r/SoccerCoachResources

I have a question about coaching beginner goaltenders. Our team has been together for 2 years but have played 4v4 with no keeper. Next year we are moving to U7 which is 5v5 with a keeper. I grew up playing soccer and did no through HS but don't have the slightest idea how to teach kids how to play keeper.

We are focused on having fun and getting better and I have modest expectations. We currently only practice 1 day a week for an hour.

• What have you all done that was successful? If we have 10 girls how many do you work with each session?
• Do you break the keepers out and have them do individualized drills during practice for a bit?
• What drills do you have them start with and then build on?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I remember as a kid we had some pretty bad coaches at times and I don't want our goalkeepers to have bad experiences because I don't know how to teach them.

Hi, I'm Dan Abrahams, a sport and performance psychologist who has spent the last 20 years helping some of the world’s best athletes and teams perform under pressure.

Before becoming a sport psychologist, I was a professional golfer. Since then, I’ve worked with Premier League football clubs, England Rugby, England Golf, Aston Martin F1, and professional teams across the U.S. I’m currently consultant psychologist to Angel City FC, the world’s most valuable women’s sports team. I’ve also worked alongside coaches including Arne Slot, Eddie Howe, and Steve McClaren.

Some of you may know me from my books Soccer Tough, Soccer Brain, and Golf Tough, or from my podcast, The Sport Psych Show. Gareth Bale once said Soccer Tough changed his life — which remains one of the great honors of my career.

My new book, Compete, is about the mental skills that truly drive performance. It’s built around practical tools and techniques I use every day with elite competitors and teams. The book covers how to build confidence, manage pressure, focus attention effectively, handle negative thoughts during competition, create strong routines, lead teammates, and develop the mindset needed to consistently compete at your best.

I’m here to answer questions about performance psychology, confidence, coaching, pressure, focus, leadership, youth development, routines, mindset, elite sport environments, and anything else related to competing and performing under pressure.

Ask me anything!

Hi there. Im a soccer coach for timbits soccer and I have 10 players.

Amazing kids and I love them all and they all love me, but I feel like i dont know what im doing.

All the other teams of same ages do drills and have the kids running in herds, and i cant hardly get 2 kids to listen to me at once lol.

Not speaking ill of the kids, I just dont think im being confident enough? I know theyre so young, but id love some tips or advice for coaching little timbits players!! My 3 year old son barley stays on the field lol.

I really do my best to make it as fun for them as I can, but parents slowly come on the field to play during practice, and it can be helpful but I feel like theyre not happy with my coaching skills.

My daughter has played 5 years of rec soccer in our local neighborhood club. This year, she attended U11 travel team tryouts for next year with all her friends from school and a few other local girls from the neighborhood. U11 is the age when they switch from rec to travel here and there's no rec soccer offered above U10. All 9 of her classmates from her school + 2 others from her local travel circle made the team. The girls she's with every single day and often on the weekends. It's the only U11 team in this club and in our area. Only she did not make the team. And they put a U10 kid on the team despite also trying to form a new U10 travel team that doesn't yet have enough kids. They rostered 15 kids total (9x9). Max roster to dress is 16. The girls of the 2 coaches play at the same level as my kid - not assertive players, not the fastest kids, but have ok ball skills, can pass, make a goal once in a while. At the end of tryouts, when other girls were whining and complaining and being dramatic laying on the grass while try-outs were still happening, my kid was still out there running full throttle and giving it her all. Both coaches are from outside the neighborhood and likely know their kids couldn't make other local travel teams so they signed up to coach I'd guess. Our club is known for its easy going, community, laid back vibe. Yet she alone was cut? Seems really unfair with that 16th roster spot unfilled. My daughter has the best attitude, kind, encouraging very easy going, takes direction very well, has endurance. She just needs more technical training/experience. A lot of the girls played for a different local club last year as they mostly had fall birthdays before the age brackets changed from birth year to school year. I think they just rostered all the same kids from last year.

Coaches - thoughts? I've also coached in the past, so I get it to some extent. But 15 is already a large team, and they could have easily done 2 teams with a split U10/U11 team. Does 16 vs. 15 really matter? It seems so incredibly cruel to only cut my kid at this age and only have the option to travel 30 minutes away for a rec club where she knows nobody. She was really excited about playing with all her classmates and friends at the field down the street. It wasn't like this when I was a kid - they found a roster for all kids that signed up no matter their skill level. And this isn't a super competitive travel league by any means - not elite, these are truly neighborhood kids with varying skill levels that have played together in this club for years.

