Substitutes must be standing at the halfway line, dressed and ready to play. The player exiting can leave from any part of the field. To make things easier, the exiting player generally leaves by the halfway line.

Four players -- Landon Donovan, Eddie Johnson, Nick Rimando, Alejandro Bedoya -- who helped the USA lift the 2013 Gold Cup got their soccer start in the American Youth Soccer Organization, which next year celebrates its 50th anniversary. With more than 50,000 teams and 510,000 players, AYSO continues to rely solely on volunteer coaches. We spoke with AYSO Director of Development Scott Gimple about its new coaching curriculum, its faith in parent-coaches, and how to create the best environment for young players.

Coaches, parents and players need to be particularly aware of exertional heat illness (EHI) during the summer months

Coaching young players to increase their chances of excelling at the higher levels can often mean losing games. So how can coaches convince parents not to confuse scorelines with player development progress?

I can hear the snickers already from fans who would like to answer the headline above by saying, "The ref we had at our last game should have retired a long time ago!"

In Part 3 of our series on assistant coaches, we asked for advice for assistant coaches on how to approach their role.

In Part 2 of our series on assistant coaches, we asked for advice for head coaches on how best to utilize their helpers.

In the first of our three-part series, the Youth Soccer Insider looks at the roles played by assistant coaches and the various ways in which clubs create a coaching staff for their teams.

July and August are popular months for sports camps and soccer tournaments, many of which will be taking place in hot and humid climates.