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>My experience was that the parents of Under-6 and Under-8 players were the most difficult. Like most good parents, I suppose, they often thought their kids were perfect in every way. Sometimes soccer was the first realization that their child was average or below average in anything. The other thing that was difficult was so many of them tried to coach from the sidelines. At that age most of the players go onto the field barely knowing which direction their team is going, much less capable of processing half a dozen hollered instructions at once. AYSO, which is the largest youth soccer organization in the U.S. (and I believe in the world) has some really good age-appropriate guidelines for coaches. At U-6 there are only about 4 things you want them to learn, like how to kick the ball and how to receive a pass. Not that many of them are interested in passing the ball at that age, LOL.

When my boys were 5/6 years old their summer program included soccer. Not organized or instructional in any way. They just went on the field and started kicking the ball. It didn't bear any resemblance to soccer. There was a goalie, a crowd of kids, and the other goalie. The ball would pop out every once in a while and the crowd would chase it en masse. No resemblance to soccer but, except for the occasional wailing of a kid that got kicked, they all had a great time.

As they got older we discovered that both of them had their father's talent for the game. That is, as a soccer player, I was pretty good setter in volleyball.