I am a head coach of a U10 girls soccer team. Our team is incredibly skilled and play very well, the issue is there are 2 girls on the team that absolutely do not play. They will just stand in their positions and not even pay attention to the game. If the ball comes to them they just stand, won't even attempt to put a foot on the ball or engage.

This has been a problem for the whole season but really came to a head today. We were playing one of the best teams in our division and we were tied 1-1 at half. Immediately following half we gave up 2 straight goals back to back on one of the girls playing defense and literally just letting the opposing team dribble around her with 0 effort. The other girls on the team are getting frustrated as well.

The problem is the league requires 50% playing time. Other parents are asking me why I am even playing these 2 girls. Idk what to do - i just can't bench and not play them, but they are actively hurting the team and not even trying.

What should I do?

Hi, I've been coaching my current team from U13 to U16 and since the motivation from the boys is basically gone, I'm returning to young levels, since I 'want' players who don't have 10 other things on their mind that might be currently more interesting and I also don't want other coaches lurking around and deciding over my head if player A is already good enough for men footall etc. If I sound pissed off, yeah, that is the case. But nevertheless, I'm looking forward to a new adventure and I also mostly enjoyed this 4 years spell

A couple of years ago I coached from U7 to U9 but never had a U10. Any tips?

I'm a big fan of SSGs, implicit learning etc and I think I can design good and also fun sessions but I'm not much of an explicit coach since I basically think "okay, let 10 kids play 5 minutes longer instead of explaining 5 minutes a thing that only two will really get". What is your take on this? I know isolated and explicit aren't necessarily the same thing but I wonder if I have to change my style slightly and do a bit more isolated stuff and more explicit coaching.

I think in reality I could basically ask the same question regardless of what level I'm coaching at but specific U10s input is specially appreciated.

I coach a soccer team of six year olds in a competitive league and, full disclosure, did not grow up playing soccer and have limited experience with the game.

We went 5-1 this year and have qualified for the championship game which is a rematch against the only team we lost to. All year I’ve focused on coaching defense to my kids. Specifically, about approaching the opposing team in a way that puts your body between them and the goal line and working the opposing player towards the touchline. It’s been very successful in all our games with the exception of the team we are playing. They play a **very** physical style with one kid in particular prone to pushing with his upper body to the point of sometimes outright shoving his way past our defenders towards the middle of the goal.

I **did** grow up playing team sports (namely basketball and baseball) and have l leaned on that experience to promote team building and fun, but still I’d like to give the kids their best chance to win because it means a lot to them and they’ve played really hard all year. What is an age appropriate strategy I could go over with the kids to try and counter when the opposing team inevitably physically pushes their way through our defense? Most of what I’ve read is to implement quick passing but that is maybe a bit advanced for most our kids that have just moved on from “swarm” style soccer.

Either way, I’m really proud of my team and they’re going to have a great time!

It’s that time of year for us.

Every year we do it I just try to think of new ideas. This year I’m thinking a 5 minute match of parents vs parents with the kids on the sidelines acting like they do. Dunno if it might cause hurt feelings though.

I always do more than just play a match parents v kids

In the past I’ve done

Tic tac toe

Head shoulders knees ball

Passing accuracy competition (parents / kids team up and alternate passing into a goal, gradually backing up. )

Penalty kicks

I think I did a relay race one year.

I wanted to ask how common or uncommon is it, for it to just not be your personal style of receiving information last minute, on the field? I've been coaching for about 3 years now, but I'm not getting used to my academy director giving me a new practice to implement, minutes before the kids engulf me at the academy. I come prepared, with a practice plan on a paper in my pocket. But sometimes I'm just asked to scrap it pretty much, and implement something that he demonstrates (with very ineffective communication and demos), missing bits of information due to an accent/language barrier too. But he expects me to get it. Is it just me or am I right to expect these things should be delivered on pdfs and to be visualized beforehand.

I've been given a leading position for U12s, but then also micromanaged to the point I don't feel the freedom I need to actually guide the kids how I want to. This stuff is giving me anxiety to the point I now have an aversion to even preparing the session properly beforehand. Like I get down to planning it, but I'm intimidated and confused. Where I'm from, sports coaching is terribly underpaid so that doesn't help on the preparation motivation front either.

