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I used to like to think I knew a little bit about the art of coaching. Halfway through my second season coaching a kindergarten and first-grade Boys and Girls Club indoor soccer team, I have clearly been proven wrong.

I have an extensive soccer background. I played in youth leagues and was captain of my high school team. In college, I was a decent player on a pretty good NCAA Division III team. After college, I coached high school and club teams with a fair amount of success. I attended coaching clinics put on by professionals, including U.S. National Team coaches. I even have college credit in philosophy of coaching. I thought I knew my stuff.

Leave it to a gym full of 6- and 7-year-olds to show me otherwise.

I prepared for my first practice the same way I did for my high school sessions. I drew up a schedule, starting with some stretching and moving into some skills drills. From there, I figured we could do some passing, then maybe a little game. As I recall, stretching went well, but I think I crumpled up my crimp notes shortly thereafter. We spent some time twirling around, made trips to the drinking fountain every few minutes, and my planned passing drill turned into more of a chase drill as balls didn't go anywhere near the intended target.

We tried a game of knockout ? every player starts with a ball, and the object of the game is to knock everyone else's ball out of the circle while keeping possession of yours, a favorite of all the high school boys I've ever coached ? but had to change activities when being knocked out started drawing tears.

I tried to have a scrimmage to end one practice. I split the team up, arranged them on the floor, put a ball down in the center and hollered "Play!" It's the first, last and only time I've ever seen a group of kids stand perfectly still. For most of my players, that moment, apparently, was their first actual team competition.

I even thought I did a pretty good job typing up the game schedule, neatly tabbing out the time and place of each contest ? only to be told that I forgot the most important information: whose turn it is to bring the team snack. They didn't go over that stuff in the coaches' meeting.

Games are quite a bit different, too. Where I used to discuss tactics such as overlapping runs by midfielders and crosses to the far post, my pregame pep talks now consist of gems like, "If you can put your arm out and touch a teammate, you're too close together," which in the last couple games has been followed by, "Stop putting your arms out and touching each other."

Hey, at least they're coachable.

Fortunately during that first practice, one of my players asked if we could play sharks and minnows. It was something the kids already knew, so I figured, what the heck, throw a few balls in the mix a see if it works. This season, I planned practices around sharks and minnows, using the game to work on dribbling and defensive skills. I'll have to add that one to my old coaching notebook.

My goal for the season is for my players to learn to pass the ball sideways to a teammate on the kickoff, instead of running up and kicking it as hard as possible straight up the middle of the court at the other team. They've started knocking it diagonally, so I guess we're making progress. They're also getting better about spreading out ? except when the ball rolls into the corner, at which point they all gravitate over to it. It makes it next to impossible to get the ball out of the corner, and when it does pop free, none of my players are in position to defend our goal.

The biggest challenge is making sure substitutions go smoothly. I have yet to find a good way to do that. I've tried keeping track on paper, but players seem to periodically vanish to the bathroom just when they're supposed to be going in to the game, throwing off even the most well thought out scheme. In fact, some players disappear while they're actually in the game. I spend as much time counting heads on the floor as I do shouting encouragement.

It's frequently a scramble for me to get to games as they are scheduled just when I'm hitting the deadline crunch here at the paper. I usually have to rush out right after the game ? no time to linger for chit chat or to go get a post-game ice cream.

So why go through with all the hassle and fuss? Back in March, I bumped in to the mom of one of my players in the grocery store. She said her daughter wanted to play again this year ? but only if I was her coach. I had no idea anyone other than my own kids had that sentiment, or that I was more than some weird guy who gives out directions nobody listens to.

The experts say young people need to have positive interactions with adults. Being able to do that is what makes it all worth while. It's certainly been a learning experience for me.

Clarion city editor Will Morrow can be reached at will.morrow@peninsulaclarion.com.