Underage Coaching

[ardchieftain]

I know there was a thread about this before but i can't find it.

I have finally got involved in coaching [u10]. Just wondering what drills some of you use at this level.

[Zulu]

Pm me an email and I'll send you on a load of stuff I have. I coach 6 to 12 year olds and I'll post some thoughts and drills here too in the hope that it will encourage others to do so too. I know AZ does a fair bit with underage too though I'm not sure what age he primarily works with now.

[DownFanatic]

I know there was a thread about this before but i can't find it.

I have finally got involved in coaching [u10]. Just wondering what drills some of you use at this level.

It all depends on what skills the players involved acquired at U6 and U8 level. If they have been well coached at these two levels then at U-10 you should be able to work a lot on conditioned games and decision making. If they are coming to you with a lack of previous coaching then you may have to concentrate mostly on the basic skills.

[Harold Disgracey]

I'd be interested in some good u14 drills.

[reddgnhand]

Pm me an email and I'll send you on a load of stuff I have. I coach 6 to 12 year olds and I'll post some thoughts and drills here too in the hope that it will encourage others to do so too. I know AZ does a fair bit with underage too though I'm not sure what age he primarily works with now.

Zulu i sent you a pm thanks.

[AZOffaly]

Pm me an email and I'll send you on a load of stuff I have. I coach 6 to 12 year olds and I'll post some thoughts and drills here too in the hope that it will encourage others to do so too. I know AZ does a fair bit with underage too though I'm not sure what age he primarily works with now.

Zulu i sent you a pm thanks.

Fire me on a PM too there. I'm responsible for the coaching of 6,7 and 8 year olds in my club, hurling and football. I have 3-4 coaches working with me in each group. I'm also involved with development squads (u14) football.

[reddgnhand]

Pm me an email and I'll send you on a load of stuff I have. I coach 6 to 12 year olds and I'll post some thoughts and drills here too in the hope that it will encourage others to do so too. I know AZ does a fair bit with underage too though I'm not sure what age he primarily works with now.

Zulu i sent you a pm thanks.

Fire me on a PM too there. I'm responsible for the coaching of 6,7 and 8 year olds in my club, hurling and football. I have 3-4 coaches working with me in each group. I'm also involved with development squads (u14) football.

PM sent AZ thanks.

[magpie seanie]

I work with 5-8 year olds in our club (football). The key tip I keep getting and trying to work towards is to try and use conditioned games more so that drills. Kids just love the competitive aspect and if you're creative you can get the best of both worlds - the skill development you want from a drill as well as the enjoyment/competitiveness the kids will love. For the younger kids when you're focussing on movements and basic skills a series of stations is brilliant. Keeps them moving, has plenty of variety and easy to organise in small areas like halls. A great way to get parents involved too as very little knowledge of the game is required to operate a station (coach can float about working on technique, spotting and fixing).

I absolutely love it but I've oceans to learn. If you're willing to learn you'll improve all the time.

[ardchieftain]

Thanks for the e-mail Zulu, greatly appreciated. Will get stuck into them after i bring the young lad to training.

[DAR13]

Hi to all, I have been a reader of this forum for a long time when i see this topic I had to join. I am going to get involved with my local club and this would be my first stint at coaching kids. I would greatly appreciate any help from above posters. I am wondering Zulu and AZ could you also forward on any information that you may have. It would be great to have with regards to preparation for the first training session. Many Thanks Dar.

[Sportacus]

Plan each session.
Get as much help as you can - the smaller the coach/players ratio the better.
No negative commentsto children
Good communication with parents.
Spot and fix.
Enjoy.

[Zulu]

Some things I would recommend from my experience:

Have various levels of difficulty in your drills and games. For example, if you are better at kicking than me but we are both doing the same drill then you might get bored or I might find it too difficult. It's better to group players of similar ability for drills and set them a challenge reflective of their ability.

Always teach through questions rather than telling them the answer - Sean where do you think is the best place to go to get the pass? rather than Sean you should pull out to the wing and into space for the pass.

