10 steps for coaches to build good relationships with young players:

1. Encourage dreams but plan carefully, know what you want and keep expectations reasonable.
2. Be the right role model - you are the most important example of the attitudes, standards & behavior that you are teaching.
3. Help players build self-esteem through work & achievement.
4. Make practice challenging productive & enjoyable.
5. Share your knowledge whenever and however possible but be a good listener.
6. Become a good observer of players' behavior.
7. Sell not yell - allow players to take ownership of their own progress.
8. Criticize sensitively and only the performance - never the person.
9. Treat all matches as teaching & learning experiences; don't let your ego get involved.
10. Parents are important to young players - make them part of the solution not the problem.

Bill Beswick, Building Winning Attitudes in Young Players.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/what-if-the-secret-to-success-is-failure.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1

Extracts taken from the Olympic Charter:

1. Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.

2. The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of man/woman, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.

3. The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play. The organization, administration and management of sport must be controlled by independent sports organizations.

Program emphasizes technical skills for 13- to 15-year-olds

The following is from a presentation made by Aime Jacquet, former French National Team coach and World Champion at the U.S. Youth Soccer Workshop in January 2001 in Las Vegas, Nev. Jacquet oversees the development program for 13- to 15-year-old players in France. He is in charge of 128 coaches split into six regions. Players are identified at age 11 through districts and then regional teams. The best French players at age 13 go to the National Training Center in Clairefontaine. At this center, the players are educated with these concepts in mind:

• To forget what is at stake
• That results only come from the game
• To respect the principles of playing soccer and play within the structure the coach gives you
• Victory is the only goal
• The first consideration is to be present (to become an impact player) in the game, to free yourself from your opponent, and to ask for the ball

When the coach is preparing his or her training sessions, the emphasis should be on technical ability, and his or her own convictions and conception of what soccer should look like. The coach must take into account the age of the players and the proper objectives linked to that age. He or she must be precise and professional. Every coach has access to many soccer exercises but has to know the proper way to proceed and to present them. The advice given to each player is very important. The coach must be careful of his or her language in order to help the players understand his or her methods. No yelling is tolerated. Objectives and issues in training are made clear to the players. The players have the best training conditions and train one time daily, five days a week. However, the sessions are very intense. The priorities for the players are:

• To become a professional player with the maximum chance of succeeding (this includes the four factors of soccer);
• Keep up with academic studies so they can have a career in the event a soccer career is not an option.

Priorities for the coaches:

• The proper methods necessary to work with youth players. France is the only country in Europe to require a youth coaching license.
• To develop a highly qualified technical staff, all licensed and well-trained

In the training sessions emphasis is given to repeating the quality of soccer movements. These are corrected and repeated until they become a regular part of the player’s package of skills. The coaches must be quality demonstrators. The coaches will then work on:

• Making the player’s movements faster and better;
• Linking movements efficiently and wisely. Coaches constantly ask the player why he or she uses a certain move in a certain situation;
• Using the weakest foot. Coaches will develop specific sessions to work on weaknesses in the player’s game;
• Technical exercises with many repetitions;
• Games with the possibility of many choices and follow-up discussion of those choices;
• Simple tactical exercises forcing the player to make a quick decision;
• Realistic activities which make the player feel as if he were in a real game.

The coaches remind the players that all high-level players keep the game simple. An example of this would be not dribbling (unless going to goal) instead of making a 30-yard pass. Dribbling slows the game down. Sir Bobby Charlton has said many times that “soccer is a simple game made difficult by the players and by the coaches.” Johan Cruyff, while at Barcelona, stated that the coach who gave his player more than two options does not understand the game of soccer. Training therefore is done with the following in mind:

Teach the word 'OPEN" to your players. Ask your players what it means to be "OPEN" then demonstrate cases where a player may not be OPEN:

• too close to the ball,
• too far from the ball,
• stood behind a defender,
• stood next to their own teammate.

Demonstrate where a player can move to "get OPEN" or "OPEN up".

• good distance of support from the ball, not too far, not too close,
• good angle of support: make a clear passing lane that will be difficult for defender to intercept,
• in space If they can constantly think to being OPEN in relation to:
  • the ball,
  • the defender,
  • their teammates then the play may start to OPEN up.

BUT remember to be patient:

• they will forget,
• they want the ball and may not trust their teammates will pass it to them.

Although having your players wan the ball is a healthy sign of their enthusiasm. From the sidelines, you can just simplify your communication to "are you OPEN Jane?" "Johnny, can you get open", "Red Bulls, OPEN Up". Much better than shouting specifics which can be confusing, restrictive and inhibit the players thinking and decision making. It can also take away a lot the enjoyment from the game. Hope this helps BUT don't expect immediate results. PATIENCE. As long as the kids are aware. A SIMPLE WARM-UP GAME: 1 TEAM, 3 BALLS: RULES: CONTROL, PASS, MOVE INTO SPACE/GET OPEN.