Great practices don’t happen by accident—they’re the result of thoughtful planning, clear objectives, and an understanding of how players develop over time.

As a youth soccer coach, your job is to create an environment where players can improve technically, grow in confidence, and have fun. Structuring your training sessions with a proven framework ensures you're meeting your players where they are developmentally and helping them build up their skills progressively.

Why Practice Structure Matters

The best youth soccer sessions follow a logical progression—from learning a technique, to applying it under pressure, to executing it in a game-like setting. This structure mirrors how players naturally learn and adapt. When practice is organized with intention, players are more engaged, better prepared for game situations, and ultimately, more successful.

The 3-Part Practice Framework

Let’s break down a typical session into three phases: Beginning (Individual Technique), Middle (Small-Sided Pressure), and End (Game Conditions). This model gives you the flexibility to focus on different skills while creating consistency and flow in your coaching style.

1. Beginning: Teach the Fundamentals (Individual Work)

This is where players are introduced to the technical focus of the session—whether it’s passing, dribbling, shooting, or defending. There should be no defensive pressure, allowing players to gain confidence and proper technique at their own pace.

Introduce the concept or skill with a clear demo.

Have players perform the skill individually.

Set individual targets (e.g., 10 successful passes with both feet).

Progress to performing the technique at game speed.

By the end of this phase, every player should understand what the skill looks like and feel comfortable executing it in a controlled environment.

2. Middle: Introduce Pressure (Game-Related Skills)

Now it’s time to challenge players by adding a layer of passive or active pressure. Think 1v1, 2v2, or 3v3 scenarios where players must apply the skill in a competitive setting. This builds decision-making and reinforces the technique in more realistic conditions.

Start with passive pressure (defenders give light resistance).

Gradually increase to full pressure (defenders try to win the ball).

Encourage creativity, quick decision-making, and spatial awareness.

Rotate roles so every player experiences offense and defense.

This phase transitions the skill from isolated practice to situational awareness and reaction—critical for real-game success.

3. End: Simulate Game Conditions

The final portion of practice should look and feel like the actual game. Use small-sided games (e.g., 4v4, 5v5) with coaching conditions that reinforce your technical focus. This allows players to apply what they’ve learned in an open environment.

Use short-sided or odd-numbered games to increase touches and decisions.

Add specific rules to emphasize your focus skill (e.g., 2-touch max, must complete 3 passes before shooting).

Encourage communication and team play.

Give players feedback, but let the game teach too.

Game-like drills bring intensity, excitement, and real pressure to your session. This is also the phase where fun and competition can truly shine.

Free Practice Session Planning Template

Use this simple template to prepare every session with confidence and structure:

Warm-Up (10 mins) Objective: Get players moving, increase heart rate, light technical work Examples: Dynamic stretches, dribbling relays, rondo keep-away

Beginning Phase (15–20 mins) Objective: Introduce technical focus in isolation Examples: Passing pairs, cone dribbles, shooting on open net

Middle Phase (20 mins) Objective: Apply technique under pressure Examples: 1v1 challenges, 2v2 games, transition drills

End Phase (20 mins) Objective: Simulate game conditions with constraints Examples: 4v4 games, small-sided scrimmages with touch/pass rules

Cool Down & Recap (5 mins) Objective: Stretch, reflect, give feedback Examples: Static stretching, quick Q&A, positive reinforcement

Final Thoughts

There’s no single “right” way to coach—but having a clear, structured approach to every practice will elevate your players’ development and make your job as a coach more rewarding. Build your sessions around a purpose, adapt to your group’s needs, and never forget to keep it fun.

Remember: when players are learning and enjoying the game, everyone wins.

Further Learning

For coaches working with players ages 10 and up, Nick Harrison offers a valuable course on CoachTube that expands on the ideas shared here. It covers session planning, skill development, and age-specific coaching strategies.

Explore the course here: Coaching Youth Soccer: Ages 10 and Up0 and Up

Thanks to Nick Harrison for sharing his insights and helping coaches continue to grow.

There are plenty of components when it comes to playing a game of soccer. From dribbling to shooting, continuously practicing these skills can enhance your performance on and off the field. Some of these can improve individual performance, but passing can grow both individual and team skills as a whole.

