Help Me Teach My U9 Girls to Shoot

[Pathogen]

Guys,

I'm at a loss right now. My girls just lost a game 3-0 in which they dominated play for 80% of the game, but they won't shoot the ball. They had between 10-15 clear scoring opportunities where had they just pulled the trigger, the ball would have gone in. They didn't start shooting until the last 5 minutes of the game when the score was already 3-0 and their legs were pretty much jello. My team is small, I only have 9 girls and I've yet to have all of them on game day. So we're always short on subs, even if all of them show.

I'm also having a problem with them coming out flat at the start of the games. I think I'm doing something wrong before game time to get them psyched. I can't figure it out.

They do some jogging with the ball (usually 2-3 times) across the field. Then they bring it in for some stretching. The captains lead the stretching. Then they break for some water and then do some shooting drills to get keep warmed up. After that, I set the line up, talk about what I expect to see, and do the team cheer. It's pretty basic, nothing over complicated. But they show such little aggression in the first half. This has happened three games now. I can't have them constantly fighting back into games in the second half all season.

The other frustrating thing is, I've got parents that are starting to show some frustration that their girls aren't progressing. Which is simply not true. I've got four girls that have never played the game before. And I can only guess on the kind of coaching the others have gotten with the exception of my daughter.

So what can I do? I need them to become more aggressive at the start of games, I need them to SHOOT the ball, and I need instill some confidence in the parents that their girls are progressing even they they struggle in the games.

[rca2]

Look at the thread: Good Shooting Drills for Novice Girls

[Pathogen]

Look at the thread: Good Shooting Drills for Novice Girls
I don't need shooting drills, I need to convince them to actually pull the trigger when they can shoot, not keep dribbling. It's a mindset thing, not a skillset thing.

[ALEX408]

It's not your fault. It's the players fault. They don't want to shoot, then they don't win. Easy as it can get. Tell them to Shoot from outside the box or what not. But if they don't shoot, then the next practice day, give them some extreme conditioning, as punishment.

[rca2]

I don't need shooting drills, I need to convince them to actually pull the trigger when they can shoot, not keep dribbling. It's a mindset thing, not a skillset thing.

You are correct it is a "mindset thing" and you did not read the thread.

[rca2]

It's not your fault. It's the players fault. They don't want to shoot, then they don't win. Easy as it can get. Tell them to Shoot from outside the box or what not. But if they don't shoot, then the next practice day, give them some extreme conditioning, as punishment.

This is easily the worst advice I have ever read.

[goru_no_ura]

My theory is that the body learns naturally by practice.

When my boy was 4, I spent useless long hours by giving him instructions such as: "put the standing foor next to the ball," or "lock the ankle".... Still, his shooting did not improve much.

Then, I simply took him to the park around the corner every day when he was 5 or so, found a wall, and taped some targets on it. Every day, rain or shine, he took 50 to 100 shots, depending on his mood, until he decided he was tired.

The ONLY thing I emphasized was not to toe-kick. For the rest we let everything to mother-nature. After a month or so, he went from tentative shooting to neat instep strikes. At 8, we repeted the drill with the left, and now he is pretty fit with both feet.

I believe that through unconditioned repetition, the kids bodies optimize their dynamics and improve a lot, and once they're confident, they will take shots in the games as well.

The only thing to be worried is the unesplicable nature to toe-kick. That, if not corrected at a young age, might be hard to coach later.

(Not completely related to the Q, but I hope it helps...)

[Twenty26Six]

I don't need shooting drills, I need to convince them to actually pull the trigger when they can shoot, not keep dribbling. It's a mindset thing, not a skillset thing.

Set up a square playing field. Place the goals at the ends, but 5-10 or 'x' yards OUTSIDE the square. If they dribble outside the square, they lose possession.

They won't be able to dribble all the way to goal. They'll be - at best - 'x' yards away. The idea being that - to score - they'll have to shoot over a longer distance.


[Goal]

________endline________

[Pathogen]

Thanks for the advice guys. Believe me, I'm taking it to heart. I've got so much to teach these girls. But I also feel like I'm dumping too much information on them knowing how raw they are.

The parents have been pretty good for the most part, but yesterday was the first time that I started to hear some rumblings. I know that if I lose the parents, I lose the kids. So I'm concerned about them undermining what I'm trying to accomplish. But I can't confront them directly because I haven't had any of them directly challenge me. I've only had to caution one dad because I think he believes his daughter should be farther along even though it's her first year ever playing the game. He's from Argentina and figures it's in his daughters blood even though she's one of the more unathletics girls on my team. The worse part is she complains about her amount of playing time during the game: she feels she getting too much.

