At the youth level, practices are really the "meat" of your coaching responsibilities. It's during this time that you'll have the greatest impact on your players' love of the game, the development of their skills, and their desire to come back next season (recall those goals that we discussed!).

Practices can also be the most intimidating aspect of coaching, as they represent the longest period of time when your players are more closely looking to you for direction (versus Game Days which in some ways run themselves). So to ensure your practices run smoothly, here is a guide:

I. Be Prepared
The start of your practice is not the time to decide what you want to work on. This should all be planned beforehand. Consider what it is that you hope to accomplish during that specific practice. For a first practice this may be just getting to know one another and playing some fun games to get the season off to a positive start, while later you may want to focus on specific skills or tactics. Regardless, decide this ahead of time.

Have a "practice itinerary" in mind before practice begins. I literally write up an outline of the specific components that will make up my practices, assigning an estimated time to each one (these written outlines come in VERY handy when planning future practices). Either memorize this outline or keep it with you in a clipboard etc. Either way, you just can't make up your practice "on the fly". If you try to do so you'll be grasping, the kids will catch on, they'll become distracted, and your practice will fall apart.

When listing your practice components, make sure you have some options built-in. Practices don't always go as we expect them to, so you need to be ready. If a particular exercise or game isn't working, don't force it. Be flexible and move on.

Finally, arrive to the field early and "prep" it for your planned practice. Set up any cones or discs that you'll be using in advance. This avoids any "lulls" once practice begins, helping to prevent distractions.

II. Gathering Activity
Not all players will arrive at the same time. As soon as they do arrive, get them going with a soccer activity, even something as simple as "Keep Away" or other basic game. Don't let them just "horse around" with their friends. Doing so will lead to a lack of focus which will spill over into your practice. When most of your team arrives and you're ready to begin, I like to collect my team into a small circle as a way of "marking" the start of practice.

III. Practice Begins
To start your practice (team seated in a circle), you might say a few quick words reviewing what you worked on at the last practice or commenting on how well they played at the last game. I also like to review players' names (if it's still needed), getting everyone involved with some simple name games ("Call out who here is wearing green shorts", "Who here has red hair", etc.). Stress the importance of knowing their teammates' names and the collective strength everyone has by working together.

After this quick discussion, I then like to move into some basic stretches for a few minutes. There's a lot of debate out there over the importance of stretching in kids' sports, but regardless I like to do at least a little bit of it, if for no other reason than to introduce it to them so that they'll better understand stretching when they grow older (when it will definitely be important).

Next up on my practice routine are some Ball Control Games. These help "get the juices going" and center around individual ball control improvement. Some of the ones I like to use here include the Bell Drill, Tap Dancing, Ball Jumps, and Juggling. See the separate page on Ball Control Games for more suggestions.

IV. Let the Games Begin
Next up is a series of games, selected based upon the goals I've established for that practice. The Practice Games! section of this website is full of ideas. Have more than you think you'll need ready in case things don't turn out as you expected and you need to mix it up. Of course in between games you'll want to comment on the skills being addressed and the key learning points you want your players to take away from them, but don't overdo it with too much talking. As they say, the best soccer coach out there is the game of soccer itself. Let the games do most of the teaching.

During this time, keep an eye on your team. If it looks like a water break is needed, be sure to stop and take one.

V. Scrimmage?
Depending upon the age range, scrimmaging is often a good way to end your practice. For younger ages, I don't recommend this. I'm currently coaching two teams (4-Years and 6-Years), and not only do we not scrimmage in practices, our league discourages even any shooting exercises. I agree with this philosophy. At this age, our goal is to get in as many ball-touches as we can, so we fill our practices up completely with ball control, dribbling, and passing games. I really think kids at this age will improve their comfort level with the ball and their individual soccer skills overall by leaving scrimmages and shooting out of practices. There is plenty of time for this on Game Day (we practice shooting for 5-10 minutes before we begin our game).

With older kids, scrimmages can be more appropriate. However, instead of a 7-on-7 format in which each player will only touch the ball a few times, set up a couple smaller fields of 3-on-3 or 4-on-4. All your players will be more involved, touch the ball more frequently, and get a lot more out of it.

VI. Practice Wrap-up
End your practice with a quick review of the skills and lessons you've worked on, some words of encouragement on the great job they've done, and finish with a team cheer ("1-2-3 Soccer", "1-2-3 Team" etc.).

You're not done yet! A VERY smart thing to do is to get home and write notes reviewing the results of your practice. List what worked out great and what didn't. These notes will become incredibly useful as you prepare for future practices. And should you end up coaching again next season, believe me - you'll thank yourself for doing so!