Archive for the 'Coaching Youth Soccer' Category

Preparation for a big soccer game

So, how do you prepare your players for the biggest game of their lives so far?
We play in a few hours, we play the semi final of our conference tournament at home in front of the biggest crowd of our careers…..
Last night we gave them the night off from practice so that they would be [...]

College soccer team extends unbeaten run to 11 games

We finished the regular conference games this weekend extending our unbeaten run to 11 games. We have only conceded 6 goals in the last 10 games, so our defense deserves a lot of credit.
When I say our defense, I should really say our defensive play. We have to defend from all positions all over [...]

7 Games unbeaten…

In another incredible performance the team extended their unbeaten record to 7 games made up of 5 wins and 2 ties.
What a game! We were tied 0-0 until the 73 minute and were awarded a penalty to go up 1-0. The opposition came back and tied the game up in the 83rd minute. We won [...]

College soccer team wins 7-0

Saturday saw my college players win 7-0 against conference rivals. We made the decision over a week ago to devote at least half of each practice to finishing and set plays. As a result we have scored 12 goals and conceded 4 in our last three games.
I have a number of effective and demanding [...]

Shooting and Finishing Drills Pay Off

After losing on Wednesday 1-0 away from home, we decided to dedicate Thursday and Friday’s practices to shooting and finishing…boy did that idea pay off!!!
We played away against a school who had a record of 19 wins and 1 loss against us over the last 10 years. In that time we only scored a total [...]

College Soccer Season Off To An Incredible Start!

Wow……what a start to our college soccer season!!
Home game against the reigning conference champions, actually they have won the conference for the last 8 years.
They have beaten us for the last 21 games straight.
Until last night that is!!!!
Last night had to be the best game of my life as a coach. I know it was [...]

How To Control A Soccer Ball In 5 Easy Steps

In order to control the soccer ball successfully every time here are the 5 Easy Steps:
1. DECISIONS:
TO CONTROL OR NOT TO CONTROL?
Before you attempt to control the soccer ball, decide if you even need to control the ball in the first place. Sometimes you can actually fake that you are going to control the ball, [...]

5 Steps to Beating a Player in Soccer

Here are the 5 important steps to beating a player in soccer:
1. ANGLE OF APPROACH
As the player with the ball approaches the defender, he needs to look for the space he wants to exploit. Remember to dribble with the head up. Then the player attacks the defender with such an angle of approach away from [...]

Soccer World Cup Qualifiers, What are you looking for?

OK, so we now have World Cup Qualifiers to watch over the next few days. Some of them will be great games, some of them will be a formality. All of them present us with opportunities to learn more about the game so that we can take this new found knowledge onto the practice field.
Here [...]

Congratulations to Burnley and what can we learn from their achievement?

Fantastic scenes as Wembley on Monday as Burnley won their play off against Sheffield United and will now play in the English Premier League.
As a Blackburn Rovers fan it is amazing to see Burnley make the top flight of football. For those of you who don’t know, Blackburn and Burnley are bitter, bitter rivals. [...]