|
|
 |
"Develop a Player, Develop the Team. Develop a Coach, Develop the game"
PARENT or COACH?
For those of you that have your own children on your team, you’ll have a tough time ahead of you, as it is difficult to distinguish (for you and your child) between your roles as coach and parent. In our experience we have found the following to be true:
It is difficult to not be a parent first, which means you discipline or require greater achievement of your own child more than the other players. Because you CAN, I might add.
It can be very confusing for your child, because they are generally the center of attention around you, and this will and should not be the case on the field / court.
So how do you differentiate between the two roles? Here are some guidelines…
Do not ‘parent’ your child on the field. All guilty of not following rule number 1 please stand…
Develop and maintain a separate "coaching-attitude" and don’t bring it home after practice or games.
Explain to your child / children why you want to be a coach for their team. This will help them understand your motivation and be more understanding of your instructions to them during games and practices. Explain to them you will have a "coaching" demeanor or attitude, that is intended to benefit the entire team, not just themselves.
Be yourself with your kids when not on the field or court. Don’t "coach" them at home. It’s okay to practice, just be sure you’re being Mom or Dad, not Coach Dad.
One of our coach's suggested to have your son or daughter call you "Coach" on the field instead of Mom or Dad to eliminate any favoritism the rest of the team might feel you give your own kid.
THE FIELD
Most associations and organizations generally follow the rules of FIFA, the Federation Internationale de Football Association. It is common for the rules to be modified based on your geographical location, age of the league and other considerations.
A regulation soccer field is between 100 and 130 yards long and between 50 yards and 100 yards wide. (That’s a lot of grass, my friend) For younger players a good rule of thumb is to make the length of the field their average age X 10. (Until it’s bigger than regulation, of course) For instance for 8 year olds, the field would be 80 yards long. The width of the field should be approximately 2/3rds of the length. The size of the goal is a square, feet high X yards wide, that is. For 6 to 8 year olds, the goal should be 6 feet high X 6 yards wide. For 9 to 12 year olds the goal should be 7 feet high X 7 yards wide. For 13 and up, the goal should be 8 feet high X 8 yards wide. These are suggestions and may vary by the field requirements of your association.
Field Markings: The illustration is an official soccer field. Here is a brief explanation of those markings and their purpose.
Touchlines/Sidelines: The two lines marking the boundaries of the longest part of the field.
Goal line: The line marking the boundaries of the shortest part of the field.
Halfway line/Midline: The line that segments the field into two halves.
Center Mark: The circle at the middle of the field. It should be 10 yards in diameter.
Goal Area: A box surrounding the goal that stops and starts yards to each side of the goal (from the inside of the goal post) and extends into the field 6 yards.
Penalty Area: Another box surrounding the goal that beings and ends 18 yards to each side of the goal (from the inside of the goal post) that extends 18 yards into the field.
Penalty Mark: A ‘dot’ on the field that is 12 yards in front of the goal, equidistant to each goal post, or in other words, centered.
Corner Arc: An arc with a radius of 1 yard where the ball is placed for corner kicks.
 |
Mission Impossible Theme
|
|
