new soccer parent or coach.

Let's face it. Kids are only a small part of our population, but they are 100% of our future. We want to do things the right way for our children. If you're a Newby soccer mom or day here are a few quick tips on good soccer parenting.

Simple Tips For nEW sOCCER pARENTS

1. pATIENCE

 It takes a lot of time to learn all there is to know about the game of soccer. With your support, you and your child will be able to enjoy the game at a higher level. Have patience and be supportive at the same time.

2. Fun

Focus on fun, not on winning. Let's face it. We all want our child to win, but soccer is a GAME and games are supposed to be fun. Don't put pressure on your child to win. In stead, focus on the fun of making progress learning new skills and playing in the games and practice.

3. Coaching

During games allow the coach to give instructions. When parents starting yelling instructions from the sidelines, young soccer players get confused.    It's a fast-paced activity and kids get distracted and nervous too when they get more than one set of instructions. 

4. REFEREE

Referees are not perfect. They try their best, but will make calls that you may disagree with. Remember they don't care who wins. Youth soccer often involves new, inexperienced refs who are learning a new side of the game, too. Set a good example to your children by not berating them. 

5. Practice

Make it a point to practice with your child in the backyard. Try some fun imaginative games that are different from the skills and drills that are implemented at team practices. Make it an activity for the whole family. This makes for great family bonding.

6. Rules

Learn the rules of youth soccer yourself before you talk about them with your child.

Soccer For Kids Mission

The title "Soccer For Kids" and the mission statement says it all.

We want to not only help your child learn to play the world's number one game, but also impact him or her with all of the other benefits that come along with participating in a soccer program.

The number of kids who participate in youth soccer is staggering (about 4,000,000) and for many reasons.

It's critical to get the kids involved in the right kind of soccer program, one that teaches more than just the skills of dribbling, passing, and shooting. The life skills that are learned in soccer impact your child in so many other positive ways. Here's more on inspiration that prompted the evolution of this website.

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where to start as a new soccer coach/parent

Knowing where to begin is often the toughest part when you're staring a new activity and coaching or parenting young soccer players is no different. Here are 3 ways to get the help you want

1. CATEGORIES. You can scroll down the page and start with some of the topics below.
2. MENU. Find an area of youth soccer you want to explore by using use the menu at the top of the page.
3. SEARCH. You can use the search box below.

 

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categories of youth soccer posts

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The Soccer shots franchise I owned before publishing this website

Many of the beliefs I have about being a soccer parent and soccer coach came from coaching my own 3 kids throughout their youth soccer experiences combined with the philosophies adopted by the Soccer Shots franchise

WATCH THE INTRO VIDEO

1. The developmentally appropriate curriculum places an emphasis on character development and skill building.
2. The program was created under the guidance of childhood education specialists, professional soccer players and experienced and licensed soccer coaches.
3. A commitment was made constantly re-evaluate and update ther curriculum to stay current with childhood education standards.

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It was Frederick Douglas who said:  “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

Having fun is number one

I believe soccer for children should be an enjoyable experience. It must be fun

Having fun games for children that use soccer as the teaching tool will foster an affection to the World's number one sport. Here's a graphic on the top reasons why kids quit playing sports.

You can see in this graphic that the number one reason for a child quitting a sport is because he or she wasn't having fun. The date gathered for this illustration was from older kids.

I'd guess, since the kids who participate in Soccer Shots are not worried about grades and don't get injured, that the numbers would be significantly higher if you polled kids who are between 2 and 8 years old.

Parents have a huge part to play in whether a child likes participating in a sport.

Positive encouragement for their child's efforts, not criticism for less than stellar results, is the best thing a parent can do for their child. 

soccer parenting tips

We use the terms soccer for kids, soccer for children, and fun games for children when we write about our soccer program because that's what we are all about.  Being a kid is all about having fun.  According to Wikipedia a "game is a structured activity, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool." Sometimes parents and coaches forget that.  

• Soccer for children, especially very young children, should not include the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. It should involve lots of little kicks of the soccer ball.
• Soccer curriculum should include imaginative, fun activities for children that emphasize participation by all kids in the program.  
• You should have every child score at least one goal at every soccer practice.  This "fun games for children" philosophy can be instilled in all coaches and it should be a priority in each soccer experience for every child. The key components of every soccer program should be centered around fun games for children. 

I hope the articles here for new soccer parents and coaches are valuable. Keep it fun!

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how to SEARCH the soccer For Kids website for more articles:

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About Soccer For Kids

Answers to your questions about youth soccer

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