Anonymous wrote:I've coached a girls rec league team the last couple of years. Ages 8 and 9.

Half of the players are motivated and eager to learn, and half are not (they have been forced to play by their parents).

It can be challenging to run a practice in which 50% of the kids are motivated and 50% are counting the seconds until the practice is over.

I'm curious to hear from other coaches in similar situations. What has been your approach for dealing with the disinterested half of the team? Do you invest extra time in them, trying to get them interested in the game? Or do you simply try to minimize the negative effect that they have on the positive half of the team?

1. Make sure your practices are very well organized. Have a written plan of what you want to cover and make sure no single exercise lasts too long. I would start at ten minutes per exercise and then adjust as necessary.

2. Most exercises should be games with some element of competition.

Many exercises are naturally games - "sharks and minnows" for example is still a good exercise at this age.

You want to line your kids up on all four sides of a square to dribble through each other? OK - but make it a competition - the first kid to get back and forth across the square ten times is the winner. You can make the square into a rectangle with two sides longer than the others if you need to even out the competition.

I've seen coaches manage to turn a dribbling exercise into a team Xs and Os competition - where teams of three kids had to dribble the ball around the cone they wanted to cross off and drop their color pinny on the cone and then pass the ball to their teammate. Kids loved it - all shouting at the kid with the ball which cone they should be aiming for etc. This one is especially good because it lets the less skilled kids compete on a leverl playing field if they can think faster - it's surprisingly difficult to figure out which cone to aim for in a very short period of time while you are also dribbling the ball at high speed.

3. Hand out (small) prizes if you think the kids will respond to them. The dollar store is your friend.

4. Frequent encouragement and praise. Celebrate every small improvement. Did a nervous kid go to make a tackle. Celebrate it even if he/she didn't win the ball. That was a big step up for that kid.

5. And yes - if none of that works and the kid just doesn't want to play today, sometimes you have to ignore them and focus on the others. I would, in a very friendly and non-critical way, discuss the situation with the parents though in case they have any ideas. Take the approach that the fault is yours not the kid's and apologize that you haven't been able to get him/her as interested as you should have done. This will also have the benefit of defusing any parental anger at a possible percieved slight to their child.

OP here. Fortunately, my team is a friendly one -- all the girls respect each other and are kind to each other, despite the fact there there is a large soccer skill differential from the top players down to the bottom. They are a likable group of kids who get along well with each other. I just wish I could get all of them -- rather than just half of them -- to put genuine effort into the practice. It is possible to try hard AND to have fun. But half the team is there just because there parents are making them play, and that makes them difficult to coach.

It sounds like you would prefer working with slightly older kids, who would have more input into their own activities and sports.

Anonymous wrote:OP - thank you for considering every player's abilities on your team.

I had a daughter who seemed disinterested back in the day (she started to play soccer in 3rd grade). Her perceived disinterest was really more because she was new and learning the game and felt bullied by the other girls. The alpha girls on the team would make comments or bully the other kids about their playing. Openly telling the other girls not to pass to so-and-so. I know it's rec and the parent coaches were volunteers, but I expected the coaches to rein that behavior in.

I ended up switching my daughter to another, kinder team. She never played travel but she continued to play soccer and basketball all through high school.

OP here. Fortunately, my team is a friendly one -- all the girls respect each other and are kind to each other, despite the fact there there is a large soccer skill differential from the top players down to the bottom. They are a likable group of kids who get along well with each other. I just wish I could get all of them -- rather than just half of them -- to put genuine effort into the practice. It is possible to try hard AND to have fun. But half the team is there just because there parents are making them play, and that makes them difficult to coach.

OP - thank you for considering every player's abilities on your team.

I had a daughter who seemed disinterested back in the day (she started to play soccer in 3rd grade). Her perceived disinterest was really more because she was new and learning the game and felt bullied by the other girls. The alpha girls on the team would make comments or bully the other kids about their playing. Openly telling the other girls not to pass to so-and-so. I know it's rec and the parent coaches were volunteers, but I expected the coaches to rein that behavior in.

I ended up switching my daughter to another, kinder team. She never played travel but she continued to play soccer and basketball all through high school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, "disinterested" doesn't mean " not interested." It means "not influenced by considerations of personal advantage, unbiased, not having a personal stake in the outcome." I realize I'm fighting a losing battle on this point, but still I try.

I appreciate your fighting the good fight!

This is soccer forum not a grammar forum.

...

Evidently

What exactly are the uninterested kids doing?
By 8 it 9 you should be able to expect kids participating in any activity to follow directions, pay attention most (but not all) of the time, and follow 2 or 3 step tasks.
So if the kids get there and you say “go run a lap and then do 30 ball taps” all of them should go do that. If Larla picks flowed instead, or tried to run off to the playground, then it’s time to talk to her parents about her behavior. She’s not participating appropriately and not staying safe or being respectful of her team.
But if Larla runs/walks, and grabs a ball but doesn’t put any energy into the drills... that’s life. Try to give her positive encouragement and notice when she does stuff right, but you can’t - and shouldn’t - do much else about it.

Do you have an assistant coach? Can you pull the 5 top girls for a special advanced drill to the side?

As a mother of two soccer players, one who loves it and one who likes it, but could do without, I am glad that the coach of the latter hasn’t given up on him. He’s not the fastest, but he gets out there every weekend and considers himself a soccer player, even if the other parents don’t.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, "disinterested" doesn't mean " not interested." It means "not influenced by considerations of personal advantage, unbiased, not having a personal stake in the outcome." I realize I'm fighting a losing battle on this point, but still I try.

