How head coach Nikita teaches children ball control

Nikita, head coach of our Tsameret football school in Ashdod, is a schoolteacher and has coached football for 15 years. His players have included five-year-olds stepping onto a pitch for the first time and goalkeepers on a senior women’s team. He holds a UEFA coaching licence and a separate goalkeeping coach licence.

At Maccabi Ashdod Panthers, Nikita coached two generations of players. In 2024/25 he trained the senior goalkeepers and coached one of the club’s youngest girls’ teams. That season the senior side earned promotion to Israel’s women’s top division. In 2025/26 the Panthers played in the top flight, and Nikita continued coaching the club’s young players.

What a child learns with the ball

One five-year-old is eager to dribble past everyone. Another needs a little time before asking for the ball. Nikita can find a task for both. Take a simple pass. A beginner is learning to cushion the ball and keep it close enough for the next touch. A more experienced player can start looking for a teammate before the pass arrives, then use that first touch to set up the next pass.

Parents sometimes have the best view of this when the children are playing close to home. Watch what happens when a pass rolls towards your child. Can they take it in their stride? Do they look up while dribbling? Have they spotted the teammate moving into space? Over the weeks you may see a move that took real concentration at training become a choice your child makes on their own in a game with friends.

Two coaches on the same pitch

During our ten-day July programme at Mishtara Park, two coaches worked with two groups on the grass. Beginners had time to get comfortable with the ball while experienced players practised at their own pace. At Tsameret, children with different levels of experience play together, including autistic children and their peers. Calling a teammate by name and getting into a position where they can pass to you are part of learning the game, too.

In our first school year the main group trained twice a week, with 15 to 20 children and teenagers attending regularly. By November 2026 that number had grown to between 20 and 25.

How Gosha became a coach

Another coach came through the school in its first year. With Nikita as his mentor, Georgi Keitsaris, known to us as Gosha, completed his coach training and earned a UEFA coaching licence. He now takes to the pitch as a coach at Tsameret.

Thank you, Nikita, for the patience you show the children and the generosity with which you share your experience with other coaches.

Nikita’s coaching record at the Israel Football Association · Maccabi Ashdod Panthers in 2025/26

Training times, directions and trial sessions · Our first season in numbers