Young Soccer Players. Let them fail, and fail at full speed.

A kid tries something in a game.  It doesn't work.  He gets yelled at or hears the moans from either touch line ...  and never tries it again.

Thank goodness nobody ever yelled at Thomas Edison.

With the advent of LTPD in Ontario and the decreased importance on standings, I hope that coaches feel less pressure to win and feel more comfortable allowing mistakes to happen and learning to take centre stage.

• Give your players a challenge or task.
• Let them try it.
• Let them try it at game pace, with opposition.
• If they fail, let them try it again.
• If they fail again, let them try it again.
• If there are techniques and movements that can be improved to increase chances of success, develop that technique, then try the sequence again.
• The players will know they're approaching success.