Yesterday was the first day that I felt frustrated. It's not a good feeling. And I know that if I'm feeling like that, then the parents and the kids can probably see it.

Oh, well, back to the drawing board for Tuesday. I'll implement that one drill. I just wish I could improve their thought processes. They simply play too passive.

[Twenty26Six]

I know that if I lose the parents, I lose the kids.

That's not necessarily true. If you support the kids and make it fun, they'll stay in your corner.

Sounds like you need to talk to the parents and explain your outlook/expectations to them.

[Pathogen]

That's not necessarily true. If you support the kids and make it fun, they'll stay in your corner.

Sounds like you need to talk to the parents and explain your outlook/expectations to them.
I did at the start of the season. I might need to have another discussion, though.

[Twenty26Six]

I did at the start of the season. I might need to have another discussion, though.

Should always be in constant contact when it's possible. If you're not telling them what to think, then they are talking amongst themselves and spreading an "uneducated" opinion. ;)

That sounds bad. But, when you think about it, they don't see what you see on a daily basis. Sometimes, they need to be shown what you know to be important.

[goru_no_ura]

I did at the start of the season. I might need to have another discussion, though.

You need to understand who are the influential parents, and deal with them openly, but you will need him on your side. This "political-game" is a necessary evil of coaching kids. Disgruntal parents can easily destroy a team, I have seen it happen many times.

[Twenty26Six]

You need to understand who are the influential parents, and deal with them openly, but you will need him on your side.

That's a dangerous slope. If you start to entertain a parent's ideas by passively approving his statements, you can get into trouble. Something as simple as saying an appeasing "yea" after someone makes an incorrect statement can lead to a parent thinking he knows enough to critique you.

Just make sure all the parents know that you're in charge and do the best you can to explain things to them.

[Pathogen]

That's a dangerous slope. If you start to entertain a parent's ideas by passively approving his statements, you can get into trouble. Something as simple as saying an appeasing "yea" after someone makes an incorrect statement can lead to a parent thinking he knows enough to critique you.

Just make sure all the parents know that you're in charge and do the best you can to explain things to them.
Well, I've already had to caution the Argentine about addressing the refs during the game. He's not quite with the program with respects to youth soccer, especially at the rec level, in the U.S. He's also expressed concern that his daughter doesn't seem to know where to be on the field. That's not from a lack of me trying to position them correctly. I explained to him that this is her first season ever playing the game and that I've played my whole life and am still caught out of position from time to time. To expect an 8-year-old girl to instintually know where to be at all times (in defense, in attack, on set plays) after a handful of practices, games, and scrimmages is preposterous. But how do you explain to someone that their expectations are inflated?

[Twenty26Six]

But how do you explain to someone that their expectations are inflated?

I suppose it's never easy, but it's always best to be up front and honest. Maybe he needs to be directly told his expectations are inflated. Or warn the parents as a group to avoid placing unreasonable expectations... then cite some examples.

Parent education literature helps, too.

[Pathogen]

First practice back after the weekend. I started out with a very simple follow-up shooting shooting drill. I had them shoot the ball at me, and then I deflected either to my right or my left where I wanted them to continue their runs and finish into the net. It started out rough them merely passing me the ball. Sometimes I forget that I'm working with very inexperienced young minds that lack the capacity to understand what I'm asking for. Even though I walked it through the first time, I still had to show them what I mean by "shooting" the ball. Too often, they **********foot their shot.

So to show them, I lined up five of my balls and ripped those things into a fence about 20 yards away. Then I started seeing the lightbulbs go on above their heads. They finally got what I was asking for. Things improved from there the rest of the practice.

I didn't do that one drill that you provided, Twenty26six simply because I forgot about it. Instead I had set up a three sided goal using corner flags and had both of my keepers inside instead of the usual one. And then let my girls on the outside fire away. For some odd reason they had a blast playing this. And they were ripping the ball into the goals. They were bummed when I had then quit to move onto something else.

Anyway, I'm getting my assed chewed by the wife. Gotta go.

[Twenty26Six]

The central goal game that you did is an awesome exercise. I used it with U10s, and they had fun.

[Th4119]

The worse part is she complains about her amount of playing time during the game: she feels she getting too much.

Much better than the alternative!

Good luck with getting their confidence up. I like the idea from the poster who suggested having the goals outside of the practice area. Continue to work on their striking of the ball to increase their power and confidence in various game-like situations and their scoring should improve.

[Th4119]

Disgruntal parents can easily destroy a team, I have seen it happen many times.

Yup! Nothing like a couple of misguided, disillusional people who can ruin what otherwise is a great team.