The Coaches' Room
5v5•U9•Confidence & Behaviour

When the team concedes twice quickly they completely disappear

Asked by MattT
1362 views 4 replies
One goal is fine. Two in a couple of minutes and heads go down, nobody asks for it and they start booting the ball away. What can you actually coach around the reaction to conceding at U9 rather than just saying 'heads up'?

VERIFIED COACH RESPONSE

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UEFA C Coach

Sports Psychology Level 3

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I’d coach the first action after conceding. “Heads up” is well meant, but it gives them nothing concrete to do with the feeling. After a goal, give them one simple reset: get back into position, find a teammate, and make the first action together. That might be a short pass, a run or simply talking to each other. In training, you can create short games where a goal is followed immediately by a restart so they repeatedly practise recovering from the emotion. I would also be careful with the adults. If the coach’s body language changes dramatically after the second goal, the children will copy it. You are not trying to make conceding feel good. You are teaching that the game continues and the next action is still available to them. Resilience at U9 is often built through very ordinary resets, not motivational speeches.

COMMUNITY DISCUSSION

Join the football discussion. 4 replies

K

KellyH

Parent

Our coach uses 'next action'. It sounds tiny but the kids now have something to do after conceding instead of being told not to feel disappointed.
D

Dan10

Coach

No speeches after the second goal. Restart, get connected, play.
T

TeaAndToast

Coach

One useful phrase beats eleven versions of 'heads up lads'.
F

FridayFeeling7

Parent

The coach reaction matters. If adults suddenly look devastated at 0-2, the kids pick it up immediately.

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