DON ’ T WASTE THEIR TIME : Strategies For Making Every Minute Count
COACHING
DON ’ T WASTE THEIR TIME : Strategies For Making Every Minute Count
Rob Herringer // United Soccer Coaches Director of Coaching
Recently , while reading an article on strategies to improve teaching in the physical and virtual classrooms , I came across a sentence that resonated with me : “ Don ’ t waste your students ’ time .” The author was referring to the instructional time that can be wasted during classes due to the lack of organization , careful planning and effective teaching techniques of the educator . Over the course of a school year , these wasted minutes add up to a significant loss of time on task , which leads to a negative impact on learning .
For nearly 20 years I have taught coaching education courses and presented at a variety of clinics . I often address the steps that should be taken to create meaningful learning environments and execute effective training sessions , because what coaches do with their teams during training has the greatest impact on player development . In order to improve training strategies , I like to take ideas from the world of education , as there are a lot of similarities between classroom teaching and coaching — but I never thought of summarizing what coaches must do on the field / court in a simple phrase like the one above . I will from now on and here ’ s why .
The article got me thinking about the demands being placed on children at very young ages . Schools are increasing the workload on students , with many raising expectations for homework and placing significant emphasis on performance on standardized tests . In addition , there are more extracurricular activities for kids to choose from than ever before , each of which requires a different time commitment . Youth coaches should keep these things in mind when managing their teams and putting plans together for individual player and team development . Children in 2024 have a lot of things on their plates that require their time and attention , and if they choose to spend some of their time with us , then we owe it to them to value that time and give them our best effort each and every day .
Something else the article got me thinking about is the amount of time coaches actually get to train their teams . Most youth coaches are given one or two , 60- to 90-minute training sessions a week . Therefore , it is critical for coaches to do everything in their power to make the most of every training opportunity . If the goal is to guide each player to their full potential — which should be the target for any quality coach and youth sports organization — then we must create learning environments where players improve by at least 1 % each time they attend a sporting event . This will only happen if we take the time to properly organize our training sessions and do what we can to make every minute we have with our players count . The following are some strategies to help with this :
START WITH TIMELY AND CONSISTENT COMMUNICATION
• Use one method of communication , such as TeamSnap , SportsEngine , email or group messaging .
• Notify families of training sessions and games as far in advance as possible so they can make arrangements for their players to attend .
• Send reminders so everyone is clear on the schedule for each week .
START AND END SESSIONS ON TIME
• Players and families have multiple commitments , whether it be homework or other activities . Do not waste your players ’ time and opportunities to improve by starting late , and let them go on time so families can get to whatever is next .
• A general guideline is training should be about as long as a game . Training for youth players should rarely exceed 90 minutes in length .
NO LAPS , NO LINES , NO LECTURES
• For ball sports , do not waste time by having players do conditioning that does not involve a ball . At the youth level , time should be spent on development , not conditioning . If sessions are designed properly , players will gain fitness by playing .
• Limit the use of substitutes during training ; keep players active .
• Keep lines short ( no more than four deep ) so players stay on task and receive as many repetitions as possible .
• Coaches should keep comments short and to the point . Players need to play , not listen to their coach for long periods of time .
PREPARE A LESSON PLAN FOR EACH TRAINING SESSION
• Time activities and breaks to be as efficient as possible .
• Training should consist of :
• Skill acquisition activities : hitting , throwing , catching , shooting , tackling , individual defending , etc .
• Game-based activities
• “ Distorting ” the game / putting constraints on players in order to make certain events occur . Examples :
>> Must complete three passes before shooting
>> Half-field / court game so there are more opportunities to work on defending
o Using smaller numbers ( 3v3 , 4v4 , etc .)
o Emphasize the most important foundational concepts
• Tactical activities
o Games that recreate specific game conditions and situations
• Free play / scrimmaging
Set up your learning environment with necessary equipment before training starts
■ This reduces the time spent transitioning from one activity to the next and increases time on task .
Make sure your sessions are fun , and players leave wanting to play more !
54 | Soccer Journal 54