The Coaches' Room
7v7U10Confidence & Behaviour

My child is scared of making mistakes near our goal

Asked by SarahInSouthampton
2245 views 2 replies
She is comfortable on the ball higher up the pitch but becomes completely different near our own goal. She clears things she would normally control and says she is worried everyone will blame her if she loses it. How do you help a U10 understand risk without telling them they must always play out?

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VERIFIED COACH RESPONSE

UEFA C Coach

Sports Psychology Level 3 • younger-player environment

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I would first make it clear that she is not required to take the same risk in every part of the pitch. Playing with confidence does not mean refusing to clear the ball near your own goal. The useful question is whether she is choosing the clearance because it is the best option, or because fear has removed every other option before she looks. In training, give her lots of small games starting near goal where there are two sensible solutions: one safe pass or carry, and one clear-away option if pressure is too high. Then praise the decision, not whether it looked brave. I would also be careful with adult reactions when it goes wrong. If one mistake gets a huge touchline response, children learn very quickly that mistakes near goal are different. Help her see risk more clearly rather than asking her to ignore it.

COMMUNITY DISCUSSION

Join the conversation with other coaches. 2 replies

S

SideStreet

Parent

I would not call every clearance fear either. Sometimes the safest decision near your own goal is absolutely to get rid of it. The useful bit is whether she actually saw the alternatives.
L

LouiseAgain

Parent

My daughter did exactly this. Once the coach stopped reacting badly when a short pass near goal went wrong, she started looking again instead of clearing automatically.