Indeed, moms and dads play a crucial role in their young players’ development. Unfortunately, many of them slow down or even block any progress their child makes. If you think that you could be one of these parents then I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the most common mistakes soccer parents make so that you can actively avoid them with your child.

90% of parents feel they know what their child needs to be doing on game day. You shouldn’t be shouting instructions from the sidelines while they are trying to play, or at least limit in giving them a one line pointer when the ball is out of play. Your unqualified instructions will confuse your child. In most cases they’re already facing a lot of pressure on the field and have tactical instructions from their coach to follow. Your coaching from the sidelines stirs up everything and will lower your child’s performance.

Let them choose what cleats they want you to buy or the Goalie Gloves they’d like to wear on their hands! Cheer and do NOT command!

On a personal note: Before you go off on a coach, take a look at his history, licenses and background. Otherwise you could find yourself barking orders at a highly experienced coach, not only will it make you look stupid, but it could inflict on the coaches formation choices.

Professional soccer players usually jump into the training world right after they hang up their cleats. Most of them will earn high coaching licenses and start working with younger age groups.
So let’s say you didn’t research him and the first chance you get you confront the coach demanding that your son plays striker, little did you know that the coach played as a professional for 15 years, has a UEFA or USSF A license and has been coaching at all levels for the past 20 years. There is a serious chance that the coach has identified your child as a much better defender or center-mid. The coach will explain this to you but you insist and now you’re pissing him off! Probabily you’ve just caused a chink in the chain that will be hard to repair!

Being a parent of a youthful soccer player can be a tough job. You want to do what’s best for them and ensure they play at the highest level possible. If you’re new to the world of the greatest game on the planet, it can be even harder to know what you should and shouldn’t be doing to support your child’s soccer experience. Hopefully, the above will help you understand when