Thanks for the responses....I appreciate the insight you offer. Yet, On Field v
Sideline coaching is not a simple dynamic. I disagree with the 'just let em
play' approach as without practice (many of the teams in our in-town league do
not practice and therefore run about the field without a clue trying to listen
to the coach and their parents screaming from the sidelines) the games become
the only chance for the players to 'learn' the game.
Learning from mistakes is a power lesson but, when they are not taught the
proper way and fundamentals it is a tremendous source of frustration. The good
news is that our collection of marginally skilled players benefitted from three
games (at the start of the season) of active participation from the coaches (one
on the sideline, one on the defensive end line and one on the offensive end line).
In game 4 we 'took off the training wheels' and the kids did terrific
demonstrating a mastery of the fundamentals we introduced in the early games.
They still required some assistance in positioning on the field. But, the fundamentals of staying in lanes; turning the ball to the sidelines on defense; defending corner kicks, finding the open man, marking up, etc. that we taught them during the early games paid off. Forget the fact they are now undefeated, they are playing well above their individual levels and having a blast that comes from mastery and working together as a team.
Six games into the season, many of the other teams who bought into the 'let the
kids play' plan are not learning enough to excel. Kids are growing frustrated,
parents are growing disenfranchised and other than the best players the average
players aren't not enjoying their experiences and the program loses because kids
will not want to play in future years if parents don't believe they are getting
the instruction needed to improve.
Perhaps an alternative for U6, U8 and U10 "in-town, no standings, no scoring"
programs is to have a form of on-field coaching (5 yards in from the sideline
moving up and down with the ball) for the first three games and then 'take off the
training wheels' by remaining on the sidelines and offer reinforcement of
fundamentals at breaks/timeouts, etc. Or, make practices/scrimmages mandatory
before the start of the season and throughout the season.
I'm a big believer that it's important to teach them the fundamentals in an
environment where they can see/feel it in real time. Once they 'get it' you're
absolutely right about 'letting them play' and overcoming the perils of 'over
coaching.'
Thanks again for your insights,
Larry Simpson
