Empower Your Players

   Teach your players to communicate on the field, don't constantly yell instructions from the sidelines. Encourage your players to do the communicating, allowing them to develop valuable thinking and communication skills. Another reason the players need to do the communication themselves is to keep the parents and coaches from feeling like they need yell. If players are quiet on the playing field, parents immediately feel the need to yell something. When players show they are in control of the situation, the sidelines tend to quiet down! Demonstrate effective communication and encourage your players to practice communicating during practices and scrimmages. Remind your players before each game to communicate effectively, monitor their communication and provide feedback at halftimes and after each game.

Effective communication sends quickly processed messages to more than one player at a time, using as few words as possible. Effective communication needs to be practiced, discussed during practices and needs to become second nature. When effective communication is second nature, players are demonstrating the ability to think quickly on their feet, process information, and control situations efficiently through their communication. During games, allow the players to do their own thinking and communicating, you may be pleasantly surprised!

To communicate effectively, players should learn how the speak the language of soccer. Use the soccer vocabulary words and terms, and the soccer glossary as references to help your players develop their communication skills on the field!