This blog is part 2 of coaches' challenges in how to manage their parents. Complaining About Child's Playing Time Your parents want to watch their child play - start the game, end the game, and play during the game. For some parents playing time is not just being on the field, it’s being involved [...]

Are Parents A Problem or Opportunity? Coaching is not only about educating children, but parents as well. In most cases, every child has 2 or more parents/guardians. That person(s) is often the most important person in your player’s life. They are the key decision maker who commits the child to play soccer. Their involvement [...]

Parents Are Your Customers If there are no parents, there are no kids, and that means no MONEY for you. Parents are not your problem in youth soccer. They are the most important person in the child’s life, which means they are the decision-makers who commits the child to play, and gets them to [...]

Here are some key factors to get your soccer camp up and running, and ensure you make money. 1. Field (Location) This is even more important than players. No field means, no play. You could have all the players without a 'home' to play your program has no chance. Earmarking a field must not [...]

Finding your first coaching gig can be a challenge. Breaking in they call it.  Worst you can’t make money. There are a lot of coaching opportunities where you can get started.    When I started coaching one of my first gigs was a summer camp that a fell across. The directors thought I was looking [...]

Get Going Now So You Can Get Winning Later Soon enough the spring soccer season will be underway. Are you ready? Now is the time to get a head start! Whether you're a seasoned coach or new to the soccer scene it's always good to come into the soccer season well prepared. Do you have [...]

It’s All About Team Building When do you think about the people who are a part of your soccer team, who do you think of?  Probably your players. Maybe you have an assistant coach or team manager.   What about parents?  Are they a part of your team? Just think of it.  Who makes up [...]

The Ultimate Game Plan To Get Parents To Help Out This Soccer Season It takes a team to run a soccer team! What’s it take to run a successful soccer team? To start, you need a team and that starts with tracking down parents to get players registered. Next scheduling practices and games. There’s also [...]

The Touch Dealing With Aerial Balls "If you are good you can play with pressure around you. Without the pressure, anyone can play a good pass. Pressure helps to show us who the good players are." Former Barcelona Manager and Dutch Legend, Johan Cruyff. How often have you heard the term describing a player who [...]

Bad Result "The coach's face is a mirror to the health of the team." Arsene Wenger. Nothing deflates your team and you during a game as when you concede a goal. You feel upset with yourself, your players, and the referee. You look to find who made the mistake to pin the blame. You start [...]

"Zone 3! now we start getting into the real work. This is work that gets into training at the intensity of the match" according to Paolo Pacione of Club America at the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Baltimore. What coach Paolo was referring to was training that develops aerobic power (AP). This means that the [...]

Uncertainty "The game as we all know is very unpredictable. You never know what is going to happen," Tottenham Hotspurs Manager, Jose Mourinho shared this during his interview at the 2021 United Soccer Coaches Convention. You can discuss many of the different situations that may occur - down a goal, up a goal, lose your [...]

Handling Parents     "The toughest thing kids have to face is the unfulfilled lives of their parents." - John W. Gardner.   Parents can be an enormous liability or a rewarding asset. There is no way around, parents are an integral part of the youth soccer landscape.   Learning how to manage your [...]