Passing/possession drills can improve the team’s communication skills, attentiveness, first touch, and even their connection on and off the field. Being able to pass the ball accurately and precisely can affect the team’s performance and quality during practice and games.  If you watch professional soccer teams on television, you can see how the passing just flows so swiftly between the players. These players know precisely how and where to pass to their teammates, but they have also had plenty of practice and developed a connection within their team. Building a strong bond with your team, being focused, and lots of practice can help build strong passing skills during the game.

Coaches must implement passing drills during practices. There are plenty of drills to choose from, depending on your team’s strengths and weaknesses, and a range of variations within each exercise. With the continuous passing practice, each player will develop a new and vital skill as well as building upon that necessary team bond.

There is a multitude of different passing drills to have your team work on. Here are three soccer passing drills that you, your team, and your coach can work on during practices to perfect passing:

A team’s defense that is too susceptible to the opposition’s attack is most likely to concede lots of goals and lose matches even if they have got the best forwards in the league. This is why teams need to make use of efficient soccer defense drills if they want to stand the chance of having one of the strongest backlines in the beautiful game.

Aside from that mentioned above, soccer teams that are highly knowledgeable in soccer defense drill tactics and techniques of playing defense during a match are more likely to have the ball and be able to create chances.

What are the Fundamentals of Coaching Defense?

Apart from the fact that pressure, cover, and balance make a defense keep good shape, those attributes are the foundations when creating soccer defensive drills. 

How do these Three Factors Differ from Each other? 

The closest defender to the ball in a soccer match have always been taught to apply pressure to the ball. This could force the attacker into a mistake or the dispossession of the ball from the attacking player’s end. Both the pace of the press and the direction are factors that can influence whether the defender wins the ball or not.

Balance is the ability of a team to position itself in an excellent defensive posture to prevent the switching of the ball to off-balance the defense.

Cover as a defensive positioning gives instant support to the pressuring players by positioning themselves near the pressure.

In this section, you will learn top-notch defensive soccer drills that will help you make your players work as a unit at the back without leaving out interesting ways they can help their defenders react in different defensive situations. 

Teaching 1st Defender without Opposition

Kicking a soccer ball is a generalized term that is an extensive topic. Unlike kicking in other sports such as football or rugby, where a 'punt' accounts for most of the kicks, in soccer, there are hundreds of different kicks depending on the situation.

Despite this fact, kicking a soccer ball is a factor of soccer that is not taught as in-depth as it should be. In this article, we will cover how to perform a perfect soccer kick in all situations on the field. This includes:

➢ First touch

➢ Short and long passing

➢ Putting curl and spin on the ball

➢ Power shooting 

➢ Chipping the ball

➢ Knuckle Ball

Without a strong foundation in kicking a soccer ball, the rest of the skills that you will learn later in your career will be more challenging to pick up. Luckily, you have come to the right place. After reading this article, you will have all the pieces to kick a soccer ball like the pros correctly.

1. First Touchouch

Undoubtedly the most overlooked skill in the game of soccer. Without a great first touch, it does not matter how good your second touch is. You would not be able to play as quickly or with as high quality if you had a good first touch. 

What does a good first touch look like?

A good first touch ultimately must set you up for success in whatever your pre-planned play is. This means it must be:

➢ Directed the way you want to pass or dribble

➢ Out of reach of defenders

➢ Out from under your feet to allow you to move and play at pace

Now the tricky part… How do you kick the ball in this situation to set you up to play how you want?

The key is to be as delicate as possible. Imagine you are playing soccer on the second story of an apartment, and you don't want to wake the person below you. You can use the outside, inside, laces, or sole of your foot depending on the way the ball is coming to you, but the idea of a good first touch is to take the pace off the ball and direct it 1-2 feet in front of your intentional stride.

The success of a coach always draws the attention of the spectators far and wide, and everyone wants to know what a successful coach is doing to be successful especially when coaching has to do with handling about 23 different players who grew up in different geographical locations and with different characters. Soccer coaching, without any doubt, is a tough job, and to achieve success, you must have a lot of love for the game.

