GABOO – A Fun Soccer Game for Kids

by Coach Lee on July 21, 2011

I’m currently coaching two teams right now. A ‘Premier’ group or very strong group of U11 Boys, and a select group of U10 girls. We’re in pre-season training through July and are practicing on a Saturday morning (when it’s still bearable outside). Trying to find fun games for both groups of players can be a [...]

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This past weekend we took two groups of players from our 01 academy to a local youth soccer tournament. The tournament is fairly competitive in the area and provides a great environment for players of all abilities to play soccer. We played one group up and had a parity team playing in their own age [...]

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Has the Art of Tackling Disappeared?

by Coach Lee on April 21, 2010

I’m watching the Champions League semi-final between Bayern Munich v Lyon. Frank Ribery was sent off during the last 10 minutes of the first-half. The challenge looked innocuous when watching it without the replays, but when the replays where shown, it was clear that Ribery went over the top of the ball and into the [...]

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Coaching Soccer Through Small-Sided Games

February 10, 2010

When I first started coaching I asked a lot of questions about different kind of soccer drills. However, the one thing wrong with drills, is that they only teach one part of the game – there is no room for transition into defense or attack, or allows off the ball movements. If you break down [...]

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The Four ‘R’s of Coaching Soccer

January 26, 2010

Regardless of the level of soccer you coach, from Rec to College, you have an important job. Impressionable youngsters are looking to you as an example, as someone to lead and teach them. How you react, how you talk to them, how you encourage them, are all lasting memories that they will take with them [...]

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Soccer Training Session: Passing and Possession Drill

January 20, 2010

I’ve always wanted to share some of the soccer drills I use with my team. So, every week I’m going to publish one of the lesson plans that I’ve used in the past three years whilst coaching youth soccer. The drills will be a mix of: Technical Tactical Coerver Before publishing just any soccer drill [...]

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Winter Soccer League Objectives

January 8, 2010

This winter some of my team are participating in a Futsal league which starts tomorrow. I’m taking a parity team, and I have several objectives for the boys: Improve Their Ball Control: The game of Futsal is a fast paced game, and at times last season we seemed just a little off the pace both [...]

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An Interview with Jared Montz

January 5, 2010

Today we had the pleasure of interviewing Jared Montz. Jared is a former MLS player with the Chicago Fire, and now is the owner of the first Online Soccer Academy. Jared, tell us a little bit about yourself – your playing and coaching background. I played college soccer with Lynn University. The team was made [...]

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When to Choose a Designated Goalkeeper

January 1, 2010

My roster for my U10 Boys team is about 17-18 and I have four or five who play as keeper. One of the problems I run into, is that my goalkeepers are some of the more talented outfield players. To counter this, I have one Keeper play in goal one half, and another Keeper play [...]

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What Every Youth Soccer Coach Needs for Christmas

December 24, 2009

When I think back over the last season, I can think of five things that I can attribute to the success of my soccer team – note, I define success as player development, and improvement. Winning championships is secondary (albeit a nice achievement). A Good Manager: I think one of the reasons my U10 boys [...]

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