Involve players in choosing a drill
If you're coaching youth soccer groups around the U14-U16 age range, it's a good idea, on occasions, to give players four or five different soccer warm-up drills and get them to pick one to use for your soccer coaching session. You can explain what the session is about and which parts of the game need improving.
You might even give them a chance to flick through a copy of The Ultimate Soccer Warm-Ups Manual so they can choose a soccer drill from there to try.
I find players will work much harder if they've been involved like this, because they want to prove that they picked the right session.
Ask your players afterwards what they gained from the soccer warm-up drill they chose, and whether they would change it in any way.
The more questions you can ask them, the more your players will think about what it is they are doing.
Many players are inherently lazy and if you keep telling them what to do and why, they will never learn for themselves.
Put your soccer (football) players on the spot and force them to think – it’s the best way of developing thinking players.
To order a copy of The Ultimate Soccer Warm-Ups Manual by Michael Beale, Chelsea FC academy coach, click here.
Click here for a fun, free-player soccer warm-up drill to try with your players.
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