Category: Youth Soccer Insider

The youth coach faces many formidable tasks. Carrying a net full of soccer balls, a big duffle bag, the fold-out bench and pop-up goals from the parking lot to the field – that’s no mean feat.

When Soccer America profiles the nation’s top young players, we ask them to reflect on their early youth soccer years and share their outstanding memories. Here are some of our favorites:

It seems to be conventional wisdom that scrimmaging – letting children actually play soccer – is something that should happen only at the end of practice.

The U-20 World Cup is underway in Egypt and the USA starts play on Saturday against European Champion Germany.

This column is for the kids. Adults can stop reading now.

Dear Soccer-Playing Children of America,

Below are reader comments on recent editions of the Youth Soccer Insider. Soccer America Members can post their feedback on SoccerAmerica.com’s Blog and Commentary section using the link provided at the bottom of our e-letters. Selected posts are included periodically in the e-letters.

The first season of the Women’s Professional Soccer league produced lower crowds and bigger financial losses than anticipated.

After five days of watching her brother play baseball at the Cooperstown Dreams Park in Cooperstown, N.Y., my 10-year-old daughter begged me to take her to the National Soccer Hall of Fame just down the road in Oneonta. My husband and I thought it was just what the doctor ordered for our soccer-crazy daughter on her birthday, especially since the United States would be playing Mexico that afternoon.

In the past months I have had the pleasure of working with both a U16 Regional ODP team and a U-14 national team. Both camps included some greatly talented players who are extremely well-driven and are strong athletes. The coaches working at these camps are top-notch coaches who are clearly some of the best in the country.

In our youth soccer environment the training sessions tend to be fairly sterile in that the U7 team only practices with the U7 age group, girls only practice with girls, and so forth.

To develop skills and master the game, the next best thing to playing is to watch. But a common lament among American coaches, one I’ve heard even from U.S. national team coaches, is their young players don’t watch enough soccer.

There is a young team, within a premier club recognized for its past successes, which is taking things to the extreme in regard to cost, matches, and the player’s total involvement in the sport. This team is currently playing more than 80 games per year and practices at least two times per week.

As a parent, you are constantly faced with decisions that have a profound impact on your child’s future. I believe it is important to examine some of these issues as they relate to youth soccer and all youth sports today.

Summer camps and tournaments in most parts of the country will be played in hot, humid conditions. With the weather change, athletes are at higher risk for heat-related illness. What I would like to do below is to present a common sense guide to a preventable problem: heat-related illnesses, including dehydration, cramping, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.

Soccer America readers comment on recent editions of the Youth Soccer Insider e-letter.

Summer is arriving quickly and for many players, the soccer season will end with the school year. It is time for children to enjoy freedom and head outside to play amidst the nice weather. No more bells to direct them from classroom to classroom, no more homework to distract them from what they enjoy most – playing.

Two years ago, while visiting Spain, I looked into to its approach to youth development. Since then, Spain has won the 2008 European Championship and Barcelona won the 2009 UEFA Champions League.

Soccer America readers comments on a recent edition of the Youth Soccer Insider e-letter.

I am firmly against having young kids play “positions” that are part of the adult game. I coach a U-9 team in a league that plays 8-v-8 (including keepers) and my players are now at the transitional age when they can begin to grasp the concept of positions.

Over the years more of our 6,000 youth soccer clubs have become increasingly professional. The clubs are paying more attention to facilities, staff and programming. Among the staff some clubs have hired are coaches. A number of clubs have the coaches do administration as well as coaching.

Soccer America readers comment on recent editions of the Youth Soccer Insider e-letter.

One of the biggest mistakes youth coaches can make is to force a passing game on children too early.

At a PACT (Parents and Coaches Together) presentation last year, one of the parents asked a very pointed question: “Why do the bad guys always win?” It was a difficult question, one which kept PACT presenters discussing possible answers for over a year.