This is an interesting article for all parents, coaches etc. Although an american article on soccer it helps you understand how shouting the wrong thing at a player can have an affect on their development.

Imagine you’re undertaking a fairly difficult task: assembling a piece of furniture with hieroglyphic
instructions, filling out An inland revenue tax Return on Jan 30th or standing on the highest rungs of a ladder painting the crown moulding in your living room with 14-foot ceilings. Think it would help if someone yelled at you during the process? Of course not.

Yet when a child tries to control a bouncing ball in a crowd of other kids, adults often believe it’s perfectly acceptable to scream “advice.” Adults who would never shout at children while they’re enjoying the playground, drawing in a coloring book, or rearranging their dollhouse, loudly instruct from the sidelines without hesitation.

When adults scream from the sidelines they’re not just invading the children’s playtime, they’re preventing children from learning the game of football in a natural manner. The shouting is detrimental to the children’s development as players and at worst can turn them off the sport entirely.

If parents want to help their children become better players, they can offer to kick the ball around with them in the backyard. But sideline instructions deny children a chance to make their own decisions, it stifles their creative instincts, and all too often the instructions are misguided.

When a player has the ball there are generally three options: dribble, pass or shoot. In the long-term, the great players are the ones who choose wisely most of the time. But if, when they’re first learning the sport, that decision is being made for them with a scream from the sideline, how can we expect them to develop the instincts they’ll need to make the split-second decisions that are so much a part of the game?

“We don’t want to turn the children into parrots waiting for someone to tell them what to do,” says John Ouellette, AYSO National Coach. “Soccer is a free-flowing game for children to enjoy and learn from playing. As an organization, we discourage sideline instruction not just from parents but also from coaches.”

During the first stage of development it is essential that the children are allowed to discover the game on their own terms. High-level coaches constantly complain that players come through the ranks dependent on instructions because they’ve been bossed around in the early stages — being told where to run and when to pass. They also cite a dearth of truly creative players — the ones with the ability to make the unpredictable moves — blaming the lack of freedom children are afforded during their early years.

Much of the sideline screaming comes from ignorance about the stages of development. While most parents would know that addition and subtraction must be mastered before algebra is introduced, at the game they often expect children to perform maneuvers they are simply not capable of.

AYSO Hall of Famer Sigi Schmid is a former youth coach who coached UCLA to an NCAA title before entering the MLS ranks and winning a crown with the Los Angeles Galaxy. He stresses that coaches and parents must appreciate how young players learn the game.
Schmid says, “The first thing is, ‘It’s me and the ball.’ The second is, ‘It’s me and the ball and where’s the opponent?’ Then it’s, ‘It’s me and the ball, and where’s the opponent, where’s my teammate?’ He’s taking on more information. That’s how he develops.”
The screams from the sideline interfere with this process — besides often being misguided and counterproductive. To take a few examples:
“PASS IT! PASS IT!” Discouraging dribbling in the early years is like telling toddlers to shut up when they’re learning to speak. Young players should be encouraged to dribble — because dribbling is the first step to mastering all ball skills — and there are far better ways to introduce a passing game when children are ready to comprehend teamwork. The passing game enters football at the later stages and one will notice that the children themselves will ask each other for the ball.

SPREAD OUT! Just because the first years of youth football look chaotic doesn’t mean the children aren’t learning. In fact, it’s perfectly fine that they all chase the ball in a swarm. Sooner or later they’ll figure out how to take advantage of time and space. They’ll comprehend positioning by exploring the field, not by being treated like chess pieces.
* SHOOT! SHOOT! SHOOT! This usually comes from an ear-piercing parent-coach chorus as a child dribbles toward the goal and I have little doubt that were it eliminated from the sidelines we’d see more goals in the youth game.
Even the youngest, most novice player knows they are supposed to shoot the ball to score. And can it possibly help a child perform the difficult task of striking the ball while running as fast as they can by being screamed at during the process?

