The best way to get young players to understand the technique behind skills is to show them how to do it your self. If you understand how to do it and can demonstrate to your players, they will be able to follow your instructions and also have a bit of respect that you, old as you are, can do the skill!

In my publication Soccer Coach Weekly I have a column which runs bi-weekly called Skills School. In this column you can get all the skills your players should learn and how to do the technique. All you have to do is get out in the backgarden and practice them.

Here’s an example from skills School:

The swivel

How to set it up
Get your players into threes, with one ball in an open area. The players (A, B and C) start around 10-15 yards apart. Moving around the pitch the three players control, swivel then pass to one another.

How to play it
A passes to B who controls the ball, swivels with the ball on his right foot before releasing it to C. The three players then continue to move forward. When you advance the play, C controls B’s pass, then passes to A. He controls, swivels then delivers the pass to B, and so the practice evolves.

Key coaching tips

l First touch is crucial – it can be the difference between keeping or losing possession – so passing must be accurate into the path of the receiver. This means you must work on your players’ control.
l Improve your players’ awareness by changing positions.

Ive put a clip up of a coach showing how skills are done with some young Brazilian players to give you one or two hints for your next session on skills: