If you’ve ever watched a kids’ football session, you’ve probably seen it before.
A coach shouting instructions from the side.
Repeating themselves over and over again.
Getting louder… and more frustrated.
And the players?
Still not listening. Still distracted. Still doing their own thing.
If you’re looking to improve focus in young footballers, here’s the truth, and it’s something a lot of people don’t really want to hear:
Shouting doesn’t improve focus.
At best, you might get a quick reaction. At worst, you end up training players to ignore you.
I’ve worked with players for over 20 years now, in schools and in football environments, and one of the most common challenges coaches (and parents) bring up is this:
“How do we get them to focus?”
Parents will say things like:
“My child struggles to concentrate.”
“He doesn’t really listen to coaches.”
“Other sessions haven’t worked for him.”
And I understand it, because I’ve seen it first-hand
A Real Example From My Sessions
I had a young player come into one of my sessions, around five or six years old.
Before he even arrived, his parent had already said to me:
“He struggles with focus… other coaches haven’t really been able to get through to him.”
Now, I’ve heard that plenty of times before, so it didn’t faze me.
But what it does do is give you a bit of insight into what you might be dealing with.
From the start of the session, I made sure expectations were clear.
Nothing over the top. Just simple:
- When I speak, we listen
- We stay on task
- We give our best effort
Then I introduced something that I’ve found to be really effective, especially with younger players.
A points system.
Why a Simple Points System Works
Every time the player showed something I wanted more of, they got points.
That could be:
- Staying focused
- Listening quickly
- Working hard
- Keeping the ball under control
And I didn’t give out small points either.
I made them big.
10 points. 20 points. Sometimes more.
It might sound like a small thing, but it completely changes how players respond.
Because now there’s something immediate.
Something they can see. Something they can feel.
And pretty quickly, you start to notice a shift.
They’re trying more.
They’re listening quicker.
They’re more engaged.
Not because they’re being forced to…
But because they want to.
Focus Isn’t Forced, It’s Created
This is the bit most people miss.
They think the issue is:
“The child can’t focus.”
But more often than not, the real issue is:
The environment isn’t giving them enough reason to.
When you design a session where:
- Good behaviour is recognised
- Effort is rewarded
- Focus actually means something
…you don’t need to drag it out of them.
It starts to happen naturally.
Reinforcing the Right Things
Another mistake I see quite a lot is coaches constantly pointing out what’s going wrong.
“Stop doing that.”
“Listen.”
“Pay attention.”
But all that does is keep attention on the wrong behaviours.
Instead, I make a point of highlighting what’s done well.
“Brilliant, that’s 20 points, great focus.”
“Well done, you listened straight away.”
And once one player gets recognised…
Others start to follow.
Because they want the same.
That’s how behaviour spreads in a session.
Taking It Further: Turning It Into a League
Something I tried recently in a school PE lesson actually took this to another level.
Instead of just giving points during the session and leaving it there, I told the kids I was going to turn it into a league.
A proper one.
So every point they earned wasn’t just for that moment.
It counted towards something bigger.
I explained it like this:
“All the points you earn today are going into a Premier League table. At the end, we’ll see who finishes top.”
Straight away, you could feel the difference.
It wasn’t just about getting a point anymore.
It was about climbing the table.
Now they’re thinking:
“How many points have I got?”
“Who’s top?”
“Can I catch up?”
And what that does is stretch their focus across the whole session.
Not just one activity. Not just one moment.
In school, I linked it to Dojo points as a reward.
But in football, it can be adapted however you want.
The player at the top could:
- Be captain in the games
- Choose teams
- Lead the warm-up
- Start on the pitch first
It doesn’t need to be anything big.
It just needs to matter to them.
And one thing I noticed straight away…
Even when players weren’t directly involved in something, they were still engaged.
Because they knew:
Every moment counts.
If they switched off?
You don’t need to shout.
You just remind them:
“You’re dropping points here…”
And they reset themselves.
What About Older Players?
With older players, the approach shifts a bit.
You don’t rely on points as much.
You start bringing in more responsibility.
This is where questioning becomes powerful.
Instead of telling them everything, you involve them.
You ask:
- What should you be doing here?
- Where should your first touch take you?
- Why did that break down?
Now they have to stay engaged.
Because they know they might be asked.
The Importance of Leadership
I’ve seen sessions where players are:
- Kicking cones around
- Ignoring instructions
- Disrupting everything
And nothing changes.
This isn’t normally because they are bad kids
But because there’s no clear leadership.
Kids will always test boundaries.
That’s normal.
But if you don’t set them, they’ll create their own.
And once that happens, it becomes very difficult to get control back.
Final Thought
If you want players to focus more…
Stop trying to control them with your voice.
Start creating an environment where:
- Focus is recognised
- Effort is rewarded
- Expectations are clear
- Players are involved
Because when you get that right…
You don’t need to shout.
Want Help With This?
In my football coaching sessions in Sutton Coldfield and Birmingham, this is something I build into every session, not just technical work, but focus, decision-making, and real game understanding.
If your child struggles with focus in football, there’s always a reason.
And more importantly, there’s always a way to improve it.
You can in touch with me when you click here and find out more about how I can help improve your child’s game today!