Philosophically, youth soccer programs, especially for younger ages should have the focus of the game that is fun rather then a game that is to be won. There will be plenty of time for competition in years to follow. When you coach youth soccer and your new to the game, you should keep a few things in mind.

• You should try to balance playing time among players. Game time is playtime for young soccer players.
• Your job as coach should be one of observing and smiling with minor course corrections made at halftime. Most of your time should be spent encouraging.
• Be a positive role model to your team. After all, they really did come out and join your team to have fun.
• Use practice for teaching and leave the games to the players.

Sounds like a tall order doesn’t it? It probably doesn’t remind you of coaching that you … Read the rest

Lead by example. It will be hard to get your kids off the couch if you aren’t doing it yourself. If your family doesn’t exercise regularly, start going on walks together after dinner or consider taking a fitness class with your children to get them involved. When your children see that you enjoy regular exercise and observe how it benefits your life, they’ll be more likely to join in instead of resisting.
Keep screen time to a minimum. Although most kids today watch television, surf the Internet, and play video games, it’s important that screen time is limited to several hours a day and eliminated before bedtime to ensure a good night of rest. Although kids may fight this change at first, limited screen time means that kids have the opportunity to play outdoors or engage in other creative activities.
Include friends. To add a social element to exercise that … Read the rest

Videotaping the games

One of the best ways to study and analyze a game is to tape it. The advantage you have is you can watch it as many times you need to, and study the minute movements of the players on the field. You can pause the game, fast forward it to the interesting part, and rewind it again to repeat a particular section of the game. The facilities help to understand the game plan, and how players implement it during the game. A study done for a full season involving the Everton FC soccer club of England revealed many facts, which were not disclosed to the general masses. For example, a particular player was shortlisted, and his every move studied in details. The results indicated that the player ran for 8,800 meters on an average per game. Moreover, the actual running involved walking, jogging, cruising, sprinting, and backing. … Read the rest

• Let the laces loose. Loosening laces opens up your cleats getting more air in them, hence hastening the drying process. When you let the cleats dry with the laces on, you also expose the seams to tension because they contract as they dry. Loosening the laces is therefore also helpful in eliminating this kind of stress.
• Remove the shoe insole. Most cleats come with removable insoles. Such insoles are convenient because they give players the chance to change into more comfortable and supportive ones as the situation demands. They also come in handy when looking for a quick way of drying the cleats. Removing the insole does not only help the shoe interiors to dry faster, but the insole will also dry faster by itself. You can wrap it up with paper towels or hang it upright using clothe pins or pegs to hasten the process.
• Wipe off grass, dirt

Plan in advance

It doesn’t need to be a professionally designed coaching plan with photos and diagrams. Something very simple with a few notes will suffice but make sure you layout what you will be working on so that you can follow it and don’t need to worry about coming up with drills during practice. Take the stress out of practice and plan in advance, it will only take you 15 minutes or so the night before.

Check your equipment

There is nothing worse than turning up to practice and realising you don’t have enough soccer balls or cones (if possible, have at least one ball per player). Check your equipment the night before practice and make sure you have everything. Make sure you inflate any balls that are soft (this will save you wasting time doing it just before practice) but don’t make the mistake of inflating the balls … Read the rest