Sometimes young coaches feel they have to correct every little thing on the practice field, and all too often they take this approach at games too. “Be slow to correct and quick to commend.” – John Wooden I’ve seen coaches get frustrated with an 8 year old player that hit the ball with a karate [...]

Here is a little advice from an all-time great on the best training tool out there: Dennis Bergkamp, the great Dutch striker said that when he was a young player at Ajax, they had little three foot high walls. He would knock the ball against it for hours. Every time he hit the ball, he [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

I posted the “gameplan” below before the game. Let’s compare the strategy to the actual stats and see how well each succeeded (have to use my Barca commandments because we don’t know what Pep had). Posted on 12/9: Mourinho has come up with his ten commandments to beat Barca, but any list can’t beat the [...]

As a coach and a parent, I get constant feedback on what works with children when giving feedback to them for performance on the soccer field or their behavior at practices. Unfortunately, many coaches fail at their ability to properly motivate and balance their criticism. I’ve seen coaches who constantly criticize their players (U9s) to [...]

I read a lot of soccer blogs, news, and watch a lot of soccer… not only the news channels, but probably 2-3, or 4 games on TV a week. I coach 5-6 days a week, so I am pretty submerged in the beautiful game. One of the articles I recently read was posted on 3-4-3, [...]

I was in Mexico with the family for the Gold Cup final, so me, my wife, brother-in-law and my father-in-law went to a restaurant to watch the game. I, of course, was the only one supporting the U.S., so after the first two goals the waiters weren’t as friendly – my sangria seemed like it [...]