Reply to should 8-year-olds be capable of focusing & following directions across a 45-minute practice?

Forum Index » Soccer

Reply to "should 8-year-olds be capable of focusing & following directions across a 45-minute practice? "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm coaching a girls rec team composed mostly of 8-year-olds.

They are great kids, but sometimes the practices feel like herding cats.

For simple exercises, I can get them to focus -- for example, running down the field in pairs while passing back and forth.

But if we attempt something more complex -- say, a 4 vs 4 scrimmage -- order begins to break down after just a few minutes. There will be complaints about the team (a player might want to switch sides), complaints about wanting to switch positions (say, from goalie to forward), complaints that they are not receiving enough passes or getting enough touches on the ball, bursts of negative emotion and self-criticism ("I'm no good"; "everybody else on the team is better than me", "this game is unfair"), and, every now and then, a child will storm off the field with tears in her eyes.

What should I realistically expect from kids this age? Are the issues I am experiencing a reflection of poor coaching? Or is this a normal situation for a team of 8-year-olds?  Or do I just happen to have a group of kids that are lagging behind other 8-year-olds in maturity?

Is a more forceful and strict coaching approach is required? I feel OK coming down hard on my own kids, but I'm uncomfortable acting like another kid's parent. But that seems to be what they need. They need me to lay down the law, and to make it absolutely clear that I won't accept any nonsense. But is this OK for such young kids? And in a rec league? I'm not sure.

Not that the team is very small and we lack subs during games, so I can't punish a problematic kid by making them ride the bench.
 
My daughter is on the team, and she follows directions perfectly, and can maintain focus not just for a 45 minute practice, but for much longer if necessary. I'd say about half the kids on the team are capable of this level of attentiveness and "professionalism" (for lack of a better word). But the other half seem to lack the necessary maturity.

Looking for any suggestions and feedback. Thanks.[/quote]

I think you need to be somewhat more strict.  Sounds like the kids are running the show, instead of the coach.  My kid is six, if he or his team mates acted like this coach would pull them out of the practice for a moment and have a stern word or two about their behavior before sending them back in. They need to know that you are in charge.  I am sure they do not behave like this in school, so they are capable of it.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics