Fant en god artikkel på nett som går på hva som er riktig fokus i barnefotball.
Intro:
As adults, we can usually predict what is going to happen if we act in a certain way. If we run on an icy pavement, for example, we know we are likely to slip and fall. So we don't do it.
Children, however, don't know they will slip on an icy pavement until they have tried to run on one. It doesn't matter how often you warn them of the likely consequences, they won't believe you until they try it for themselves.
The same principle applies in youth football.
You know a weak pass to a team mate across your own penalty area is likely to result in an opposition forward nipping in and scoring against you. But your players don't know that - unless they experience it first hand.
But some coaches seem determined to prevent this essential part of a young football player's education from happening. If they see anything remotely risky about to take place they try to stop it.
For example, as soon as one of their defenders gets the ball in their own penalty area, you can hear them shout, "get rid of it!" or "don't mess about, kick it out!" This short-sighted attitude to risk taking is discussed in today's lead article. Hopefully it will make you more inclined to let your players learn their football lessons the hard (but better) way.
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Artikkelen: Don't be afraid to let your players take risks
I was watching an U7s match at my local school last week. There was a lot of aimless running around going on, and most of the players were trying to get within touching distance of the ball.
They were tackling each other, falling over and some were standing around watching the birds fly past. A fairly typical U7s match, in fact.
Suddenly, one girl burst out of the melee and started to run with the ball towards goal. The only problem was, it was the wrong one.
When she got about 10 yards from the goal she stopped, looked up and realised she was staring at her own goalkeeper. After a quick about turn, she started running the other way.
She ran past three of four of the other team, evaded several attempted tackles from her own team mates and finally got within striking distance of the other goal - about two feet from the line - where she promptly took a swing at the ball, missed it and fell over. She got up with a huge smile on her face.
Sadly, her coach was not impressed.
He was first shouting, "you're going the wrong way, WRONG WAY!". When she realised her mistake and started running towards the correct goal, he was shouting, "pass the ball, 'PASS IT!". Some parents were heard muttering, "she never passes the ball", "she's not a team player, is she?" and "someone needs to teach her how to pass".
When she finally fell over, the coach shouted, "I told you to pass, didn't I?"
All through the game this coach was telling his players where to go and what to do as though they were little robots.
Why all this instruction?
Because the coach was afraid one of his players would make a mistake and the other team would score as a result. Ultimately, he was really worried his team of six-year-olds would lose.
And, crazy as it sounds, there are lots of coaches like that in youth football. Coaches who think they are helping their players by giving a constant stream of instructions and forbidding them from taking risks.
This U7s coach might notch up a few quick wins in the short-term, but he is storing up problems for the future. By stifling his players' creativity and not allowing them to find out what happens if, for example, they play a weak square pass across their own penalty area, he is manufacturing a set of players who don't have the ability to think for themselves.
These are players who, if they don't hear an instruction from the coach, don't have a clue what to do with the ball.
Ignore the final score
"Worrying too much about winning and losing gets in the way of development," says Manfred Schellscheidt, head of US Soccer's U14 programme. "There are always shortcuts that you can find to win the next game. That doesn't necessarily mean you'll be winning five, six years from now... We should be concerned about the players' performance, not the final score."
If you want to be standing on the touch line eight or ten years from now, admiring the dribbling and shooting skills of the players you have as U7s today, you have to let them take risks.
You need to let your young players dribble, run and pass without fear, and without any 'advice' from the touch line. Applaud risk taking. If it goes wrong, your players will have learnt something from the experience - it's not the end of the world!
Finally, remember to smile a lot on match days. Enjoy yourself. You're watching the football stars of the future!
Let the children play [pdf]
