The first session with your team

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 The first week of practices can be a little messy. You may not know your kids names and you may be unsure about what you are doing at your session. This can be very stressful. Here are some tips to get started:

Get to know your kids

Coach Amy worked with us for several years and every time I saw her teams play, they were calling each other by something they liked or their favorite food. So Amy wouldn’t say their name, but their nickname like “Blueberry” or “Potato Chip” or “Butterfly.” It was part of what made it fun to be on the team was to have this secret code that only the players and coaches knew.

Establishing the connection between the players and yourself can be a little awkward. Even if you don't do what Coach Amy did, try to find a way to build rapport with your players that builds trust between you and your players.

Establish Routines and Boundaries

Keep in mind that children appreciate routines and boundaries. If your rules are clear and you are consistent, then they will adhere to them with minimal correction. That helps you to alleviate behavior issues that can arise from players confused about what to do next.

In my group sessions, we always start out with skills, then activities and then the game. In your practices it should be play, then skills/ activity and then the game. Players signed up to play and by providing that at the start and end of your session, you automatically have them looking forward to getting to practice and looking forward to the next practice. 


In my skills sessions, we always do something with toe taps, dribbling with laces and side foot and the juggling progressions. They are not always exactly the same, but they are efficient in that we don’t have to explain the activity to the players and they can get more touches in and develop the skills that they will need for the game. 


When I coach a team, I always train them to come in when I call them. They don’t have to sprint, but I don’t want them doing anything else like kicking away another player’s ball or pushing each other or walking. It is a way to reduce transition time between activities and it provides us more time to play. 


Whatever your routines and boundaries are, try to make them clear and simple to follow and stick to them. Remember, we have a limited time with our players and we need to get in as many touches as we can during that time. 

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