Soccer Coaching License Guide
The best place to to start educating yourself about soccer training is with the U. S. Soccer Coaching License Guidebook. It’s actually an introduction into licensing for those interested in getting licensed by the United States Soccer Federation. This is a great introduction into how U.S. Soccer wants things done. A quick read through will help you compare and contrast your child’s coaching with U.S. Soccer’s teachings. You may find (as we have) that your club is focused more on club salaries and your coach is more focused on trophies than they are on player development.
One of the interesting things you’ll discover in the U.S. SOCCER “E” COURSE Candidate Guidebook is that U.S. Soccer believes players should be grouped by ability first, and that age is a poor guide for segregating players (pg. 15). When you segregate players by age, the only players that benefit are the weaker ones. Good for them, but the better kids are most likely the most interested in the first place. Age grouping over ability grouping risks losing your better players to other sports or activities. U.S. Soccer wants to keep it challenging so we can keep our better athletes interested.
Is your club and child’s coach keeping it fun and interesting, while still challenging the better athletes? Did the Soccer Coaching License Guidebook provide some answers? Let us know what you think.
