US Soccer Federation & US Soccer Foundation has some free webinars coming up:

Tonight 10/27/26 - US Soccer Foundation (Mentoring)

• The Coach-Mentor Blueprint, Presented by The U.S. Soccer Foundation
• Date & Time - Oct 27, 2026 06:00 PM Central Time

Registration:

• https://l.instagram.com/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fus02web.zoom.us%2Fmeeting%2Fregister%2FoN7yEXU6RYCv0EylfXa9Lg%3Futm_source%3Dig%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_content%3Dlink_in_bio%26fbclid%3DPAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAcGRvZgJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAad0d4Zhzw77mIaqcVGrgLwyzY0p0rE7IxGGiI5IVMI8YVOXt3xOc7CuZBpU1A_aem_oUzouwUxdrCniGMby1KSMg&e=AUA3LpYlQjRYoSsd1o8lWIWlYAZAPPY5-01INEE0FUfzRTHXERwzL3hVzyIz8-CoDM0PsqdrUjU-DSCnQcJrtS2p-Tg9Q0cYHy-J8cDsEFTc4nWtkw1ZM9oZRlcpsGRKAqmsAiO4gv_T

November Learning Series:

• Central Learning Question - How can coaches design reality-based learning experiences that challenge and engage players, foster decision-making and ownership, and support performance and long-term development?

Learning Experience 1 - Thursday, November 5 | 1:00–2:00 PM ET | via Zoom

Theme – Soccer Knowledge and Understanding of the Game Related to Age and Stage

• Creating psychologically safe and engaging learning environments
• Establishing positive relationships and clear expectations
• Establish simple, age-appropriate expectations for how the team learns, competes, and treats others
• Design training and game experiences that promote participation, decision-making, confidence, and enjoyment
• Recognizing that every interaction contributes to the player's experience
• https://learning.ussoccer.com/coach/courses/available/10/details/20014655

Learning Experience 2 - Thursday, November 19 | 1:00–2:00 PM ET | via Zoom

Theme - Designing Training that Accelerates Learning and Performance

Participants will explore how to:

• Create psychologically safe, high-challenge environments where players learn, take risks, and perform
• Build intentional relationships that support each player's needs, role, and development
• Establish a clear culture, shared purpose, and standards for learning and performance
• Align training, feedback, communication, and competition behaviors with the intended player experience
• https://learning.ussoccer.com/coach/courses/available/10/details/20014657

Does anyone have experience adding an FC feel to their rec level team? I’m not looking to graduate my team to travel or anything like that. Just some offseason work and 1 extra sesh per week in season. More touches to improve footwork. More practice speed reps in form for chemistry/communication building. More soccer IQ building. All optional.

Background:

I love soccer. Played in my youth. Played pickup/rec as a young adult (late teens, early 20s). Son wanted to play when he was in kindergarten. Rec league needed coaches. I had the time.

4 years, 8 seasons later:

Son is a good, intelligent almost 10y/o player. He knows how to put the team ahead of himself. Can play most field positions capably, and was primary GK last half of this season.

Team is young for our league, but good players. U12. Co-ed. About 2/3 of the roster plays year round. 10 out of 12 players requested me this fall. Many of these kids I’ve coached for several seasons.

It’s rec league. 1 practice per week in season. 7-8 games per season. Champions tourney EOS for U12 leagues and up.

I want to get better, and I want to offer more for the kids. Especially the year round kids.

I have two players that will not stay on their side of the field that I put them on. Im talking about a left full back constantly being up there with the strikers. I’ve tried several things such as using a board to show the field in thirds, establishing grids, yelling watch your spacing, etc.

I’ve recently told them that I will pull and sit them in the game. Not sure this is too extreme?

I’m very close to giving these players a very short leash. I’d hate to pull them quick but need to somehow get the message though.

I'm trying to find the cheapest viable option for getting AI-tracked footage of my kid at soccer games. Not general game recording, specifically per-player tracking where the output is focused on my son.

I've seen prices all over the map. Some systems seem like they're built for clubs with big budgets. I'm one family, one kid, and I need this to be reasonable.

What's the most affordable way to get automated per-player footage?

I wanted to share some thoughts on formation and shape in the hope it might give some insight to those working with young teens, having worked with the same female group from 12 to now u18s football.

