So I stumbled upon this Per-Mathias Hogmo guy’s coaching methods last Tuesday while scrolling coaching forums. Decided to test his famous “player-centric development” approach with my nephew’s pee-wee soccer team. First thing I did? Tossed my old clipboard drills out the window cold turkey.
The Messy Setup Phase
Gathered the kids Wednesday evening but didn’t tell ’em any tactics. Just threw six balls on the field and yelled “MAKE IT FUN!” – total chaos erupted. Little Timmy started crying when balls smacked him, parents glared from sidelines. Felt like herding cats on caffeine.
Next morning I brewed extra coffee and rewatched Hogmo’s interviews. Key things jumped out:
- No rigid positions – let kids roam wherever
- Ask questions instead of commanding – like “where should we pass?”
- Focus on smiles not scores
Total Mindset Flip
Thursday practice felt awkward as hell. Instead of barking “MARK YOUR MAN!”, I asked Bobby why he kept drifting left. Kid shrugged saying “sun was in my eyes”. We moved practice spots – instant improvement. Blew my damn mind.
Didn’t touch tactics boards all week. Just set up crazy games:
- Ball-juggling contests with candy prizes
- 5-goal “anything goes” matches
- Letting them pick teams Captain’s-choice style
Weirdest Outcomes Ever
By Saturday’s match, parents thought I’d gone nuts. But magic happened – these 8-year-olds started coaching EACH OTHER. Jenny told Mark to cover her back, Timmy actually smiled after blocking a shot. We lost 5-2 but kids cheered like World Cup winners.
Key takeaways from this experiment:
- Kids learn faster by screwing up than being micromanaged
- Energy shifts when you stop being dictator-coach
- Zero drill-work created way better ball control
Still processing Hogmo’s methods though – feels strange not running conditioning drills. Might try it with my daughter’s basketball crew next month. Wild stuff, man.