• Michelle French: Club coaches have done a tremendous job
    The USA kept alive its streak of qualifying for every U-20 Women's World Cup when it won the U-20 Concacaf Championship earlier this month, outscoring its five opponents, 22-3. The 20-player roster Coach Michelle French took to the qualifying tournament in Honduras was comprised of eight collegians and 12 high-schoolers.
  • When parents pipe down children hit the right notes
    I am 40 years old and have been coaching since I was 30, and playing since I was 4. When I decided to get my F License and coach, I knew that I was going to enjoy teaching young players the game I knew and loved to play.
  • Reggae Girlz get boost from U.S. coaches and players, and Cedella Marley
    In his day job, Lorne Donaldson is the director of Real Colorado, the club in the news most recently for spawning teen star Mallory Pugh, several other girls in the U.S. youth national team program, and goalkeeper Ethan Horvath, the 20-year-old whose Europa League play with Norwegian club Molde earned him the starting job with the U.S. men's U-23 team that's aiming to qualify for the 2016 Olympics.
  • Reffing Futsal (Part 4): How to handle the tricky situations and modifications for youth games
    My last articles were an introduction to refereeing futsal and the taking of kicks from the second penalty mark (link to article), all other restarts (link to article) and referee positioning. Today, let's conclude with challenges facing refs and which futsal rules youth soccer should modify for player development and keeping games on schedule.
  • Unique streak kept intact by U.S. U-20 women
    The USA started slowly at the Concacaf U-20 Women's Championship, tying Mexico, 2-2, in their opener. But Coach Michelle French's team followed up by outscoring its next four opponents 20-1 to win the regional title and qualify for the 2016 U-20 Women's World Cup.
  • How to determine when to see a doctor
    One of the most common questions I'm asked by friends or by parents of players at events is "do we need to go see a doctor?"
  • USA and Mexico (with plenty of U.S. players) poised to qualify for U-20 Women's World Cup
    The USA's streak of 15 straight wins in U-20 Women's World Cup qualifying ended when it tied Mexico, 2-2, in its opening game of the Concacaf U-20 Championship, but wins over Panama (6-1) and Haiti (6-0) have Michelle French's team poised to clinch qualification on Friday.
  • Reffing Futsal (Part 3): How and why the two-referee system works for futsal
    My last articles were an introduction to refereeing futsal and the taking of kicks from the second penalty mark plus all other restarts. Today, let's move on to the positioning of referees in futsal.
  • Christian Pulisic 'on a really good path' at Borussia Dortmund
    Last weekend, Christian Pulisic, the 17-year-old Pennsylvania product, scored his third goal for Borussia Dortmund's U-19 team.
  • Headgear not recommended in U.S. Soccer's concussion prevention campaign
    Much of the U.S. Soccer Federation's new health and safety program, dubbed "Recognize to Recover," (R2R) addresses the prevention, recognition and management of concussions.
  • Reffing Futsal (Part 2): Getting restarts right and goalkeeper limitations
    My last article was an introduction to refereeing futsal and the taking of kicks from the second penalty mark (link to article). Let's move on to all the other restarts in futsal.