January 20, 2009

Dear Mark,

I've been getting a lot of questions about why my answers aren't more specific, so today I will address that. Every child is different, every team is different. When you ask a specific question - Who do you play? Where do you play? How do you play? I really can't answer that question unless I see that child; unless I talk to that child; unless I see your team; unless I work with your team. So when you hear the answers from Hey Coach, they are generalizations because it's a general question for 620,000 kids that play AYSO. So please understand that is why I'm not being more specific. If you want more specifics, invite me to train with your team and meet all your children, and then I'll be able to tell you exactly what my recommendations would be for them.
 
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Thanks!
John Ouellette
AYSO National Coach

Ask The Coach...
Everything You Wanted To Know But Were Afraid To Ask
 

Coaches have to deal with all sorts of scenarios week in and week out. Each week John will address a question that has been sent in by an AYSO coach. This week's question is:

"How can I teach my kids to be more aggressive?"

Click here to the audio link for John's answer. Click here for the text version of John's answer.

Training Activties Spotlight

"Dribble And Stop" Is An Activity For A U-6 Team

To see a video of this training activity, please click here. 

"Dribble and Stop" works on dribbling and stopping with your U-6 team. Each player needs a ball, and you will need four cones to mark the grid. 

Organization: Using the cones, mark a 20 by 20 yard rectangular grid. 

How The Game Is Played: When the coach says, "go," all the players should dribble around within the marked grid. When the coach blows the whistle, all players should stop by placing their foot on the top of the ball.

Click here for more training games and activities.