Equipment

Balls
Ideally you should have one ball per player, or at a minimum, one ball between two players. Invest in buying hand stitched balls. Plastic or moulded balls can cause poor habits and are often uncomfortable to head or control.

Cones
You need to have a good supply of cones to mark off boundaries for your practice grids and small sided games. Minimum 24 cones. If you do not have cones you can purchase bright coloured flower pots from garden shops . These cost only a few rupees each, and are a perfectly adequate replacement for cones.

Bibs
Training Bibs are necessary to identify teams in small sided games and individual players in drills. Go for florescent colours like yellow or green. Minimum 1 bib per player.

Nets
Whenever possible use nets on the goals, there is nothing more exciting for a player than watching the ball hit the back of the net.

Corner Flags
Corner flags are ideal for making goals in small sided scrimmages. It also provides a better visual target for the players.

First Aid Kit
You should always have a well-stocked First Aid kit at every practice and game. Routinely check to make sure you have all the necessary supplies in your kit. Keep emergency telephone numbers and loose change in the kit also.

Cellular Phone
If possible take a cellular telephone along with you to practice in case of emergencies.

Water
Ensure each player brings a bottle of water to every practice and game.
Coaching the Practice
Keep your warm-up to a minimum. Try to vary warm-up each session, without the ball, with the ball, etc.

Get players working as soon as possible. Try starting your session with a small sided game as opposed to always concluding the session with a game.
When selecting teams for small sided games, avoid letting the players select. Too often the same player is selected last which leaves the player with a negative experience. Allowing players to pick teams also takes valuable time away from your practice session. Name each team 'i.e.': " Vipers” " Vs "Dragons", "India" Vs "Brazil" etc.

When you are ready to teach your topic bring in all players and describe and demonstrate your topic. Remember when teaching that "a picture tells a thousand words."

After you have made your coaching points and demonstrated, let the players practice the topic. When the players are practising, stand outside the practice area so you can see all groups working.

Observe to check that all the players are following your instructions. If most of the group are performing the task incorrectly it is usually because:
a. Your instructions were not clear enough.
b. Your demonstration was not clear enough.
c. The players physically are not ready to perform the task.

If most of the players are having problems, bring in all the group and explain and demonstrate. If the task is too much physically for the players, improvise to an easier level. If only a few of the players are having problems, allow the other players to continue practising while you coach the players having problems.

When it's time to progress to the next practice, bring in all groups and explain and demonstrate what you are looking for. Be careful to progress at the correct point and not just go through a timed schedule.

50% of your practice time should be spent on quality practices to improve technique. Remember to keep your groups small, whenever possible, one ball each or one ball between two players. 50% of your practice should be spent playing small sided or full game scrimmages. Emphasis should be place on applying the topic you have practiced in game related situations.
Try to be single minded in your teaching. You cannot teach, passing, shooting and dribbling in one practice session.

Always try to end practice on an exciting tone. (Penalty shoot outs are good). Too often players finish practice feeling tired and not looking forward to the next practice. Try to create an atmosphere where you finish when players actually want to continue playing, this way players will be looking forward to the next practice and anxious to return.