Moreover, the “shoot” scream encourages players to pull the trigger earlier than they should. How do great players score on breakaways? They usually wait until they get close to the goalkeeper. It’s much harder for the keeper to save a shot from four yards away than from 15. There’s also the option of rounding the keeper, especially when a patient attacker forces the keeper to commit.

Shooting advice I often hear from high-level players is not to rush the shot — that players often have a little more time than they realize. As young players learn to cope with the high-pressure clear to young players which goal their team is aiming at. But what I’m talking about is the outrage that often greets a smart young player who retreats with the ball to move out of the bunch. Watch a game played by sophisticated players and you’ll find that they’re constantly moving the ball in all directions to find space and time.

Young players taking the ball away from the crowd are the clever ones. Will they sometimes put their team at risk? Maybe. But so what? Giving up a goal in a U-8 game isn’t nearly as important as allowing young players how to figure out how to keep possession.

“ATTACK THE BALL!” or “GO GET HIM!” is apparently meant to encourage a defending player to charge an opponent who has the ball at their feet. But in football, the defender wants to jockey into a good position to keep the attacker at bay. He wants to avoid over-committing and instead needs to figure out the right time to get a chance at the ball. It’s a matter of positioning and timing that players master by facing the situation over and over again — not by taking cues from the sideline.

Perhaps the inclination to scream instructions comes from a well-intentioned desire to help children “learn.” But when does screaming at children help educate them? When a child wanders toward a busy street, moves too close to a hot oven, or starts beating on little brother — OK, that might warrant a roar.

But does screaming at a child while you’re assisting him with math homework help? Very doubtful. And certainly children should be allowed to play football without getting yelled at. Then they’ll be able to pay attention to the best teacher of all: the game itself.
By Mike Woitalla

Source: http://www.grf-football.co.uk/

You can now purchase your official club merchandise.  

We have Hoodies (Adult & Kids), T-Shirts (Kids), Ski Hats (Adult and Kids),Water Bottles (2 Sizes), Gym Bag, Scarfs, Mugs and Adult Jackets.

Just click here to place your orders online.

Orders will be placed with our suppliers once a month and will be ready to collect in around 10 days, but we will drop you an email to say its ready to collect.

Paul Lynch will help new coaches become part of the S7s team.

Forres Area Soccer 7s is appealing to energetic and enthusiastic people to come forward to join the club to help coach the youngsters.

In recent months, we have  lost a number of helpers due to their own children moving on. We need around 20 new coaches to ensure the sessions which take place every Sunday and once during the week, run smoothly.

Shaun Moat, chairman of the club explained: “Traditionally we have often had parents of children who attend the club becoming coaches and volunteering, but we have had quite a few children move on from the club due to their age and the parents have decided to go too.

“We would welcome help from anyone though, not just people whose children are involved. As long as they are enthusiastic, like kids and are happy to muck in twice a week. They don’t even need to have an interest in football. They just need to be able to get the kids excited about the sport. We have great training systems for coaches, so nobody would be left not being able to add value to the group.”

Forres Area Soccer 7s understand the importance of keeping kids active and creates a foundation for young players who wish to progress their footballing career and help provide a stepping stone to more advanced development.

The club caters for children from 4 to 12 years old.

After a winter break, the Soccer 7s will return at Grant Park on February 14 and membership for the club is booming.

“Coupled with the fact that we have lost coaches, we are also looking at a number of new youngsters starting in February,” explained Shaun, “so we need to make sure we can cater for all these active kids.”

To find out more about becoming a coach contact Paul Lynch Football Development Officer on 07446053780 or email paul.lynch@forres-soccer7s.co.uk

On behalf of the club I want to wish all past and present players, parents, volunteers and sponsors a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

At Soccer 7s HQ we are looking forward the rest during the festive period but will be busy again in the new year with final preparation for the new season starting again on 14th Feb 2016.

Christmas Wishes

The Board of Forres Area Soccer 7s