FUN, FUN, FUN - If they like you and are having a laugh at training then they'll probably come back. If your training sessions are excellently laid out and you could spot a technique fault in any kid, it matters not a jot if it isn't fun as they won't come back or won't look forward to your sessions. I want my sessions to inspire them to practice on their own rather than be a series of repeated drills where I correct ad nauseum. They don't need to be perfect by next week but (hopefully) by the time they are 26 or 27. So watch for technique errors but just give pointers and let them self correct too.

Games, games and more games - I'm a firm believer in the benefits of learning in the environment in which you'll be asked to perform. Of course you need to start basic and reinforce the fundamentals but all the skills are performed in game situations and that's where the must be perfected. I see no reason why you can't start that process with 6 and 7 year olds. I have anyway and I see great results so far.

Let them show off - I tell the kids every now and then to go away and create a trick shot or piece of skill and we'll see whose is the best in 6 weeks. Of course I don't really pick a best or even check them out all the time but it gets them practising and using their imagination. I also play games where players can't pass the ball ball, they must take on defenders and shoot. Of course kids love this and left to their own devices most would never pass but I don't think we should entirely discourage kids of this. We usuallly now play underage games with one hop and one solo but if we always do this in games and training then we'll produce better team players but perhaps not players who can retain possession under pressure. Encourage the glory hole in some of your training sessions and encourage showing off - just keep it controlled.

I love working with these age groups and while it is challenging it is also very rewarding. My philosophy is to make them feel like they are they most important players in the world, because they are. Also remember this is their time so don't tell them not to do something instead ask them if they should do it or if they would do the same thing again. Why tell a 10 year old not to pass across his own goal for example, I'd encourage them to express themselves and then ask if they thought it was the right thing to do. If they said yes, then fair enough. The kids want to win desperately, as do you, but it's their competition and their chance to win medals, if you encourage them to go out and play as they want you'll see some amazing things and they'll correct themselves if their actions didn't help winning.

[AZOffaly]

I think the lads have covered most of it at this stage, and in fairness Zulu was a huge help to me when I was getting started. I'd agree with most, if not quite all, the lads have said above, but just a couple of thoughts from me.

1 - Purpose.

What are you trying to achieve as a coach and as a group? You should have a clear view of this before the start of the year. This will vary depending on the age group you are coaching, but as Zulu said above, the most important thing at a very young age is that they enjoy it. All players, of all ages, should be enjoying our games. I'm very clear on that. However a 6 year old will find something enjoyable that a 36 year old would be very bored with. At the younger age groups I would say you should be aiming to instill the basic skills, and instill a love of our games in an environment that the kids enjoy and makes them want to return. Always coach with a smile on your face, and interact with the kids on that basis. If you have to correct technique, don't bark at them at all costs. Positive reinforcement is the key there. Watch out for other coaches doing the same. If ye are enjoying it, chances are the kids are too.

2 - Planning sessions

Once you have a clear view of what you are trying to achieve and have a guiding principle for the year including the age appropriate skills you want to work on,  it helps a lot in planning a session or series of sessions. This is vital because there is nothing worse, regardless of age group, than a coach humming and hawing about what he's going to do next, or setting out cones or whatever before the drill starts. Adults will grumble and grouse, but kids will start to lose attention, and any of the madder young lads will start messing, as kids do. You'd be in danger of losing the session then, so it's vital that you know what you are doing, when and how.

3 - Help/Assistants

Point 2 segues me nicely onto the help. We have upwards of 80 kids every tuesday and Saturday with us, from 5 to 8 yrs of age. Obviously that would not be feasible for a single coach to deal with, so be clever. Firstly, divide and conquer. Don't be constrained to a specific age grouping if that does not do the job for you, but for us it works okay to have 3 groups, under 6 and beginner, 7s and 8s. Note the 'and beginner' bit. This speaks to Zulu's point above. You should be trying to have your groups split loosely along skill maturity and ability, and then within each group, try and split them into sub groups for the games and skills according to their abilities. An 8 year old attending for the first time might be lost and disheartened if you group him with the strongest 8 year olds you have, so use the noggin when splitting up. Again, this is something that should be done well before any session starts. Feel free to move kids between groups as they progress as well, as long as it is appropriate.

