Imagine a 4 year old soccer player; he’s watched his sisters play soccer since he was born. His dad coaches all year long and he’s been dribbling and kicking a ball from the time he could walk. It’s his first organized game with his “team” and coach. He’s fired up. The grandparents have come, even [...]

Xavi: “It’s all about rondos [piggy in the middle]. Rondo, rondo, rondo. Every. Single. Day. It’s the best exercise there is. You learn responsibility and not to lose the ball. If you lose the ball, you go in the middle. Pum-pum-pum-pum, always one touch. If you go in the middle, it’s humiliating, the rest applaud [...]

In order to create a positive learning environment on the soccer field, it is imperative that you take into consideration where your players are Developmentally (psychomotor, psychosocial and cognitive stages). Expecting too much from your 8 year old because they don’t understand the “theory of attacking” or the logic behind the “covering defender” only leads [...]

You can’t identify a fantastic coach only by their resume (aka CV). Results are everything, but not the results you might think. Consistently do these five things and everything else follows. 1. Develop every player. Sure, you can put your primary focus on winning games, winning tournaments and winning the “cup” —but do that and [...]

This past season I had put together a team of U-8 players comprised of approximately 50% girls and 50% boys to play in a co-ed indoor league at the Bladium in Alameda. The boys on the team were 6 years of age and the girls 7 years of age. I had one girl that was [...]