Coaching is much more than putting together a starting lineup or conducting training sessions. If there is any job that takes all of you, it is the soccer coaching job. A lot of coaches thriving don’t see coaching as a job, and that’s one of their reasons for success. They often see it as their life. Pep Guardiola, who is one of the greatest football (soccer) coaches, once said this “Players think about themselves while the coach thinks about them even when he is not with them.” And that’s the nature of the job of a soccer coach. You study opponents a lot, and you think about tactics; you think about the effective way of using each player, you think on how to make every player happy to ensure unity within the group, which is pertinent for success. The coach always has a lot to think about, and any lag in the job of a coach means the opponents are preparing better, which is what top coaches don’t want to see happen.

So, whether it is a recreational soccer team for young children or a World Cup champion national team, one person that you cannot do without is the coach and to become a good soccer coach, there are a lot of things that must be put in place. One of them is your knowledge of the game. Being a soccer coach is very demanding, and it takes a lot of preparation in studying and practicing.

Many may assume that a great player could be a great coach, but many great players have failed on the coaching platform. So being a great player helps you understand some things when you become a coach, but it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be a great coach. There is more to being a great coach; you must tick a lot of essential boxes.

And the most important question is this, what makes a great coach?

You must have heard several coaches being praised for how they’ve helped their players improve, how they’ve made their team play brand new football. What qualities do these coaches have? What makes them so “great”?

Claudio Ranieri on winning the Premier League: “There are so many keys to this. Humility, the strength of the dressing room, they help each other at important moments, they play with the heart, the soul, they play 11. There was a good blend. And all these are not things you achieve overnight.

Here are some points you should look at on how to be a good soccer coach;r coach;

1. Be Professional

The ability of a player to have fast bursts of speed in games with a swift change of direction whilst doing it consistently throughout the game is known as agility. In the game of soccer, speed is essential, but not just a one-time movement like that of a track event. There will be moments in games where a player has bursts of speed at intervals without much rest. 

To play soccer at an elite level, agility is one key area to evaluate. The players' balance, coordination of running, change of direction, acceleration/ deceleration, reactions, body control, and space management all combine towards agility.

HOW DOES AGILITY IMPROVE MY SOCCER PERFORMANCE?

Soccer is an ever changing game that flows in all directions. To become elite, you have to be able to quickly respond to a stimuli on the field at any given time. Unlike other sports, you will be required to use every part of your body to be successful when attacking and defending. As we are seeing more and more, modern soccer is won and lost over sudden quick direction changes or fast movements. Both defenders and attackers are equally judged on their ability to produce or respond to these displays of agility.

In the 2015 Copa del Rey final, Lionel Messi reached 19.50mph in under 2.73 seconds. He stopped to change direction, and in a few seconds, he hit the top speed again proceeding to score one of the best soccer goals of the 21st century. Astonishingly, this was all with the ball at his feet. This is a perfect example of arguably the best player of all time utilizing extraordinary agility to produce world class results.

The whole aspect of the game of soccer is beautiful and captivating, but the very aspect that gives it its whole essence is goal scoring. In order word finishing.  The game of soccer wouldn’t be the same if there's wasn’t goal scoring. Every move, every tactic, every setup, every structural approach to the game is to achieve one aim, to outscore the opponent. Because that's how the winner emerges.

To get the better of the opponent means to score goals, and to score goals you don’t just need strikers who can strike the ball properly but strikers who can make the right decisions while under pressure and even in the most unpleasant situations.   The game of soccer has seen some extraordinary and cold-blooded finishers. Some of them are extremely talented right from the onset, but they got to the very top via consistent practice and the desire to refine each aspect of their game. Especially the finishing. 

The following aids the finishing skill of a player; player; 

Shot Power, Shot Technique and accuracy, Vision, and Anticipation. 

Shot Power: The ability to strike the ball at a great velocity is essential to becoming a deadly finisher in the game of soccer. This ability can give a soccer player an edge over multiple goalkeepers. Striking the ball with power makes it difficult for an average goalkeeper to react on time, and if the ball is well within the range of the goal, then you can be confident of putting it in the back of the net. 

Shot technique and Accuracy: Shot technique a bit differs from shot power, the ability to shoot the ball well is another vital skill known as technique. Having shot power is good, but if the technique does not correspond then it will be difficult to score goals. Some players are not all about the power, but their precision that is technique is second to none. Every top soccer player executes their game with precision and accuracy. Combining shot power with an accurate technique can make a player the opponent’s nightmare. 

