You know the story; your kid signs up for a football team and that is the only thing on their mind – constantly peppering you with questions and abundant with enthusiasm. However, as the season progresses, that initial eagerness may take a dip as the excitement of training begins to wear off.

For coaches and parents alike, keeping kids excited about their training days is vital to an enjoyable and fulfilling season. It also paves the way for the development of new skills. Here are some key steps to ensuring children remain motivated and energised on their training days:

Variation

One of the most important things to keeping the kids fresh and glistening with a positive attitude, is continually mixing up and modifying training sessions. Incorporating new drills that encourage skill-building with a ‘fun’ idea attached to it, is a key factor to children enjoying their training. Passing drills for example can always be varied to engage the children and new ‘games’ can be introduced to allow the honing of skills.

Positive attitude

Whether you are a parent or coach, one of the most fundamental philosophies behind keeping your children upbeat is the attachment of a genuinely positive mindset towards every part of the training session. For parents, it is important to remind and reassure your kids of the fun they will have at training with both their coach and teammates. For coaches, that philosophy is the same – an infectious energy will draw your children in and create a constructive environment to learn and enjoy themselves.

Building a team philosophy

One of the most motivating factors for children in their enjoyment of training is the chance to catch up with friends and participate in games requiring teamwork and collaboration. For a coach, it is essential to promote team bonding activities from the very first session and ensure each child is thoroughly engaged in each session with all their teammates. For parents, it is important to reinforce to their children why friendships are one of the main reasons they participate in team sport.

Keep it Game Related

Always play a game. maybe start with a game, and end with a game, and always allow the opportunity for all players to score goals. Everyone loves putting one “Top Bins”. Explain how a drill is relevant in a game scenario, where on the pitch may this happen? Then it “makes sense” and isn’t just a random boring drill in a square.

Remember -  Football is great fun. If the coach has fun, all the players will also.

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