The case for high school soccer Posted by Michael Barr on Feb. 3, 12:13 a.m. The U.S. Soccer Developmental Academy league will soon be telling its players to not play high school soccer or any other high school sports. Most parents of these elite players will buy into the decision. » 32 Comments
The Ref-AR Relationship: When to overrule Posted by Randy Vogt on Jan. 31, 1:08 a.m. The referee can overrule the assistant referee but the assistant can never overrule the ref. The assistant is to assist the referee and not insist instead. » 2 Comments
'Coaches should help, not disturb' (Q&A with Bayern Munich's Werner Kern, Part 2) Posted by Mike Woitalla on Jan. 27, 2:54 a.m. Bayern Munich, Germany's richest and most successful club, buys international stars (eg Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben) and top domestic talent (eg Manuel Neuer and Mario Gomez) -- but its starting lineup usually includes four or five homegrown players, who are also national team regulars. » 2 Comments
Inside Bayern Munich's youth program (Q&A with Werner Kern, Part I) Posted by Mike Woitalla on Jan. 25, 3:06 p.m. Bayern Munich stars, such as Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm and Thomas Mueller, often cross paths with the youngsters at the club's Sabener Strasse grounds -- though they arrive in a different manner. » 0 Comments
Dealing With Lopsided Games Posted by Ian Plenderleith on Jan. 17, 9:00 a.m. The parents of the girls U16 indoor team screamed at every shot and wildly cheered at every goal. Their players and all three (yes, three) coaches did the same. The more they scored, the more excited they seemed to be at beating a clearly inferior side. » 14 Comments
Why Wilmer Cabrera's U-17 tenure ended (Q&A) Posted by Mike Woitalla on Jan. 14, 9:38 a.m. Wilmer Cabrera, who guided the USA to the second round in the 2009 and 2011 U-17 World Cups and headed the Bradenton Residency Program for more than four years, explains why he's left U.S. Soccer and looks back on his tenure. » 6 Comments
Keys to encouraging young goalkeepers Posted by Tim Mulqueen on Jan. 13, 2:51 a.m. For the young age groups, keepers should be rotated frequently. If your league uses quarters, it's easy to use four different keepers in a game. At the U10 and U12 levels, coaches shouldn't make a player stay at goalkeeper for more than a half. » 5 Comments
Should We Have A 'Header Count'? Posted by Dev Mishra on Jan. 12, 3:15 a.m. With advanced brain imaging techniques and brain functional tests, researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine have presented findings from an interesting study that suggests that repeatedly heading a soccer ball increases the risk for brain injury and cognitive impairment. » 10 Comments
For refs to consider when moving indoors ... Posted by Randy Vogt on Jan. 5, 2:19 p.m. Generally a person in the southern portion of the United States can play outdoor soccer all 12 months of the year yet in most northern areas of the country, this is not an option. Where I live on Long Island, the indoor soccer season is brief -- during the two months of January and February. But as you travel further ... » 3 Comments
Thanks, Manny Schellscheidt! Posted by Mike Woitalla on Jan. 2, 11:07 p.m. Perhaps no man has had as great an influence on as many American coaches as Manfred "Manny" Schellscheidt, who retired in 2011 at age 70. » 6 Comments
'Put best coaches at youngest ages' (Q&A with Mustang's Fred Wilson) Posted by Mike Woitalla on Dec. 19, 4:22 p.m. The Youth Soccer Insider continues its interview series with youth club leaders by talking with Fred Wilson, the Boys Coaching Director of Northern California's Mustang Soccer, a club-slash-league with nearly 5,000 players under its umbrella » 5 Comments
The art of refereeing solo Posted by Randy Vogt on Dec. 9, 1:42 a.m. The referee's position is called a "diagonal," which he or she runs goes from corner flag to corner flag. » 1 Comments
