Co Coach 4 Year Old Soccer??

My DH co-coached soccer for 4 year olds this past fall. You defiantly need a second adult with you to keep your daughter on task. If for no other reason, it's not that uncommon for the kids to get distracted and wander off the field!
As to criticism, I would not worry. The other parents will likely be grateful that you stepped up. I would be surprised if they expect you to operate on a professional level.

if you worried about having parents criticise have them get involved too. my daughter played 4 year soccer last spring and will do so again this fall and honestly she wanted me running out there with her. it took her a long time to get off my leg and get out there and play without her saying mommy come out and run on the field with me. During practice we would have one parent play goalie while the kids were trying to make goals, we would have the parents kick to the kids because they would usually kick better when they are kicking towards a parent and not some kid they kind of know. we played against one team where the coach was sooo gung ho on teaching skill and positions and stuff that the kids didnt look like they were having any fun. We laughed and said we wouldnt be surprised if they were doing pushups at the end. The coach had also made some comment about his team knowing what they were doing and our team kicked their butts. make it fun play games where you try to knock their ball out of bounds, or play tag that if you touch them they have to do the foot on the ball stop position until the last person was tagged. I would rather have a fun coach at then a competitive one especially at this age. ball races are fun too or relay races from one end have them run the ball to the other line then back and the next kid goes (split into two groups) Parents at this age just want their kids to run and learn some ball control and have fun and go home exhausted.

My husband just coached a K-1 soccer team for my daughters school. And he had 19 kids! It did not take much soccer skill (although my husband did play on the travel soccer team when he was little). He was most worried about parents, but did not have any issues. I don't think I saw my husband run once while coaching. My daughter loved having him coach! (Although she did not like the sport. She finished the season, but I don't think my husband has to worry about coaching again.)

Maybe you should resign as co-coach and let someone else do it. If you want your child to be independent for her first team sport experience, let someone else do it. You can always do it next year =)

Sounds like you've listed 4 reasons why this is not a good idea at this time. So what tempts you to say yes? Do you want more exercise right now? Do you need something out of the house? Are you worried that they don't have enough people and the program will suffer? Are you pleased to be asked? I agree that kids are this age are very young for team sports, and basically the rules are "kick the ball and no one else" so you don't have to know all the intricacies. I think criticism from other parents is a huge problem in organized sports - a lot of parents are over-involved. However, hopefully they will just want someone who is encouraging and welcoming to their children and not an Olympic star who will drill their kids on technique. See if you can meet the other coaches before deciding, and see how the games go. Also, if your daughter hates soccer and you are obligated for the whole season, that's a problem. There's always next year if you discover you really like the league and you want to be a part of it. Maybe for now it's enough for you to watch the games and cheer.

Have you ever seen 4 year olds play soccer? "The goal is that way!" is about the only coaching you get to do!

Seriously, our coach had a couple of fun games. She had one where they all had a soccer ball and one person had to try to get he flags out of their waistband. While the kids ran around (the field about 1/8 the size of a regular field) they had to dribble the ball. She also had them take turns making goals.

B. They won't criticize your coaching skills. They'll just be happy someone else said they'd do it. The goal at this age is to get them on the field, kicking a ball and understanding that they are supposed to try and get it in the goal. That's a lot at 4 years old.

C. They kids do not play on a full field. It's more like 1/4 the size of a full field. Our coach would wear flip flops and could pretty much walk with the kids as they ran down the field.

D. Our practices were no more than an hour. You could feed her before you leave and probably be fin.

Not trying to talk you into it. Just wanted to address your concerns.

Go for it! I don't think that anyone will criticize you at all! If anything I think that alot of the other mother's will look at you and think, "wow, a mother and a soccer coach!". My son plays soccer too and I wish I could coach his team, the only thing thats holding me back is I have 2 other children that also have other activities around the sametime my son has soccer. I also think that your daughter will enjoy having you as her coach! I mean what child doesn't want to show off their strong, and skilled mother? When I was asked to coach they had told me the samething, you just need to know the basics and it's more about the children having fun. I say GO FOR IT! Good Luck! And more power to you Mama!