By Tim Bradbury, Director of Coaching, Eastern New York Youth Soccer
Association
One of the biggest steps any coach can make in player development is by getting their players to watch the game. The benefits of youth players watching the very best players in the world play are enormous. For far too long, most youth coaches have failed to make their players fans of the game. A combination of a win at all costs focus that takes away from the beauty and enjoyment of the game and a failure to appreciate the learning value of players observing games is part of a problem. Perhaps there is also a cultural problem with youth players in their desire to be electronically engaged. Whatever the reasons, I urge all coaches to work on getting their players to watch and develop a love for the game.
I suggest that coaches try a few of the following approaches to inspire their players to watch the game: