Coaching Soccer Weekly

Coaching Soccer Weekly

A Podcast that Shares Training Sessions, Interviews and Commentary from WORLD CLASS COACHING

Coaching Soccer Weekly is a podcast that gives you an in-depth look at the methods, strategies and techniques used by a youth soccer coach working full time with players of every age and skill level. This includes training plans, team management and planning ideas, the latest trends in soccer coaching and education, as well as approaches to deal with challenges.

The podcast also includes interviews with other soccer coaches and trainers that are on the cutting edge of modern soccer development.

t>

#143 The Stages of Goalkeeper Development

by 2 Comments

Play in New WindowDownload

I only had a couple of games last weekend. One of them was with a team that is playing up an age group. Not only that but they're playing in the top division against teams a year older. It's been a great way to expose some weaknesses that we need to work on but it's also been a real challenge to continue to play our way against players that are bigger, faster, stronger AND good soccer players. On the podcast I talk about the difficult balance of trying to … [Read more...]

#142 Balancing Skill Development with Game Understanding

by 9 Comments

Play in New WindowDownload

I took a break from the podcast last week but it wasn't to go on a vacation or take some time off as much as it was to get ready for our Spring Recreational Coaches Meeting. The week was spent pulling together paperwork and uniforms in preparation for the spring season that starts this week. I also did presented a session to the coaches to give them some ideas that they could use in training. The session was on training players to change direction with the … [Read more...]

#141 How to Become more Involved in Coaching

by 2 Comments

Play in New WindowDownload

This week is our spring break in this area so we're missing a lot of players. This has created opportunities for players to guest play with the teams above them and experience a higher level of competition. As a coach I've enjoyed watching how players respond to this opportunity. All of the players that guest played with my teams did great and showed their ability to rise to the occasion. Small numbers in training has meant that coaches are combining … [Read more...]

#140 Dealing with a Poor Performance

by 8 Comments

Play in New WindowDownload

In the opening of this week's podcast I describe an incident from one of my games last weekend. It's a story that's better heard than read. This week’s question comes from Evan. He’s asking about formations. Evan says, “This high school girls soccer season has just begun where I live, and I coach a local JV team. As the JV coach, I view my job as one with two parts, soccer development and confidence building. Normally, I have the girls play a … [Read more...]

#139 The Transition to the Spring Outdoor Season

by 2 Comments

Play in New WindowDownload

We had our first outdoor tournament last weekend. I like this tournament because it gives my teams three or four quick games before the season starts. The weather was really cold the week before so we weren't able to train much. Two of my teams didn’t practice at all. I had all four of my teams in the tournament. Three made the final. That meant that I had 16 games over three days. I’m just now recovering from the long weekend. All talk more about how the … [Read more...]

#138 Reviewing My Season Long Plan

by Leave a Comment

Play in New WindowDownload

Last weekend was US Youth Futsal Nationals. I know that talking about ‘National’ tournaments for youth players can sound a little over the top. There weren't teams from all over the country but there were some great teams from the midwest and east coast. Talking about it as a National tournament is really more of a way to describe the progressive nature of the competition. Team qualify through a Regional tournament and then progress to a National … [Read more...]

#137 Attack vs Defense Game to Train Decision Making

by 12 Comments

Play in New WindowDownload

This weekend is the US Youth Futsal National that are held here in the KC area. I have one team in the tournament and I’m looking forward to seeing how they do against some very good opposition. It’s great to finish up the season with an event like this. It lets me see how far we’ve come and gives me ideas on how to improve in the future. Last year we were down a goal and the other team packed it into a tight diamond. We couldn’t break them down. This year … [Read more...]

#136 The Responsibilities of an Effective Coach

by 4 Comments

Play in New WindowDownload

For three weeks I've focused on fast footwork and lateral movement with my players. It’s been great to see their increased on comfort and confidence on the ball. Each practice I’ve given them ‘homework’ to do that related to the movements we did during training. Hopefully they’ll continue to do these exercises at home so that their development in this area will not stop with this MicroCycle. In the last two weeks of the season we’ll be focusing on playing a … [Read more...]

#135 Training Players to Move Individually and as a Team

by 7 Comments

Play in New WindowDownload

We're starting to wrap up our Futsal season. I'm continuing to work on technical skills that will help the players in Futsal but I'm starting to plan for the transition back to outdoor. I'll talk about that more in the coming weeks. We wrapped up a three week MicroCycle where we did a progression of fast footwork and change of direction moves. This last week we did mostly 1 v 1 between two dots. The dribbler tries to fake the defender and get to one of … [Read more...]

#134 The Choice between Rec and Premier

by Leave a Comment

Play in New WindowDownload

Now that my teams have been playing Futsal for a few months we've gone over and over the basic Futsal tactics that have helped my teams to understand the shape and structure needed to play Futsal effectively. That's not to say that they can always execute effectively. We could keep working on our shape and movement but I think if we do we will reach a point of dimension return. The tactical sessions, even though they include a lot of technical components, … [Read more...]