I agree with Seanie I think it was, who said smaller groups the better. I love groups of 8 because it's a nice round number, but don't go bigger than that if you can at all. The less kids per coach, the more coaching is done and the more they get out of it. In order to do all this splitting up we organise ourselves thusly. Coaching Co-Ordinator/Lead Coach -> 8-10 coaches split amongst our 3 groups -> Parent Volunteers at each station with a coach to help them by standing in goals, organising kids etc.  I realise we're lucky to have this, but if you have them available to you, use them. Parents are vital to you at that age, so even if they stand in goals and shout encouragement it's good.

3. Skills/Drills

First of all, I agree with the lads above that games are the best places to hone and perfect the techniques the kids are learning, but I would just urge caution regarding jumping into games too quickly (see below for a bit more on this). The best way of learning the skills they need to begin with is through drills, or as I call them 'skills games'. These drills should have a specific purpose (Ask yourself Why? and if you can't answer, don't do the drill). Keep the drills simple, and make sure the kids have maximum time on the ball. My mantra is one sliotar per child for all drills that involve a ball (which is most of them) and one football between two kids at least for football skills.

My advice on skills introduction or basic practice drills, is that they should be simple to understand and execute. They should maximise interaction with a ball. Don't have kids standing around, at all costs. Keep lines to a max of 3. They should involve movement, ABCs (Agility Balance or Co-ordination/Fundemental Movement Skills) or a game type element (keep score of 4 v 4 as they try to score a goal on a parent volunteer etc, even though you're really looking at working their striking off the ground, or punt kicking), and they should last 8-10 minutes max. Finally the best drills incorporate more than one skill. Even though striking, for example, might be the primary focus, don't forget to look for correct grip and swing, running, jumping, etc. The Drill should ideally be exercising other skills they've already learned and are relatively comfortable with.

I do something very similar to what Seanie suggests in our sessions. When I  am planning a session I decide what we are going to focus on for each specific age group. Usually 1 or 2 things. Might be hurling striking and football belly catching for example. Then I decide on 2-3 different skills games which focus on those areas.

At the pitch then, at least 15 minutes before the session, lay out your equipment. (NOTE 1,000 cones does not equal a good session, so adhere to the simple is good philosophy and put out cones, poles, ladders etc only where you need them. Nothing wrong with using them when they are needed, they are invaluable, but if you're throwing out loads of stuff for the sake of it, you're probably not focussed on the right things.)

Then walk through the session in 10 minutes with the assistant coaches, who will brief the parents at their stations, and assign a coach to each station if you can. If you don't have numbers you might have to take a station yourself, but so be it, otherwise you can float and keep an eye on how the session is progressing and help out with strugglers on a 1 to 1 basis.

Finally, I mentioned stations. Like Seanie says, I find this brilliant. Set up your stations, and as the session is progressing the kids move from station to station (2 or 3 max in a one hour session), while the coaches and parents stay put. This way the coaches are comfortable with what they are doing, but the kids get to move onto something new every 8-10 minutes.

Finally, amidst all this talk of drills theres a couple of things I make sure we do in every session. 1 is warmup focussed on the ABCs and Fundemental Movements Skills. 2 is touch base (sorry about the terminology!) EVERY session with younger kids on the basics. Hurling Ready Position, Lock Position and Swing is vital. You need to set aside a few minutes at the start of every hurling session to reinforce that, and watch for it in every single drill you do.

Even as you progress up the levels, keep an eye out for that stuff as bad habits can creep in unless the player is on top of that.

A sample session outline from me for a group of young kids would be along the lines of

a - Warmup - movement, running jumping, balance, agility. Games like Dodgems, Cup and Saucer, Hares and Hounds, Cowboys and Indians, etc.

b - Warmup - hurling basics. Reinforce the grip, ready, lock, swing.

c - Skills Drills - 2 or 3 skills games spread across 4 or 5 stations if needs be (numbers based). Coach and Assistants at each station. 6-8 kids per station, 8-10 minutes per station, then move onto a station doing a different drill.

d - Games (see below)

4. Games

As I've said above, and as the lads mentioned, games are the real arena to see how our skills are developing, and to hone them under competitive pressure. I'm not necessarily talking about games against other clubs, but even games amongst yourselves at the end of each session, which I try to do if at all possible.