It suddenly feels like more high-profile voices are openly challenging the current system. The Mannings are pushing “Take Back Sports.” Cal Ripken Jr., Landon Donovan, Jeff Francoeur and many others have criticized the year-round, pay-for-play, tournament-driven machine youth sports has become.

It feels like nearly everyone agrees that we've optimized for:

• monetizing parental anxiety
• locking kids into year-round specialization
• constant travel and showcases
• early sorting of “elite” players
• private clubs and tournament operators extracting money from families

… and not producing better athletes or happier kids.

The U.S. appears to be losing ground in developing elite talent.

Shohei Ohtani is the best baseball player alive, the Dominican Republic produces incredible MLB talent relative to its size. The last decade of NBA MVPs has been dominated by international players. The U.S. still hasn’t produced a universally recognized top-tier global soccer superstar. Hockey development is owned by Canada and Northern Europe.

Meanwhile we spend WAY more than everyone.

So what happens next?

Does the current club/tournament ecosystem keep expanding because parents are too afraid their kids will “fall behind”? Or are we approaching a meaningful backlash toward:

• local/community sports
• multisport athletes
• reduced travel
• later talent identification
• unstructured and free play
• meaningful development

If there is a shift coming, how far away are we? And what would actually replace the current structure?

So I've been helping with my daughters team for about 2 months now and have recently done my level 1 badge, the head coach is off doing a uefa licence didn't make it clear he wasn't going to be around at all, so I didn't plan on running the session and let one of the other coaches run it, a parent started shouting abuse to me because her son got kicked and pushed apparently now I didn't witness this but the other coach had already stopped the game and spoke with the other team, it has made me feel like I don't want to be involved as it makes me feel underappreciated as it's a volunteer basis and Ive brought it up with the head coach who said he would speak with the parent but we should be more vigilant, I do agree with what he said but you can't spot everything 💯 percent of the time, my question is should I continue because it just feels like I could do something better with my time for the appreciation

I'm genuinely curious how other, more experienced coaches/evaluators handle this.

Over my very brief coaching time I've seen a few types of players emerge and I'd like to know how other coaches thing about this.

Player 1: Strong competitive skills, weak ball skills
Player 2: Strong ball skills, weak competitive skills

My last team had a stud defender (Player 1). He never gave up, would run down kids, not afraid of contact, make clean tackles -- he we a menace to opposing offenses. He was not a overly large kid, he just played hard. But, he had no ability to use his weak foot at all, and never developed it in any capacity all season. He had an inconsistent (at best) kick & passes weren't super accurate -- but if he messed up and kicked it back to the other team, he would get back at it and fight to take it back.

Then I had another kid (Player 2). Could do a variety of dribble moves, solid with his weak foot, decent shot, could make accurate passes. But, avoided contact and could get lost in the flow of the game. 50/50 balls he would make a weak-ish attempt to get to the ball first, then play soft defense, and kind of half-effort chase the kid after getting beat. Always felt like he was waiting for someone else to make things happen.

I find myself torn between the two.

Player 1 I am always sitting there thinking, "Man if you put time in with the ball like Player 2, you would be SO good."

Player 2 I am always sitting there thinking, "Man, if you just try as hard as player 1 you would be SO good." (Note: My understanding is this isn't as simple as "effort" in a lot of cases. And that some kids become more competitive as they age up/go through puberty)

I am not trying to prioritize a "win now" culture, but everyone likes to win (or at least be competitive). The Player 2 kid likes to win, they don't like to lose. Just the same as the Player 1 kid likes to win and doesn't like to lose.

Problem is, a team full of Player 1 kids seems better -- they run harder and despite a lack of technical skill, make things happen.

A team full of Player 2 kids leaves us getting beat on 50/50 balls, losing defensive 1v1s, and struggling to stay in possession.

It frustrates me because I want to pick the team full of Player 2 kids. I want to prioritize coaching kids who invest time in ball skills -- those kids are fun because the can progress into more complex drills that require first touch & accurate passes. The Player 1 kids, who can go through an entire season without developing ball skills at all frankly annoy me.

Is this the crux of the physical vs technical "problem" in US youth soccer?

Any experienced coaches have thoughts on how to think about this?

