Let’s talk about sports that teach mechanics more than soccer and why it’s important for development. When a parent wants their child to get better education, they look into the schools and cities that have good school systems. Parents know that they have to teach (reinforce) at home for their kids to have a better chance to be more successful in the future. This is true regardless of topic – sports or academics. You’re not going to leave all the education to the teacher or coaches. The kids need more than just teachers and coaches, especially for mechanics / form.
Kids deserve to learn
Sports coaches that teach mechanics are going to give dedicated kids things to work on their own.
Soccer needs to stress this fact more, so kids know how to kick and control the ball better.
Kids don’t need to just be told to dribble through cones…
Players need to know what exact parts of the foot to use, how to position their leg, arms…
In addition, they need to know when and why they would use certain kicks or moves.
Learning to teach kids the importance of sports mechanics
Below there are ways you can help your athlete learn more and learn faster about proper form.
Proper mechanics are vital!
Some kids think that the parents don’t know about sports, so here is what you can do.
Spend time together learning so that way it’s not the parent telling the kid, but it’s both learning together.
For those parents who have kids that think you don’t know about sports.
Don’t take it personal!
You could be Pele but if you’re the “dad” or “mom” at some point to the kids, you don’t know right like the coach.
Some parents do know a lot, because they either played or coached for a living or in college.
If your kids are being difficult then tell them this “I read from Coach Jeremie on his blog” and remind them that this is a top 20 ranked ‘soccer training blog’ in the world.
Working together to teach soccer mechanics
Take a look below and find tons of ways to help yourself or your players!
I teach skills more than most coaches in America and I find that most select players don’t even know what mechanics are.
So together lets learn!
Mechanics in sports [soccer is behind]
Just the other day I was talking to the dad of one of my non-soccer athletes about the importance of sports that teach mechanics.
Being a baseball guy and his son football and baseball, he totally understood what mechanics mean to a player.
I help this particular athlete with speed and strength.
Teaching and learning mechanics is missing in soccer more than the other sports.
Fundamentals like this need to be taught more – video.
If you have been around sports like baseball, tennis, golf then you know what mechanics are.
In those sports you have to have sound technique to be good…
Whereas American football, if you’re not the quarterback, you don’t really need to hear as much about mechanics, compared to baseball, golf or tennis.
Youth football, soccer or even basketball you can be one of the best with pure athleticism & hustle.
In college and pro this changes because at that higher level you also need technique or you’ll sit the bench.
The difference between the trained & the untrained
Many young athletes are getting specialized training to improve overall performance…
Then by high school there is a pretty big gap between the “Trained” and the “Un-Trained”.
Some of you know what I’m talking about & some of you don’t because of your age in watching sports in the past 10 years.
If you are in your 30s then you probably can’t remember getting private lessons – which are one of the best ways to improve technically, or even your friends getting them.
Now compared to 15 years ago, players are getting private lessons and specialized skills training like crazy.
The sad thing in soccer is people think they are getting “skills training” but they are getting watered down training.
Some “trainers” are offering “skills training” but doing unrealistic drills.
That’s not technical training and it’s not fixing mechanics/form.
10 sports that know the term mechanics more than soccer
It’s easy to say that all of these need to know their specific mechanics…
American football you’d think they just need to be big and fast, but for tackling they have to know proper form… Quarterbacks have to know good throwing mechanics, same with linemen when blocking.
- Baseball
- Tennis
- Basketball
- Golf
- Lacrosse
- Football (American)
- Volleyball
- Softball
- Track/Running
- Wrestling
What if your mechanics are bad?
A coach can have a bunch of skill drills that are good, but what if the players use the wrong form over and over?
This might be one of the worst things that can happen to a player, but it can be fixed.
Practicing something over and over is going to teach certain muscle memory that is either going to be good or bad.
In my experience from teaching players in 1on1 sessions, even the best coached kids are not getting enough details to know proper mechanics (form).
Learn proper soccer mechanics to pass & shoot
Ask your kids This Question to see if they are being taught:
What are Mechanics?
At this point I am shocked when someone knows…
Listen, there are players who have amazing youth coaches, but 99% of kids still don’t know those small tips that help in a BIG way.
5 best youth soccer areas in America
There’s not technically a top 5, but I have looked into this for years and Southern California, North Texas, New Jersey, Northern Virginia and Michigan. Georgia could be in there too…
Consistently these places produce youth national team players and top club teams.
California, DC and NY are so diverse with people from all over the world that they get a high concentration of people who know about soccer.
Texas is so competitive [with the everything has to be bigger thing] that they will make sure they are getting the best of whatever they do.
But still coaches don’t have time to teach everything kids need to have the best chance.
Most of the select players that train with me in-person are from the Dallas/Fort Worth, but some come from other states.
Many of these players are playing for big clubs so getting better coaching than most players.
One thing I want them to know is proper mechanics and knowing what that is.
Kids usually answer like this: 1) Skills, 2) Technique or 3) The people who work on cars ha-ha.
At least they want to answer.
Better mechanics than your competition?
Coaches, if you want to be better than your competition then teach your players mechanics and exact parts of the foot to connect with the ball.
They will love you forever because you will be the only one teaching them this.
Sports that teach mechanics are who soccer needs to look at in terms of how they are teaching and keeping the players motivated to keep doing the right things.
Players who get extra specialized training improve faster because they learn more details.
A Team Coaches’ main focus is on winning #1 and recruiting #2.
Private Individual [full time] coaches focus is developing/improving fast or they are out a job.
Sports that teach mechanics allow the players to fill their potential more. Soccer players who learn it really get a jump!
Mechanics / form are not taught in coaching clinics
Soccer coaches are taught in the US System to improve tactics and how to communicate to large groups of kids more than anything.
