Welcome
- Welcome all new players and staff to your team
- Outline key messages about your culture and identity
- Remind and reinforce culture messages at regular points throughout the season
environment
Positive learning environment
Help your players thrive by using an effective coaching approach, designing age-appropriate activities, and building a strong team culture
ENVIRONMENT
create a team culture
A strong team culture helps players feel a sense of belonging, connection with teammates and staff, and commitment to the team's goals. Focus on these four areas:
Identity
- Ask your players: How do you want people to describe this team?
- Work with the players to create three identity messages that describe how you want players and staff to act and behave
Player Leadership
- Select a captain or group of captains to represent your team culture and identity
- Create a small leadership group who will promote your culture and identity with others in the team
- Allow players to have input when picking the captain and the leadership group
Storytelling
- Sharing stories is a powerful way to connect players and staff to your culture
- Ask players to share why they started playing soccer, what they want to achieve, and who their role models are
- Explain to the players why you coach soccer and how you feel about your team
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
Click each resource to download a PDF overview
ENVIRONMENT
an effective coaching approach
Overview of an effective coaching approach, applicable to all age groups
ENVIRONMENT
designing age-appropriate activities
Use six areas to design age-appropriate practices for your players
ENVIRONMENT
goalkeeping topics for ages and stages
Guidance on goalkeeping topics to coach at different stages of development U5-U17+