I will echo the sentiments of Pommie MacGill and Swervy.
If a player has natural ability then at such a young age I reckon the best thing you can do is instill in him a knowledge of the basic's , then leave him to his own devices.
Encourage him to "play his natural game" , now obviously he's gonna make some slip ups & he'll get out to some awful shots , but if he's really got a pashion for the game he will learn from those mistakes & be a better player for it.
I had a coach in under 12's who spent the whole training session whinging at us about how we "werent getting our back foot across quickly enough when we were trying to pull" , "were using to much bottom hand" and I had "an awful head position as I tried to release the ball".
He'd then try to correct these faults & punish the kids who didnt show substantial progress with running drills.
A blueprint for the way not to coach 12 year olds.
Obviously technical issues need to be addressed but they take a back seat at that age in my book , making sure the players dont fall into bad habbits can be done subtly but it shouldnt be the focus.....fun should take the limelight.
You dont expect many 12 year old Geoff Boycott's.
If a player has natural ability and a love of the game , the best way to go about things is to give him the basics , and work on his confidence , tell him to trust himself and really go for what feels right.
Confidence at that age can be more than half the battle , have faith in his ability and make sure he knows you have faith in him.
To much technical jargon at 11-12 years old can spoil his enthusiasm for the game itself.
If a player has natural ability then at such a young age I reckon the best thing you can do is instill in him a knowledge of the basic's , then leave him to his own devices.
Encourage him to "play his natural game" , now obviously he's gonna make some slip ups & he'll get out to some awful shots , but if he's really got a pashion for the game he will learn from those mistakes & be a better player for it.
I had a coach in under 12's who spent the whole training session whinging at us about how we "werent getting our back foot across quickly enough when we were trying to pull" , "were using to much bottom hand" and I had "an awful head position as I tried to release the ball".
He'd then try to correct these faults & punish the kids who didnt show substantial progress with running drills.
A blueprint for the way not to coach 12 year olds.
Obviously technical issues need to be addressed but they take a back seat at that age in my book , making sure the players dont fall into bad habbits can be done subtly but it shouldnt be the focus.....fun should take the limelight.
You dont expect many 12 year old Geoff Boycott's.
If a player has natural ability and a love of the game , the best way to go about things is to give him the basics , and work on his confidence , tell him to trust himself and really go for what feels right.
Confidence at that age can be more than half the battle , have faith in his ability and make sure he knows you have faith in him.
To much technical jargon at 11-12 years old can spoil his enthusiasm for the game itself.
Well, if you ever step up to international level, you'll know what to do.
