In the world of paid coaches at the youth level (U8-U19), how is a parent, league board or Director of Coaching suppose to constructively measure the performance of a coach. Many of these paid coaches use the “we want to win, but development is the most important aspect of what we are doing”, thereby taking [...]
Yesterday I had the great fortune of spending the day at a Playday Tournament. A Playday is a one day “tournament” where U8-U11 teams get to play three games on small fields (7 on the field and one in the goal). It is a great way to get teams together, have a great atmosphere and [...]
The Hippocratic Oath is an oath historically taken by doctors swearing to practice medicine ethically. I think coaches need a similar oath to understand the weight of their influence on children that they coach. As a coach of young players my goal is to encourage them and challenge them and build their confidence. Young players [...]
The FC Gold Pride, of the WPS, had their home opener in Castro Valley on Saturday the 17th and rewarded the fans with a 3-1 win over Sky Blue FC. Two goals by Christine Sinclair and a dazzler from the 18 yard line by Marta were 3 of the 4 highlights of the evening. The [...]
The SJ Earthquakes home opener at Buck Shaw stadium was very disappointing, as sloppy passing and disappointing midfield play rewarded Real Salt Lake with a win. The Earthquakes looked tight and played with very little fluidity. Real Salt Lake, the champions from last year, were very composed with outstanding play from their midfield as they [...]
Brandi Chastain was released by the FC Gold Pride and is likely to retire based on her comments. Women soccer players make little, basically minimum wage, and to make a move at this point in her life would be surprising. I’m sure she will stay involved in soccer and, as a father and coach, I [...]
This year we split the team into two for our indoor soccer season, so that all players would get plenty of playing time, touches on the ball, and build their field awareness. The Storm and Eclipse were split in such a way as to create two competitive teams, which they demonstrated with their play and [...]
FC Gold Pride released the team’s month-long preseason schedule today, which is highlighted by three exhibition matches hosted around the Bay Area. Saturday, March 13 at 6:30 PM at the Mustang Soccer Complex in Danville, CA vs. Japanese club team TEPCO Mareeze Thursday, March 25 at 7:30 PM at Negoesco Stadium in San Francisco vs. [...]
The Wildcats are the name of the girls teams we have been coaching. Eric and I started with a Div. IV team almost 4 years ago. In 2007 we enjoyed our kids and parents so much we didn’t want the season to end, so we took the team to play indoor soccer. Because we signed [...]
Marta, the 4 time player of the year to joinng FC Gold Pride thanks to the dissolution of the LA Sol. Her addition to the squad should spice up the attack and put the pressure on the coach, Albertin Montoya, to get the Pride into the playoffs. The team underachieved last year and has been [...]