I appreciate your fighting the good fight!

This is soccer forum not a grammar forum.

But since we have already headed off-course, I'm curious if "your fighting" is correct. It doesn't smell right to me.

A rewrite: "I appreciate that you are fighting the good fight".

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You agreed to coach a team, everyone on the team.
Your query is limited to rec but travel has the same issue.
Coach them all. Lead the team where they can and should go. There is no magic trick except for a long grind of development and time

who the heck is paying $3k per year for a travel player and the kid isn't even interested? Crazy

We got one on our team. He was the biggest, fastest kid, but has two heavy cinderblocks for feet. U13 and you'd think he'd be relegated to the second team by now, but no. He's still there tripping over himself with a clean shot on goal. Shows up to practice late or not at all sometimes. His parents are always in the coach's ear though.

Most important are the kids having fun? I measured success by the number of players that continued with soccer the next season and the percentage I retained if they continued with rec as well as of course did it looks like actual soccer by the END of the season. In the end you have to pander to the lowest common denominator. You may be able to differentiate some of you have capable assistant(s), but I found that to be wishful thinking with such short practice windows. Even then, there was nothing wrong with the more skillful players repeating the same moves to perfect them even if those moves or concepts were totally brand new to the other players—those foundational pieces like positioning and quick combination play are critical to master and reinforce through to the highest levels.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You agreed to coach a team, everyone on the team.
Your query is limited to rec but travel has the same issue.
Coach them all. Lead the team where they can and should go. There is no magic trick except for a long grind of development and time

who the heck is paying $3k per year for a travel player and the kid isn't even interested? Crazy

Alot of this on the lower teams of u littles

So for 8 and 9 year olds who might want to try a sport and try soccer. Assuming they do not enjoy it, not because of the coach of course, they should learn what? To quit on their team and withdraw so the “truly precociously interested” can not be developmentally changed by their presence?
OP you’ve got 1/2 of it right by volunteering to be part of the solution and seeking positive suggestions but sounds like you are not gonna be part of the solution if you don’t accept rec for what it is.
And “talented” 8 and 9 year olds don’t get me started.
Good luck with your development as a coach do some self reflection on why you are there and reconsider your duty to the entire team

This is the exact reason we moved my daughter to travel at U9. I think that rec should welcome all playing levels but a team sport should not be a dumping ground for kids that don’t actually want to do the sport.

What most of you are describing is a babysitter and not a coach. Not all these kids will play next year or five years from now but if they don’t want to play this season, their parents shouldn’t have signed them up for soccer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's hard to balance. Just don't always pair the not interested kid with the interested kid (eg in a practice). It gets frustrating for the kids who have talent/care about being there. Our coach was great and always found a "job" for that kid to do, like put on offense and their job was to kick the ball out (more advanced players get annoyed at that play, but it gave the less confident kids a specific thing to do and they gained confidence).

OP here. You mention the frustration of the kids who have talent. This is a real issue on our team. The 4 or 5 players who want to be on the field, and who want to learn, are being disrupted and held back by those that don't. A 45-minute practice is effectively reduced to 30 minutes. The 15 minutes of lost time arises from the kids who just really don't give a hoot and would rather shift over to the playground.

I realize they are just kids, but there is little point in a child showing up for practice unless that child intends to invest some effort and energy. I'm not trying to turn these kids into pros, but I want them to improve. Much progress could be made if every kid actually wanted to be on the field.

I do try to make the practices fun, and we have a goof-off period at the end of the practice where we just have a good time. So I think there is some levity to the practices. But even so, there are 3 or 4 kids that I just can't seem get pointed in the right direction. Their skills haven't progressed one bit, despite the fact that they have some athletic ability.

This is 8 & 9-year-old rec. If their skills do not progress so what. They are outside having fun. That is all rec soccer should be at that age. Kids who are interested and self-motivated and or parent motivated will move off to travel etc... The rest will either quit or play rec just for fun nothing wrong with that.

You should coach something higher because your view of rec is off.

Signed parent of three kids who played soccer or lax in college, division one. Two of which did not start their sport til 9th grade.

Yeah, this. All we expected from rec soccer was fun and some movement, not skill improvement.

OP here. Tell this to the half of my players that are there to improve. Many kids simply can't fit ADP or travel into their schedule. They are on the soccer field, in the rec league, so that they can learn and improve.

I'm not sure if the existence of ADP is helpful. Perhaps we would be better off with just rec and travel, so that the rec league could have a greater % of players who are motivated. I realize there are pros and cons to having ADP, but the league definitely has an adverse impact on many kids who have talent but who, for one reason or another, must play in rec.

Totally agree with everything you are saying. I have a kid who is very athletic and plays multiple sports, therefore we don't put them in travel. In this area travel starts so early, and makes it impossible to play multiple sports at a high level. I have heard that once kids age out of ADP (around 6th grade depending on their birthday) the rec teams get more competitive because the kids actually want to be there.

Anonymous wrote:Also, "disinterested" doesn't mean " not interested." It means "not influenced by considerations of personal advantage, unbiased, not having a personal stake in the outcome." I realize I'm fighting a losing battle on this point, but still I try.

I appreciate your fighting the good fight!