COACH-SMARTER BLOG MOVED TO NEW SITE!

Please go to coach-smart.com/soccerblog to access our new and improved blog.
As we grow as a resource for soccer coaches, we want to provide the best coaching advice available.
Our new blog will continue to post helpful information, videos, articles, and interviews to help soccer coaches of all levels. We will help beginner coaches run productive and [...]

START YOUR PRACTICES ON THE RIGHT, AND LEFT, FOOT

Some Good Warm-Up Exercises for Teams U-10 and Below.
Your first warm-up or game can often set the tone for a good practice. Here are a few simple ideas that get kids lots of touches on the ball and help raise their concentration levels for the practice to follow. These exercises also help players practice dribbling [...]

COACHING YOUR FIRST FUTSAL TOURNAMENT

Some Tips For The Beginner Futsal Coach
For many soccer coaches, both veterans and novices, coaching a futsal tournament is a new concept. Although the sport shares the same DNA as soccer, coaches should be aware of the unique benefits that the sport provides and the unique approach to coaching it allows.

Why Coach Futsal?
Futsal is increasingly [...]

BOUNDARIES ON BOUNDARIES?

Why Coaches Should Think About The Way Boundaries Affect Player Development
New coaches of young teams (U6 to U10) might be frustrated with their players’ obliviousness to field boundaries, or grid lines. Players might run with the ball until they hit an immovable object.
While this is a minor issue that gets resolved naturally as players grow [...]

POSITIVE INSTRUCTION

A Beginner’s Guide to Coaching Youth Soccer Gives Useful Tips on Staying Positive At Practice
Today, Coach-Smart.com published a handy Beginner’s Guide to Coaching Youth Soccer. The guide aims to serve as a concise and informative instruction manual to help a new coach have a positive first-time experience. The guide gives useful tips on organizing practices, [...]

CRITICISM SHOULD COMMUNICATE, NOT CRUSH

What Every Coach Should Know About Criticizing Players
Coaches take vastly different approaches to criticizing their players. Some coaches nit-pick constantly during practices, some not at all. During games, some coaches “instruct” their players to tears from the sidelines. Some coaches go entire games without saying anything.
Coaches have different styles, and they maintain different theories on [...]

WHY COMPETITION?

Some youth coaches fear that competitive games or drills can bruise young kids’ self esteem and deflate enthusiasm for soccer. They shouldn’t. Competition, which lies at the heart of any good game, makes soccer fun while pushing players and teams to improve. This is true at any level of the sport. But coaches need to [...]