Taking Training for the First Time
If you start with why kids play sport, you can’t go wrong.
A study conducted by the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports at Michigan State
University asked boys and girls aged 10 to 12 why they played sports. Here are the top five
reasons they gave:
1. To have fun.
2. To do something I’m good at.
3. To improve my skills.
4. To stay in shape.
5. To get exercise.
Surprise; “winning” didn’t even make the top ten reasons.
Study after study comes up with the same #1 result. Kids play sports for the fun of it.
And not having fun is one of the major reasons 70 percent of kids quit playing sports by the
time they’re 13.
Even at the high school level, most kids would rather play on a losing team than sit on the
bench of a winning one. That doesn’t mean that kids don’t value winning, just that they
prefer playing.
For a young coach commencing a new season who may have limited experience the
following points might be of assistance.
1. Have a plan of what you intend doing in the session. It should reflect the ability of
the players you are coaching. If you are unsure what to include ask a more
experienced coach of the age group what they have successfully used.
2. Be prepared to vary the plan depending upon what engages the players, and what
doesn’t, or is too difficult for them to perform.
3. Have your equipment ready, a whistle (imperative), balls, cones, noodles, and bibs if
required.
4. Start on time. At the first session spend a couple of minutes introducing yourself and
the players to each other. Players value the social interaction.
5. Establish the ground rules for behaviour. All junior players attend school so are very
familiar with “crowd control” rules; stop, look, listen when a whistle is blown; don’t
talk when the teacher or coach is speaking.
6. In the early part of the session when players are very enthusiastic about being at
training and seeing their friends, you may need to be patient when gaining their
attention. The key for future sessions is to wait until they are all attentive then
explain what is going to happen, rather than trying to talk over them.
7. Keep any explanations, after the initial social exchange, brief. Move into warm-up
activities quickly.
8. Once the warm-up has finished give a brief explanation of the first activity or drill
and allow the players to commence.
9. It’s OK to alter activities or drills if they don’t appear to engage the players, or they
are having difficulty performing them.
10. Players love involvement, so activities should involve as many players as possible,
with little standing around. This might mean that the group is split in two. Unlike
senior training where fitness components can be built into drills, junior training is
about involvement not getting fit. Give players a break when they appear to be
tiring. If they are losing interest, change the drill. Usually activities or drills of 10-12
minutes are sufficient for younger players.
11. If you are not confident dealing with a larger group, ask a parent to assist you.
Indicate to them what the activity or drill entails. Show the players how it is
performed then ask the parent to monitor the behaviour of the group. If they have
sufficient hockey knowledge they can give direction to the players.
12. In a 45 – 60 minute training session you would expect to have 3-4 activities or drills,
apart from a warm-up and warm-down.
13. A simple test of the appropriateness of the activities or drills is whether they “look
like hockey”.
14. As the session progresses make a point of talking at some point to each player apart
from commenting on their play.
15. At the end of the session call everyone in to say goodnight and see you next week.
16. There isn’t a perfect training session. Some flow better than others, and often the
enjoyment for players is unrelated to what you think about the session.
Resources that might help you:
Hockey Australia http://aussiehockey.com.au/
Hockey Australia YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/HockeyAustralia
Australian Sports Commission http://www.ausport.gov.au/ click on “online coaching” link
on the left of the page. It will take you to all the tips and tools for coaches.