Vision and Anticipation: The ability to read the game, predict moves, and understand what your teammate or opponent will do before they do it. On the field of play, you don’t only move as the ball moves, you must be able to read the game well and make anticipated the play. This gives you an edge to outsmart your opponent. 

The right proportion of all these can make a top-quality player. 

VITAL COACHING POINTS ON FINISHING

- You perform better if you can calm your nerves in heated moments of the game.

- You must be able to use all sides of your foot.

- Learn to balance your body to aid your shot.

- Be firm on your non-shooting foot to generate power and precision on your shooting foot.

- Understand the keeper’s positioning and how to put the ball beyond their reach.

- Target the corners. The top right corner, the top left corner, the bottom right corner, and the bottom left corner.

RECEIVE AND SHOOT WHILE SPRINTING

Soccer Warm Up Drills

Warm ups are one of the most important aspects of training and match day routines. Aside from the fact that warm ups can help players reduce their risk of getting injured, they also enhance players’ performance before a soccer match. 

Although youth soccer players won’t reap the same benefits from warm ups that older players who are straining their bodies more will. It is vital to learn the correct stretches and movements for the different parts of your body for the future.

When compared to purely static stretching, the concepts behind the ‘best soccer warm up drills’ is that they prepare the entire mind and body of participants to play soccer. Not only because they are fun to practice, but also because they involve players making game-like movements. 

The best soccer warm up drills provided below are the best options for your players if you desire them to perform at their maximum during the game. 

Soccer Tic-Tac-Toe Warm up

For a sports fan in Kansas City, the landscape has never looked brighter. Fresh off coming a win away from taking the World Series crown, the Royals look primed for another postseason run. At the trade deadline, they acquired ace Johnny Cueto and super-utility man Ben Zobrist, thus looking like they’re all in. Meanwhile, currently in the midst of preseason, the Chiefs look to have plenty of potential as they head into the season. With Eric Berry recovered from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, there is plenty to be excited about as we await their week one matchup with the Houston Texans. As for soccer, Sporting Kansas City is starting to turn it on, as they sit in 3rd place of the Western Conference at the moment. Many players, including potential MVP Benny Feilhaber and Dom Dwyer, have stepped up as they prepare for the postseason. Defending NWSL Champions, FC Kansas City, are proving to be elite as well, while they sit in 3rd place. With the recent return of the four members off the World Cup Championship team, there is plenty of buzz at Swope Soccer Village.

Stars Making Their Mark The commonality amongst all of these successful teams is the presence of stars. Players that put their mark on the sport they cherish. The Royals have plenty of household names. From Eric Hosmer to Alex Gordon, these are players youngsters in KC can look up to.

Current Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi once said, “The best decisions aren’t made with your mind, but with your instinct.” The best way to garner one’s instincts is through practice and confidence in the position you’re placed. However, with the variety of positions on the soccer pitch, it can be difficult to perfect these instincts. In this article, I’ll help give you an idea of the skillsets required for each position.

Goalkeeper

There are many attributes that go into an effective goalkeeper. One of the most obvious ones is physical ability. While goalkeepers can come in smaller sizes, it is usually best to have one of decent height. With this said, leaping ability and reaction time is important. You have to be able to reach those balls dipping just under the crossbar and not be afraid to come off your line as the opposition attacks. Another key attribute is upper body strength. On crosses or corners, there is going to be battles in the air. As a goalkeeper, you need to win in the air and either control the ball or punch it to safety.

As a goalkeeper, you ought to serve as a coach on the pitch. Being the last player back, you’ll have a view of the entire field and should be able to position defenders in appropriate places. In order to be a successful goalkeeper, you must be able to admit failures. In order to have all your teammates on one page, their trust and respect is needed. If you’re constantly blaming them for goals or shots on goal, then it’ll be difficult to achieve this level of respect. In the end, the goalkeeper position requires players that are both physically talented and possess valuable cerebral skills.

