UPDATE: As of 4/15/2020, US Soccer terminated the Development Academy for both boys and girls. US Soccer indicated that the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have created a financial situation that makes continuation of the DA impossible. As of 5/16/2020, the post-DA youth soccer landscape is starting to come into focus. On the girls side,…
Unless you live in an area that stays warm all winter, your team will likely be faced with choosing between Futsal and Indoor Soccer for continued soccer development over the cold winter months. I have coached my teams in both formats throughout the years and there are positives and negatives for each. The major differences…
Update 5/26/2020 With the the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s difficult to know how tryouts will look this year. There will likely be different restrictions depending on your state organizations. Social distancing will likely be enforced and parents may be encouraged to stay in their cars during the process. Generally, expect skill based drills to be emphasized…
In a previous post , I discussed when and how to start formal soccer training and the difference between recreational and competitive soccer. In Should Your Child Play Competitive Soccer? How to Know, we examined how to tell if your child is ready for the competitive leap. We discussed the benefits of club soccer…
As you’ve read in my previous post, I never really intended to be a head soccer coach. I thought I could be a valuable assistant coach with my soccer background, but I didn’t know if I would have the time to be a head coach. But once I jumped in, I was in! The very…
In my last post, I discussed when to start soccer training at home. But, what about more formal, third party soccer training? If you live in a decent sized metropolitan area, my guess is that you will see advertisements from local clubs or even the local parks and recreation department for early childhood soccer training. …
In How to Make Your Child a Soccer Star…Kind Of I examine two key ingredients to playing soccer at a high level: athleticism and personality. The third ingredient is opportunity. The first aspect of opportunity is when to actually start soccer training. I know I was incredibly anxious to get my kids playing soccer as…
Get Started! Ok, so let’s get this out of the way, you can’t MAKE your child a soccer star. It takes the perfect combination of athleticism, personality and opportunity.