U7's who "really like and respect" playing in a "fairly professional environment" where they don't play "silly games with silly names," but...
All your U7's executing stepovers at game speed--holy crap. All in all a good practice plan but a few ideas about some of your activities are...
Benji: I had to laugh when I read your first two paragraphs. I share your bias and get where you are coming from--I cringe when I see coaches...
Coaches: Do you have a favorite pre-game warm-up? Depending on the season, I coach U10's, U11's or U12's (U11 girls right now), but I would be...
Rob: First, in response to the original post, I'd be very leery about changing the way you defend in a game or from game to game. Play the base...
Interesting and thoughful thread. Thanks. I have the unenviable task of being part of the "play-up" decisions for the in-house players at our...
Here, the "community" programs (akin, I would think, to your community rec leagues) have both an intramural (in-house) component (registered...
Yes, consideration has been given to it (and quite honestly, I think the "academy" structure would be an improvement for U5 and U6), but there are...
Well, thanks for the insult, but you miss the context entirely. I didn't pick the system to be successful in terms of match results; I picked it...
Play 3-2-3. Lots of natural diamonds and triangles to exploit. Also, it's probably a bit less running and a bit less complex than other systems,...
In my experience, the first thing you need is parent buy-in. If the parents are on board, then everything is essentially administrative, e.g.,...
The problem is this: as the players get older, and the game begins to look more and more like "real" soccer, we lose coaches. This is not a...
Speaking of 4v2 keepaway, one game I like is 4v4 in two zones (half of the field for the activity). Team A starts with ball, and Team B can put...
I don't think that's what he meant. He's saying it's the way his organization has been doing it for years and it's been tough to change the...
OK. But as a follow-up, why nothing? I can't say I've done an exhaustive survey, but NZ today had a badge which incorporates the Olympic rings...
Sorry for the interruption, but I can't seem to find an answer to this. Why do the USWNT game jerseys not have a badge (either US Soccer or...
I'm making it complicated? You are the one that introduced the concept of "active involvement" to an introductory presentation of the law to 9...
I don't know what my parents yell (hopefully nothing, but I'm not that naive)--I'm on the other side of the field worrying about my players--but...
The following I did with U10's. Your mileage may vary, but I would think this would be effective with U12 rec players. First, at the end of a...
This is an interesting topic. I have a question, and a comment. First, the question. At what age group do we, as coaches, need to start paying...
I think this needs to come from a higher authority than the coach. Your club's board should pass a policy addressing paying for coaching courses....
Interesting points, several of which I addressed directly or indirectly in the post, so I won't go over those again. Re. luring their defenders...
Thanks for all the comments. As I mentioned in the OP, we play a 2-3-1. Some of the comments about the 2-3-1 have been interesting, and I...
1. Players are grouped in pairs. Place ball on small cone for each pair. One player tries to shield the ball, without touching it (stress/teach...
Sometimes, I find that I just need to do something "fun" with my players, whether it's to relax them or refocus them or remotivate them or...