Outside Fullback

The outside fullback position requires you to play both ways, helping out in the offensive and defensive sides. At the same time, speed and pace is essential in keeping up with the other team’s wingers. If you’ve ever seen Patrice Evra (pictured) or Danny Alves play, you’ll recognize this in no time. As fullbacks take the ball up the side in attack, they’ll need the technical skills to serve a lofted ball into box. As a result, fullbacks should always be comfortable with the ball at their feet. Meanwhile, on the defensive side, fullbacks should be able to clear the ball easily and stay composed in tight situations. Ultimately, with the outside fullback position, you’re looking for a player possessing composure and significant soccer ability.

Center Back

Center backs are often the face of the defense. They are the big, physical players that have terrific upper body and lower body strength. The upper body is utilized in challenging for aerial passes, whereas the lower body is needed to tackle attacking players and clearances. Center backs can’t be afraid to be vocal on the pitch, as they’ll communicate between the other defenders to keep everyone in line. Finally, they must be able to act as a complementary player to their fellow center back.

Center Midfielder

While you can technically break down the center midfield position into an attacking and holding midfielder, for the sake of this argument, I’ll just discuss the position as a whole. I’ve often heard the center midfielder described as the quarterback of a soccer team and that is a very accurate statement. Center midfielders desperately need versatility. They must be able to help in a wide variety of areas. First and foremost, ball handling is essential as they are constantly receiving, possessing, and then distributing the ball. In doing so, it isn’t difficult to understand why they’re some of the calmest players on the field. If you watch the United States women’s national team, you’ll see that Lauren Holiday and Morgan Brian always seem to have the necessary composure when the game tenses up. Basically, they need to be at least mediocre in every area. You never know where they’ll end up during a game.

Winger

Also known as wide midfielders, wingers need to possess above-average speed, be great on the ball, and deliver accurate and consistent passes. In addition to the speed required, they’ll need to be tremendously conditioned as they should be able to play both sides of the ball. With this being the case, wingers have to be a bit more selfless. You can’t become stubborn after you do a ton a work that nobody sees. It’s just part of the job.

Finally, a good first step and confident playing style is needed. Possessing an explosive first step will allow wingers to beat a defender in a one-on-one scenario and get a cross sent into the box. At the same time, the confidence is needed to take on the opposition in one-on-one situations.

Striker

Usually, the striker position is the one that gets all the love. They score the goals and get all of the attention. Despite all this enjoyment, it is also a technically-difficult position. One of the skills required is the ability to play with your back to the goal. This will either set up a turnaround shot for yourself or a lay-off pass to the attacking midfielder.

Next, strikers can’t be hesitant to pull the trigger once an opening presents itself. Failing to be decisive in these moments can be the difference between a goal and a turnover. They need to be technically-gifted. This includes ball control, passing, and hitting the appropriate first touch.

Lastly, a short memory can be quite helpful. Even at the highest levels of soccer, I’ve seen strikers miss a couple of potential goals and let it affect their entire game for weeks. You can’t let this happen if you expect to be a starting striker.

Second Forward

Whether you refer to it as a second forward or a withdrawn striker, this player is utilized as an additional attacker in a 4-4-2 formation. In order to excel here, you must balance terrific skills in two areas: passing and technical ability. Passing is required in order to feed the striker in positions where they can put the ball in the back of the net. At the same time, strikers may back-pass the ball to the second forward in an attacking situation. In these scenarios, the forward must be technically-sound enough to control the ball and either fire a shot or pass it out to the flank to an attacking winger.

Choose What Fits You

As you can see from the above sections, each of these soccer positions require different skillsets. Whether it’s the goalkeeper’s communication skills or the center back’s physical dominance or the striker’s goal scoring ability, each position should be filled by varying talents. My best advice is to pick one that fits you and run with it. By this, I mean you should perfect the attributes required to excel at the position and carefully observe professionals occupying the same position.

There are several amazing things about the game of soccer, and several aspects of the game that makes every bit of it exciting from passing, to goal scoring and tackling. One aspect of the game that makes it so attractive even for people that are not soccer fans is dribbling.

Dribbling is an aspect of the game that separates a dominant player from the average player. The ability to carry the ball up the field past a defender is such a vital part of becoming a better soccer player. Speed, balance, endurance, agility, and body control are essential factors in making a soccer player successful in dribbling. The idea is for a soccer player’s dribbling skills to become second nature, so when the time arises they naturally perform the necessary move for that particular situation.