* Regulation. The sport of football is limited by a number of rules that the coach should know in order to teach them to his players and by following the same, set the goals to be achieved, select the content, design activities, etc. ... It is important for the coach to propose activities taking into account the rules of the game. For example, if we want to improve our team's attack, the offside rule must be present in collective actions; otherwise we will be training players in an unsuitable way.

* Game basics: in attack and defense. When we make an analysis of the game, there are two situations that determine the roles of each team: if the team has possession of the ball then it is in the attack phase. If, however, the opposing team has the ball, we will be under defense. For both situations there are a number of principles and tactical fundamentals of the game we need to know to apply for the game's development. These matters are and should be trainable during theoretical and practical sessions with our players.

* Technical basics. The football regulations limit us in using the body parts in contact with the ball. We cannot use arms and hands, just the legs, trunk or head. The exception is the goalkeeper, provided he's in the penalty box and if the ball hasn't been passed to him by a player of the same team. These limitations force us to teach players the best way to use the body parts to make the necessary technical actions, which are basically: control, driving, dribble, kick and punt.

* Basic principles of sports training. The sport of football is a high-intensity physical activity. When you play or train, the body organs "suffer" stress. A good coach should have a basic understanding of physiology applied to exercise to see how bodies react to stress. Having a basic understanding of the principles of sports training helped to establish the optimal stimuli, times and types of adequate recovery (threshold law and principle of super compensation and overcompensation). Besides physiological aspects, it would be smart to know the principles related to psychological concepts (motivation, transfer, meaningful learning, etc. ...)

* Sports methodology and teaching. Some basic knowledge of teaching methodology and applied to team sports will provide the soccer coach the task of teaching. Learning theories, reinforcements, feedbacks, etc...

* Periodization. Training is a complex planning process for sequencing of content over a period of time. Likewise, we should organize training loads (stimulating what we want to improve in blocks) maintaining the right balance between rest load (alternating between stimulus and recovery). All this related to competition days.

* Psychology applied to football, to motivate his players, to better communicate his ideas, resolve conflicts and finally, to motivate themselves in hard times.

* First aid. Basic first aid skills are essential, as well as minimizing injuries that can occur, in some cases they could even save your life. In his repertoire of skills the coach should know how and when to apply cold to reduce inflammation from injuries, sprains, clean and heal an open wound, apply a tourniquet, apply CPR, etc...

* Rehabilitation techniques and recovery from injury. I'm not saying that the coach should do the duties of a physiotherapist. But he must have some idea of injuries and the rehabilitation process, activities, deadlines, etc ...

* Nutrition. The body needs energy to move. The sport of football requires high-intensity power. We get energy from the food we ingest. Proper nutrition will help us get the energy we need to avoid consuming products that provide substance that hinder exercise and/or unhealthy. The coach must teach his players what they should and shouldn't eat.

* Team's Administrative Management: competition rules and paperwork (fill up the team's card, records, match reports), communication with players/parents, other coaches, including online marketing in social networks like Facebook, twitter, etc ... to communicate what your team is doing. I know many professional coaches who manage well these social networks even as tools to publicize their work.

* Human resources management. The coach trains and directs although in the end, players are the ones who have to do the job. The coach should know how to deal with the personalities and peculiarities of each of the people who are part of his team: players, assistants, etc ... as well as other people involved with the team/club: parents, CEO, administrators, security, etc ... managing, organizing, and bringing the best of each of them is part of the human resources management.

In this article we have reviewed the topics that the trainer should focus on to acquire the knowledge he needs for his work: Rules, principles of the game: in attack and defense, technical basics, fundamental principles of sports training, methodology and teaching of sports, periodization, psychology applied to football, first aid, rehabilitation techniques and injury recovery, administrative management of the team. In this blog we will go deeper on each of these categories.

Tell me your opinion, which other categories you think are necessary to form and be a better coach? What is your experience in this field? How do you do to acquire this knowledge? Please leave your comments and if you liked it, share this article among others you think might be interested. Thank you