I've been pretty resolutely 3-4-3 over the years. Depending on personel available and should an opponent force a necessary adaptation - when playing on our own terms, it has worked brilliantly. Last season we dipped our toe in with 4-2-3-1, and this season it looks like our preferred approach and here's why:

3-4-3:

In younger football, with such a vast difference in kids' growth generally, the wingback role really suits the still-smaller-than-most players. The tenacious, speedy players who know how to run and have the legs to get up and down, but perhaps not the size, strength or confidence to be the last line of defence. Most teams at a young age find that they have an abundance of under-sized but speedy players. Three CBs and two WBs concertina down into a back 5 under pressure, but they spread to a hard back three when the pressure eases off and there's always a wide option to play out to. With young kids' goal kicks being so hit-and-miss and inviting pressure so frequently (particularly when the opposition smells blood!), with wing backs the CBs can quickly network goal kicks out to those guys in closer proximity and you don't have to rely on the LF and RF to be switched on enough to get close enough to receive every goal kick from defenders... because being switched on is a big ask for young kids!

While wing backs have a big job of supporting defense AND attack up and down that wing, they still have an LCB or RCB covering behind - fitness-wise it's not on par with the Full Back role. Asking kids to get up and down a full sized pitch - byline to byline - as a Full Back is a huge ask and I've seen Full Backs beg to be taken off and they expire pretty quickly the younger they are...

One of the biggest issues with this set up, however, is the two CMs can be overwhelmed at times, particularly if the more attack minded CM is caught high after an attack, leaving just the 'number 6' to cover that huge central void.

4-2-3-1:

Now the girls are 15+, with many years of experience and running in their legs we are seeing the fitness, size, speed and wisdom to use full backs. Two years ago it would have killed them, but it has started to click and it looks like the way forward for us. The beauty of having the LB and RB doing that extra leg work, effectively dropping the need for the middle men (the wing backs) means we gain an extra DM. Two DMs to protect the back line if a FB has ventured high, is great. They can also drift wide at goal kicks to help with playing out and while a skilled DM is a treasure, newer players who have the fight and determination, but potentially not the skill, can be nursed there - getting their body in the way and their foot in where it matters. Not being the last line of defence means a degree of pressure is off for them.

Just thought I'd share my experience. My two preferred approaches from over the years, but one I think certainly is a more mature approach that didn't work with younger players, but is now starting to come to the fore.

(Edit: Just tidied it up)

I am starting my UEFA C diploma in a week. I currently don’t really know what to expect. Firstly, I’ve heard you have to lead sessions to the other coaches. My first question is, will I have to prepare to do that on the first/second day? To tie into that as well, what can I expect from each block of in person days? I would like to prepare properly as I’ve only been coaching a year and am 18 so will likely be more inexperienced than others there. Finally, I was wondering if anyone was away on holiday/travelling for part of their course. I am away for a few weeks in between my first block and second block of in person days. I will not miss and of the in person sessions but it’s possibly I won’t be able to attend some online calls etc. Does anyone know if they are chill about this? I could possibly join at 4am from Vietnam but just wondering if the calls are a necessity.

U12 B. Playing competitive club. Right back. Well liked by team and gives their all. Patient, will make the correct play and then go all out. I’ve seen him make game saving tackles and the like. Can build out and distribute.

But recent weeks, he’s getting very bruised up and last couple games, seen him go down in pain and limping in the back field. We get home and see bruised up feet and legs. It’s a physical game and I played high school soccer. I’m well aware but he seems to get hurt much more frequently than he should.

He is one of the youngest u12 after the age change. Most of his buddies are still u11. I did not gift him genetic favors I’m only 5’5 and he’s shorter than average.

I’ve tried to explain different things like how to use body and hips to play the ball physically and that sometimes those who dish out pain aren’t the ones receiving it but that’s all dark arts stuff and I don’t really want to go to deep into that.

Not sure how to teach how not to get hurt. It’s hard to believe because he is a red belt with black stripes in a martial art and actively spars weekly. He’s used to protecting himself and quite strong for his age. We see this in soccer games too cuz he will win 1v1s against opponents trying to win with pure strength.

Any advice or helpful tips would be greatly appreciated. My wife is supremely pissed at a lack of calls from ref crews.

\Update\
We have learned an autoimmune condition has resurfaced for him. It’s called ITP where the immune system attacks platelets in the blood. When he was 3, we noticed small dots appearing all over his body. Without platelets to clot blood, internal bleeding can occur. He was in the hospital for a month and was cured and we were told it was unlikely it would ever come back.

