This is the last weekend of league play in our area. It's great to see the players really starting to understand the key aspects of the game that we've been focusing on. They're not always getting it right but seeing them work hard to play the game in the right way is always very satisfying. Not all of my teams will win the league this season. That's not the most important measuring stick. Seeing their progress and constant improvement makes the long hours … [Read more...]
#122 Silent Saturdays Aren’t the Answer
I can't believe I'm sitting here today NOT looking forward to the World Cup this summer. Having the US miss the World Cup for the first time in my adult life is a very hard pill to swallow. This is a youth soccer podcast so I usually don't focus on national team or professional results and news but this is something that will deeply affect youth soccer in this country, OR AT LEAST IT SHOULD! I'd already planned to discuss another topic this week so I … [Read more...]
#121 US DA vs High School Soccer
With one of my teams last weekend I decided not to coach while the ball was in play. The team had played a tournament the previous weekend and they had heard enough from me :-). I wanted them to take total ownership of the game and make their own decisions whenever the ball was in play. I also didn't want to break their focus on the game so I stayed out of their way. This is something I've done in the past but not with this team so it seemed like a great … [Read more...]
#120 Don’t Look at the Ball
I had another tournament with some of my teams last weekend. It's been a crowded schedule lately which I think contributed to a slow start for a couple of teams. I could tell early on that they just weren't up for it the way that they usually are. They just weren't competing with the other team. They were trying to do the right things but the intensity level wasn't there. Once we talked about it at halftime I saw a steady improvement throughout the … [Read more...]
#119 Training Transition
Last weekend's tournament in Iowa went well despite some weather issues. The tournament did a good job of managing them but on the show I talk about the best way I've seen of dealing with weather delays. As I've said before I enjoy having my teams play multiple games over the course of a weekend and learning from one game to the next. We played on some beautiful grass fields but it did take us some time to adjust to the slower surface and smaller field … [Read more...]
#118 Avoiding Common Coaching Mistakes
This weekend I'm taking my girls teams to Iowa for a tournament. This year I split up my teams and took the boys to one tournament and the girls to another. This gives me more time with the players and families away from the field. These are the only two out of town trips I'll do with my teams this fall. We have so many good teams come into town that we don't really need to travel but the players enjoy these types of trips and as I said last week, there are … [Read more...]
#117 From Technical to Functional
Last weekend I had two teams in a tournament in Omaha. We travel with our teams that are U10 and above at least once a season. It's a great way to see some new competition, in a new environment. The fields were grass as opposed to the turf fields that we normally play on. They were good fields but provided their own challenges. In addition to the different on the field challenges, traveling also provides an opportunity for the players and their families to … [Read more...]
#116 Drills Don’t Make Players Better
Our club has started a program called, 'RecConnect' to provide a resource for recreational coaches. Five of our club's premier coaches have 'adopted' a 2nd grade boys or girls division. We send out weekly tips and suggestions, make ourselves available to answer questions and attend the games on the weekend. This helps create a stronger link between the rec and premier side of our club and shares the experience of the premier coaches with parents who may not … [Read more...]
#115 Deciding the Game
I'm working with five different teams this year, U9 boys, U10 boys, U11 girls, U13 boys and U16 girls. That may seem like too many teams but I'm able to schedule the practices easily since we have lighted fields and the league and tournament scheduler does a great job making sure I don't have any conflicts. Putting them all in the tournament this weekend gave me 17 games over the three days of the tournament which was a lot for me but it was great for the … [Read more...]
#114 Do You Have the Courage to be Patient
I was watching the US Open Cup game last night with Sporting KC vs San Jose. The game went to PK’s and it got me thinking about the differences between youth and adult PKs. The goalkeepers are usually much smaller in relation to the goal so the things that will work for young players will not be effective for professions. I tell my youth players to keep the ball on the ground and aim for one side of the goalkeeper or the other. They don't need to put it in … [Read more...]
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