The US Youth Soccer Official Youth Soccer Coaching Manual - US Youth Soccer is delighted to present this coaching resource to our greatest asset—the youth soccer coach. Many great players can trace their success to the coaching that they received at an early age. We hope that you, the youth soccer coach, will one day look back with pride at the opportunities you created for learning and enjoyment. A supportive, child centered, positive experience in youth soccer is vital to the growth of our sport.
How and When To Teaching Passing- A great article for coaches on SoccerHelp.com that discusses a much debated topic of teaching passing to our young soccer players.
Vision (Measuring player development) - Indeed how do we measure player development? Too often in America a professional sport model is used in measuring youth sports success. For soccer the situation is made worse by a desire of many adults to use measuring tools from other sports. In fact it is maddening to many adults that soccer is not as black and white as with some sports in judging successful play. Many team sports played in our nation are statistically driven and coach centered. Soccer is neither of those! Indeed just like the Laws of the Game our sport has many shades of grey within it. As a player centered sport some coaches become disillusioned as they learn that they are the ‘guide on the side’ and not the ‘sage on the stage’. Too many soccer coaches bring a “Pattonesque” attitude to the youth sport environment. This coach-centered perspective has been handed down to us from other sports and coaching styles of past generations.
The Player Development Model - The purpose of this publication is to help youth soccer coaches and soccer clubs raise the level of play across the country. This can be achieved by becoming aware of the capabilities and aspirations of their players at each stage of their development and by creating more positive, player-centered learning environments. The key to modern youth player development can be found in the lessons of the free play era, where children took charge of games, learning and fun.
US Youth Soccer Technical Manual - The key coaching points of each major technique in soccer are presented here. There is an example training activity for each technique. Major training concepts for learning specific physical movements are discussed.
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