"During games, Reyna observed that 'at the best places the youth coaches are sitting down. And if they get up to give instructions, they sit right back down again.'"
Kids have enough on their plate when they are on the field (meeting their internal expectations - the pressure of performing in front of friends and family - letting their teammates down - etc...).
I think a much more useful teaching moment during games is to talk with the players on the bench. Make observations, ask for observations, ask the players how they can improve the teams performance when they enter the game, and so on...
With free substitutions you can manage the urge to correct/connect what you see on the field and the necessity of the players to feel free on the field. And you can do it in a way that does not intimidate or add unnecessary pressure to what is already a very stressful situation.