My kid (10m) has been playing soccer in a recreational league for a couple of years now. He is excited to go for practice and games every week. I like that. He enjoys playing and has fun with his teammates. However, when he is playing, he seemed scared of playing. He is just around the ball. He will never go for it. If anyone passes to him, he quickly tries to get rid of it. He will not try to dribble it up ahead or anything.

I feel like he is afraid of making mistake. In the past, he has accidentally scored on his own team. But he has been playing like this before that. I just want him to be a bit confident about being able to handle the ball. How do I encourage him not to be afraid of jumping in and going for the ball? He isn’t like that when he is doing other things. Just soccer. I am not sure what to do.

flukes my c course because the kids were messing around on video, one instance specifically where the kids were goofing off that I did not see. Im so disappointed all my work that I did over 6 months was for nothing

I'm a college student now but in Highschool I played soccer at every level since I was 7. (rec + travel) I then started to volunteer as a coach for my local youth soccer group with my brother. So I've seen and experienced both sides.

First off, parents stop coaching your kids on the sidelines. Stop thinking your kids should get anything more than the other kid. (idc if he's the next messi) and answer your goddamn emails.

I've seen a LOT of parents complain about the lack of experience a lot of coaches have. Not to mention the huge gap between rec and travel sports. (costs, commitment, etc)

The solution is like right there and I'm honestly shocked it hasn't been made a thing.

Highschool athletes.

Those students have most likely spent hundreds of hours over many years on a sport. We have the knowledge so many parent coaches lack. We could fill in the gap of knowledge between travel and rec.

So why don't students volunteer to coach rec?

- lack of respect from parents

- money

- (sometimes) lack of time

Solutions to that?

- Keep the parent coach to help oversee practice, communicate with parents, and just keep the peace.

- PAY THE GODDAMN COACHES. That's how you're going to get your middle league. Students are usually broke, some are helping their parents. You get what you pay for. I was a volunteer coach, i made NOTHING. People with the type of experience I have can charge from 20-40$/hour. (And yes I have). Paying even just 15$ an hour (or look at wages around you) could bring in those players and improve practices.

Students are always looking for jobs with not too many hours (to juggle school) where they can choose their hours (pick practice times). This doesn't feel like a stretch.

1X 1:30 hour practice per week + 1 game (2hours ish) = $52 a week x 10-12 weeks = $520-$624 a season divided by atleast 12 players = $43.3 - 52$ extra dollars per person for the season.

That's WAY under the cost of travel, even when you include rec registration fees.

this obviously works better in higher income areas where people are willing to pay the extra $50 but to me it's a no brainer. I'd totally have coached a season for $500. That's a lot to me as a highschooler. It's not a lot to an adult, which is who rec admins usually target which is probably why they don't bother.

So in a partnership of athlete-coach, the athlete should be the one getting paid. The parents should keep volunteering.

ok rant over but I'm super curious to know what you guys think of this idea? Like genuinely to me it feels fair and it feels like a good solution to a problem I've seen literally everywhere. Obviously I don't know the parent's view of rec so I'm just curious. Do you think this could be successful?

tl/dr: Parents want better rec coaches, hire highschool travel athletes to work with volunteer parents. $15/h = +$50 per season per player.

Hello I coach 9 v 9 soccer, I will be hold 2 different teams during tryouts this year. What are some activities I should have during tryouts to determine which players to keep/cut?

On a side note... it will be about 40 kids of those 40 20 of the kids I have coached or seen play before.

Is this normal? She’s excellent in these positions, but she also likes playing midfield and rarely gets to. Consequently, she gets relatively weaker in forward positions when she gets the chance. Is the expectation that the kids positions are basically fixed at this point?

I also coach rec and let her play a wing or striker there for her development.

This is a good club, but how do I say, “please let her play forward positions too”? Should I?

Edit: One consideration here is that although my daughter likes playing goalie and has a good aggressive mindset, she’s only expected to be 5’3”, supposing she sticks w soccer past puberty.

I am in my 2nd season with a team at the U12 level (travel ball, but our club is all volunteer for kids who can't afford the other clubs). Since last season I lost both of my keepers (but picked up a bunch of very skilled attackers!). A handful of my boys are willing to play in goal, but none are committed to the role or have any real experience. I have been doing a lot of professional development as a coach, but am basically clueless around coaching a GK. Our season starts next week. Any suggestions on how to make the most of this?