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 [...]

I love this poem and strive to get all of my players to play outside of their comfort zone and push their limits. So many of them have so much more in them than they think they do. “There was a very cautious man Who never laughed or played. He never risked, he never tried, [...]

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 [...]

Jozy Altidore, is critiqued by his manager for not being as intense in practice as he is in games, thereby missing critical experiences to push his game to the next level. How can players, parents and coaches make sure that they are always challenging the players to improve? Parents Prepare for practice like a game: [...]