Well, my 2017/18 season has finally come to an end. The team I had in State Cup lost in the Semi Final. Only one team per age group really ends the season having accomplished its goals and having won the title but looking back I'm very happy with the progress of my team and especially of the individual players. That's really what it's all about those. No college coach will ever ask any of these players how they did in State Cup or any other tournament when … [Read more...]
#105 Tryouts as a Tool for Development
I took last week off from the podcast to take some teams to Chicago for a Memorial Day weekend tournament. It was a great weekend and a fun way to wrap up the year for the teams. We played on grass fields which really slowed the game down compared to what we're used to when playing on our home turf fields. It was a different challenge for the players which they adapted to well. I love playing on grass but it's so seldom that you get to play on grass … [Read more...]
#063 Surviving Tryouts
Last weekend completed the tryouts for our youth soccer club. This is a year occurrence here is the States. I’d be curious to hear what it’s like in other countries. Do you have tryouts each year or more or less often? Since our system is, ‘Pay to Play’ many parents view themselves as agents. They shop around and look for the best ‘deal’. I don’t have a problem with parents looking out for the best interest of their children but too often I think they’re … [Read more...]
#052 Coaching the Most Important Age Group
I’ve settled into a regular routine with our Instagram account. Each week I share a complete training session or progression of exercises from one of our books along with a couple of interesting photos or quotes that I’ve come across. I think it’s a great way to share drills and exercises because the comments section allows enough room for the complete description and coaching points. If you don’t have an Instagram account I would suggest you check it … [Read more...]
#016 How to Run Tryouts for More Than 2,000 Players
Each June we hold tryouts for our soccer club. Players can be moved up or down and new players join to replace those that choose to leave. It can be a disorganized nightmare or it can be a well orchestrated process where players are assigned to teams that will be the best place for their further development. I was going to discuss more about tactical analysis this week but last weekend we had tryouts for our soccer club. This is a process that no one really … [Read more...]