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
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
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
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
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...]
#136 The Responsibilities of an Effective Coach
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...]
#132 New Grassroots Coaching Pathway
Last weekend I had my first games back with my teams after the long holiday break. Because of the way the schedule worked out we didn't have a practice before our games. I knew we wouldn't be really sharp but I was surprised by just how rusty the players really were. You could tell that the players knew it and were frustrated by how they were playing. I tried to high my frustration because it wasn't that they weren't trying, they were just out of … [Read more...]
#131 A Coach’s New Years Resolution
It was a great time for a break! I really enjoyed the time away from the field and the chance to spend time with family and friends. It was also a productive time as I was able to complete my spring league and tournament plan as well as the Technical Training curriculum for next season. As much as I've enjoyed the time off, I'm looking forward to getting back to working with my teams in training and games. This week’s question comes from Chris (a … [Read more...]
#127 Building Technical Training Progressions
Well, last weekend was the end of the outdoor season for the last of my teams. Just in time too because the weather has really made a turn to the colder side in the midwest. All of our training sessions from now on will be focused on the techniques and tactics of Futsal. It's almost like starting over with my teams since the skills of Futsal are so very different from many of the skills the players use outdoor. Some see this as a negative but I think they're … [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...]
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