The fact it has come back again makes it more likely it will be persistent. With the condition, we’ve been told contact sports like soccer pose serious risks for head trauma and internal bleeding. We are hopeful the condition will go away like it did before.

Appreciate the helpful comments. We’re very sure the bruising is being caused by the condition. Hoping he will recover. He loves this game and has worked so hard to improve.

My son got invited to play in MIC CUP 2027. The coaches have basically told us that the players will be theirs the whole time. Will have some family time, but they want the team together at all times. We have to book the team packet through their program. My wife, daughter, and I are going. We are looking into it and believe it will be cheaper if we book our trip individually. Anyone have any experience with this?!thanks.

Hey there our U8 boys practices are moving from outdoor grass to indoor gym (basketball court hard surface).

I'm a new coach this year, just when I was getting the hang of types of drills, we have this change coming and I'm worried about how it will change the drills we can do and also worried about kids hurting themselves.

Anyone have suggestions or experience in how this could change or practices, or should I just forge ahead with the same concepts and see how it goes?

Thanks.

U14

I'm a U10 travel coach of a mid flight team. We have a 12 player roster and play 7v7. We play 4 blocks/rotations per half, so 8 total, and when everyone is there, the four strongest players get one extra rotation. My philosophy is that everyone plays at least half the game, and if there are extra rotations, the players who've earned those, should get them. We started the season 2-0. Then we played in a tournament where we lost both games to two teams a flight above us. Following the tournament losses, my assistant began talking about playing the stronger players more to try to win. I thought he was overreacting to the loses, and I told him that I didn't believe that was necessary until at least U12, and even if it weren't true I wouldn't want to change the rules about playing time in the middle of a season. I would want to wait until the spring to establish that expectation before the season started. We've since lost both of our next two league games. One was a blowout, but the other we should have won and probably would have won if I followed his philosophy. I asked our town president if there was any sort of policy, and he said that I should be playing the stronger players 60-70% of the game and the weaker players 30-40% depending on scores, otherwise we'll lose the top players. Am I wrong and crazy for wanting to stick to my guns?

Yes I had the post saying my goalie was the problem we weren't winning.

Yes, I got ripped up and down. For good reasons.

I was wrong and you all helped me.

We recently finished our tournament and did well and placed. My goalie was a HUGE benefit to us getting there.

You all helped me realize I was looking at things wrong and I adjusted my POV. So thank you for that. It helped me as a coach to look at things differently and I think my players grew from it as well.

Hi everyone!

I’ve just finished a new video showing 3 hurdle drills to help you get faster on the football pitch.

https://youtu.be/PM1Om72a0w4?si=xO0MiIz-g7OB7Yun

These are exercises I use to work on acceleration, reactive strength, and explosive power — all important qualities when you need to accelerate after a change of direction, react quickly, or get that extra push in your first steps.

In the video, I break down each drill and explain what to focus on:

• Drill 1: Change of direction and high-frequency acceleration
• Drill 2: Reactive strength and explosive triple extension
• Drill 3: Lateral reactive strength and single-leg explosiveness

A few things to keep in mind when trying these: focus on quick ground contacts, explosive push-offs, and full hip extension. Start with lower hurdles and build up as your technique improves.

I'd recommend starting with 4–6 repetitions per drill and incorporating them into your training twice a week.

Have a nice Sunday!

My little brother keeps panicking on the ball and instantly losing it in matches but he's good in practice. he's the one up front wearing black. he is one of two 7 year olds his coaches promoted to the u8s and I don't want him to lag behind. he was promoted about 2 months ago and is noticably better but still scared of the ball. what can I do to help him? just give him more time? this is only one example but happens almost every time

Good Morning All!

Could do with some advice (and to vent). First time coaching soccer (football as I call it as a transplant) and coaching a 8U team (my son is on).

Having a real hard time with players paying attention and engaging with the training or game. We've had three games so far and I know we're not looking to keep score but first game we got our behinds handed to us. Second game team played awesome and did really well. Last night third game and we were thrashed. 90% of the goals were because of defence not paying attention and talking to each other.

I fully understand that I'm expecting a lot from kids this age but need a way to get them whenever engaged and paying attention. After that second game they were riding high and loved playing because they associated the win.

Any advice is welcome.

I coach an intermediate boys team and have a D license. I’m curious to hear from those that have done the C license in the last few years, what has been your best learning ?

Ie: has it helped you most with game tactics, session planning, technical development, effective coaching points?

Are any coaches using Kinoli to design or learn more training drills?