And it helps, but it’s not much on technical.
Coaches who don’t improve their coaching education will teach what he or she wants, which might be wrong.
Just think about how many coaches have a coaching license higher than their ‘E’ or ‘D’.
Less than 1% have their ‘A’ and not many more than that have their ‘B’ or ‘C’. The more education the more the coach knows about tactics and communication.
How to teach the game and communicate what needs to be don’t in each part of the field is what they are learning.
Even the ‘B’ and ‘A’ license coaching courses are not teaching mechanics/form, technical skill moves or drills…
They are learning technical and tactical drills for passing, attacking in the final third, playing out of the back and things like this.
So for a complete coach with a high coaching license, who played college level or pro, knows to teach mechanics the right technique.
In addition, has a good personality that kids like it is hard to come by.
Learning the wrong things
You wouldn’t believe what some coaches teach to the players!
Just the other day I was passing the ball with a player who was working on 2 touch.
The player tried to trap and pass the ball with one foot without ever taking a step down between the 2 touches:/
I mean, you can’t make this stuff up…
The player said they learned it on YouTube…
You can’t teach a player to trap and pass the ball with one foot and never take a step down between the 2 touches.
If this was on ESPN they would say “C’MON Man”. :=)
Soccer Coach vs Trainer [You NEED Both]
As a Full Time Skills Trainer [never coaching teams] I personally am able to help build skills and improve form faster than a team coach.
In a smaller ratio kids can be seen and corrected, compared to a group of 12 or 16 players.
At the same time even in my large camps I still teach form, so really there are no excuses when it comes to soccer education.
Kids should be learning form regardless the size…
Smaller groups just make it easier and faster.
The players in high school Should Know this stuff! But they don’t and this problem will remain the same for over 99% of soccer parents and players.
Of the sports that teach mechanics, soccer/futbol isn’t one of them.
How many Skills Trainers train full time?
In my experience hiring people to do different jobs around the house, I’ve found that the ones who do it full time are better. Experience matters!
How many are building their own business like this?
There are probably only 100 in all of America who do this full time.
Although, the number has increased over the last 10 years! It’s becoming more of a thing in some areas.
This needs to change, because players can benefit with trainers who do it for a living.
These trainers are just better at what they do, compared to someone who does a it par time.
I am not saying they are better team coaches, but they are better at skills development.
Coaching and Skills Training are 2 very different things!
Keep it ethical in sports
There are lots of good coaches that tell the parents they should seek private training from a expert [non club coach].
On the contrary, there are ‘Hero Coaches’ who tell the parents to join their own skills group.
The good coaches are educating the parents, not concealing opportunity.
I have a friend who is an ‘A’ Licensed coach and he does not like to offer privates because then there is that weird thing where people start wondering.
Is that kid getting playing time because they do privates with coach and things like this?
So he encourages them to get extra training with me for more game time.
Coaches need to do a better job educating these players!
Sports that teach mechanics have better skilled athletes.
Teach them the skills and teach them soccer terminology along with so much more.
Here’s what I mean – These 3 little tips will make a coach/trainer stand out more than the rest.
3 tips to make a coach or trainer stand out
Almost every time in my first lesson with a new player I make sure to teach them 3 things most coaches don’t teach (No Matter qualification).
- What mechanics are and why it matters and other sports that teach mechanics.
- The exact part of the foot to use when dribbling, trapping, passing or shooting and why. Don’t just tell them the inside of the foot, show them what part of the inside of the foot. They will smile because they love to get that detailed knowledge.
- What part of the ball to make contact with. Example if you want the ball to go up high you want to connect under the “equator” of the ball and if you want to keep the ball down on a volley you connect on the equator or just above it. This is getting it on top of the ball. Then I go into detail and tell them that on top of the ball is not literally the very top but just above the equator. If you don’t know what I mean by the equator I mean the line that goes across the middle of the ball. Just like the Globe right;) Hey, I have had soccer people/coaches as me “what do you mean by that? I have never heard it like that… I like it.”
8 Parts of the foot used for Dribbling:
- Outside of the foot keeping your foot flat compared to toe pointed down
- Outside of the foot using more of the laces (Bad mechanics would be to have your laces showing up instead of at an angle)
- Top of the laces make sure you get your knee up before striking through your dribble
- Inside of the laces will help you cut in
- Inside of the foot helps you move more lateral
- Heel helps to make a quick turn or pass
- Toe is used to reach for a quick touch out in front before a defender gets it
- Sole/Bottom allows you to do the most because you can make the ball go every direction
Out of 1,000 soccer skills & drills, only 10% work Fast!
Some of what is being taught especially on Facebook ads is often times wrong.
Many people are wasting their time and money doing the wrong training.
Wouldn’t you like to know what drills or moves work best no matter what level you play?
Footskills / Ball Control:
All the same as dribbling but dribbling is more about moving with the ball into space or around cones.
Footwork and Footskills is usually meaning more stationary but having a lot of the same touches. I think both are great to build coordination with the ball and love for the ball.
In my Ball Control Homework Courses you will learn the drills that I will forever teach.
Choose from 3 different levels and start where you feel is best. I’ll give you feedback anytime you want.
There’s only so much time to train on your own, and you don’t want to be overwhelmed with silly drills you see on YouTube from someone who never played at a high level.
There’s only so much time to train on your own…
You don’t want to be overwhelmed with drills you see on YouTube from someone with no playing or training experience.
Our Most Popular Posts:
- 3 ways to strike the ball with power
- How to play aggressive
- 8 best 1st- touch drills
- Expert dribbling tips
- Goal side defending
Follow @GFTskills on Social Media