Scott O’Donell, Technical Director, Regional and Elite Academies, urged coaches to understand the psyche of young kids to make the Youth Development Programme (YDP) effective.
“When you coach kids, you need to be part of them. You need to reduce the anxiety and stress and make your sessions fun-filled ones,” said O’Donell.
The AIFF Coaching Seminar highlighted the manner in which young players should be coached. He added: “You should never pigeonhole your players. It’s imperative to give a chance to every player to play in every position till the age of 10. You need to be flexible.”
The theory session was followed by two practical sessions at the Father Agnel’s ground, Navi Mumbai, titled ‘Skill Testing’ by Technical Director Rob Baan, followed by another named ‘Match Related Coaching into AFC Coaching Courses’’ conducted by both.
Keywords: Youth Development Programme, AIFF
