Life lessons are an important objective of the Positive Coaching Alliance. One important life lesson to teach young soccer players is the value of teamwork. The following story is about my U10 girls travel soccer team and their aha moment about teamwork.

Several years ago, my U10 girls team arrived at the field for their first practice of the year. They were a great group of kids. They worked hard and played with effort. But they didn't seem to rely on each other nearly enough. They didn't understand the importance of teamwork.

So I posed a simple challenge to them. I told them to keep a soccer ball off the ground for five straight minutes. And they had to do it like a team.

At first, the players thought it was an impossible task. They tried juggling the ball, but they were not skilled enough to juggle for that long. The ball randomly bounced around and eventually hit the ground. But they kept trying.

A few practices later, the players changed their strategy. This time, they selected the best three jugglers and let them try to keep the ball in the air while the others watched. This was a slight improvement, but the ball still found the ground. The players were frustrated. They said that only professionals could complete this challenge. Then I reminded them about teamwork.

Soccer is a team sport. Every player on the field is important. That's why teams are at such a disadvantage when a player is sent off. It takes an entire team (including substitutes) to win a game. This was the lesson I was teaching my players.

Midway through our fall season, the players had a breakthrough. At the start of practice, the players said, "Coach, we got it!" Without hesitation, the players formed a circle facing inwards and locked arms. They placed the ball in the center. One player flicked the ball up. Then all the players got very close together and raised their knees. The ball landed on their knees and remained off the ground for five minutes. The players stood their leaning on each other, huddled together. It was an amazing sight.

The players took a seemingly impossible task and made it easy with teamwork. These girls went on to become one of the most tight-knit teams in the league. They supported each other in great victories and tough losses. Although they will soon be off to college now, the girls have talked about organizing future reunion soccer events. And they're doing this without me, their coach. They're doing it as a team.

More from this contributor:

'Bad Parents' is a Must-See Movie for All Soccer Parents

Read the original here:
Positive Soccer Coaching: A Young Team's Life Lesson in Teamwork