Games versus other clubs.
I would be cautious about this with beginners and 6s say. I normally schedule about 4 or 5 such games each summer for them at this age, and normally try to have a month or 6 weeks of coaching (since March) before the first one. Obviously you don't care about the result, but you do want the kids to enjoy the experience, and to want to play again, so I find it's better to have them at a certain level of competence before exposing them to external teams too much. By all means games internal in each session, as outlined below.

For the slightly older, or more used to it, lads, I would encourage games outside the club on a more active level. For example, we will be trying to arrange a series of inter club blitzes with the likes of Ahane, Murroe, Ballina, Ballinahinch, Sean Treacys and ourselves and we will also play one off games with other clubs, including trips to Cork etc. Again the result is of no importance, but the ability for the lads to show their skills in a game environment is one they love. I would make sure you chat to the opposition coach if you think you have significantly stronger or weaker kids, so that you can match up accordingly. These games will be max of 7 a side, so if you have 30 kids you will want 4 or 5 games happening simultaneously if possible, so you should be able to match up strongs v strongs etc.

Internal Games -

As above, every session should end with a game, including the beginners and 6s. Feel free to make these games as conditioned as you want, but again, try to keep it easy to understand. One thing that works well is zones, where you restrict forwards to the forward zone, backs to the backs, and midfield can either move all over, or be restricted to the midfield zone. This allows you to have players of similar abilities in the same zones, and the strongest lads cannot dominate possession and the entire game. You can also introduce more than one ball, especially if the play is up the other end. Rather than allowing the kids to get distracted, fire in another ball there and say 'who's awake?'. This works well in football as well because it encourages the basic punt kick technique as backs try to clear it out of their zone to the forwards.

As you move up the age groups, games and conditioned games are brilliant for decision making and emphasising the importance of it. Not so much from a tactical point of view initially, but more from a standpoint of encouraging the lads to think about what they are doing. My mantra on this is that there are only 3 things you can do when you get the ball. 1) You can shoot, 2) You can pass, 3) You can carry.

The best players are those who make the right decisions, quickly, on what to do. I always try and get my players at older levels to operate on that mantra. It can be frustrating as they process their decision at the start, but eventually they will be able to make decisions quickly, and hopefully make more correct than incorrect decisions. However, again, you can introduce this maybe at 8s in my opinion, and really work on it at 10s, 12s, 14s, 16s etc. Even up to adult level decision making is almost as important as the execution itself. A great shooter who shoots every time he gets the ball, regardless of situation, is probably considered a greedy, selfish f**ker. If he made decisions quickly and only shot where he picked that as the best option, he might become a county star. Decisions under pressure and at pace are so, so important.

Obviously there are other decisions that go on in a game, when you don't have the ball, when you're supporting a team mate, etc etc, but the principle will remain the same.


Sorry about the essay there, as I said I think the lads probably covered most of it anyway, but just my two cents worth.

[johnneycool]

It's been a few years since I was involved in youth coaching, but I'd agree with Seanie that at young age levels up to around U8 or U10 try not to spend an excessive time on drills. To me it's a matter of emphasising the point of skills learned to then be transferred into game situations which can be conditioned. I find that keeping team sizes fairly small (4-6 a size) is also a big help in allowing players to not only get ball time but also less chance of getting hurt as well as less bodies gather around a loose ball.

yeah, keep the teams small even if you've got plenty of space, 5 a side or whatever with a competitive element where the team that scores stays on and that sort of thing. Small sided games means all the youngsters will get an opportunity where in larger teams the lesser players may hang out in the periphery and not be involved much.

The stations idea is also good but make sure you're grouping the youngsters with a similar ability so that each station can be tapered to challenge them at the right level, for instance we'd set up a catching (hurling) station to work on hand to eye co-ordination, the younger ones will get a bean bag to throw up and catch whilst holding the hurley to make sure they're catching with their weaker hand, the next group will get one of the small balls to throw up and catch and the last group will throw the ball off the wall to catch on the rebound. I'd also get them to do 10 as fast as they can without dropping them to keep them interested, but you need to know the level of the youngsters you're working with and take it from there.

[AZOffaly]

Great talk last night in Newport with Istvan Bayli who gave us great insight into LTAD. He also endorsed our approach in out club coaching and development plan. Fantastic for the club to have someone like that fly 21 hours to have a chat with us.