Age Appropriate Coaching, Developmental Characteristics and Coaching Strategies

Knowing where your players are emotionally, physically, and developmentally, will help you coach them more effectively. Most youth of the same age share common characteristics. Being familiar with these characteristics can help you:

• Understand what youth are capable of at different ages so you can make sure your activities are not too easy or too difficult
• Avoid judging age-appropriate behavior as bad or immature

The developmental information contained in this resource will help you think about age appropriate ways to coach your players.

Note: Although there are predictable stages of development, remember that young people are individuals. They move through these stages at their own pace. Getting to know your players will provide information about their needs, abilities, and limits.

The charts in this resource are courtesy of Success in Soccer magazine. For more information, visit www.successinsoccer.com (please note that references to ‘soccer’ have been replaced with ‘sports’)