Interview by Mike Woitalla For insight into coaching boys* when they hit puberty and how to challenge early-bloomers, we spoke to U.S. Hall of Fame coachManfred “Manny” Schellscheidt, who had been the technical director of U.S. Soccer’s U-14 boys National Identification Program since 1998 and is one of the nation’s most experiencedyouth coaches. Schellscheidt has […]
high school boys
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
How goalkeeper coaches can help keepers read the game
By Tim Mulqueen The goalkeeper coach, or the person filling that role, oversees every aspect of the goalkeepers training. This means running the keeper drills andsuggesting strategies as well as overseeing the keepers’ interaction with the rest of the team. The more involved the goalkeeper coach is, the better he can guide the goalkeepers’development and […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
Minors take on Major League Soccer challenge
By Mike Woitalla Not very long ago, Zach Pfeffer was still fine-tuning his skills in the basement of his Pennsylvania home with his twin brother,Jared. “We would just play down there for hours, kick the ball around, and rocket balls of the walls,” said Zach, shortly after making his MLS debut last monthat age 16. […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
Club vs. High School conflict heats up (A view from the NSCAA)
Interview by Mike Woitalla More than a third of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s 30,000-plus members are high school coaches. So we spoke withNSCAA CEO Joe Cummings about the tug-of-war for players between high schools and elite clubs, who often urge their players to skip scholastic ball. The conflict intensified when theU.S. Soccer […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
Game-fixing; Turf wars; Silly ref gesture; case for school ball
By Mike Woitalla THE FIX WAS IN. The coach of an Omaha FC U-13 girls team resigned after it was revealed heinstructed his team to allow the opponents, a team from the same club, to score the game-winning goal that would send them to the state final. MarjieDucey of the Omaha World-Herald reported that Coach […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
The high-school dilemma; Fair play or not?
By Mike Woitalla HIGH SCHOOL VS. CLUB. One of the most unfortunate aspects of American youth soccer is forcing kids to choose between club soccer andhigh school ball. For sure, in many cases it’s not an either-or, but the pressure on the very elite players, especially those in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, to skip […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Farcical free-kick trick play pays off (unfortunately)
[VIDEO PICK] A free kick just outside the penalty area apparently wasn’t enough of a scoring opportunity for Arkansas’ Bryant High School Hornets, who faked acollision of teammates to catch Conway High’s defenders off guard. While two Hornets pulled off the stunt, a third delivered the ball into the box for a close-range finish in […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
Sleep well, play well (The teenager's challenge)
By Dev K. Mishra, M.D. I’m sure anyone who’s raised an adolescent or teenager can attest to the idea that teenagers don’t get as much sleep as they need. For the adolescent or teenager a number of outside influences take place: more demands on time for homework, socializing, sports, music, or any number of other […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Rendon named Gatorade Boys Player of the Year
[AWARDS] U.S. under-18 forward Luis Rendon, who attends Cosby High School in Midlothian, Va., and plays for FCRichmond Magic, has been named the 2010-11 Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year. Rendon, a 5-foot-10 junior, scored 16 goals and added 13 assists to lead Cosby to a 13-0record and the Dominion District regular-season title […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
'Whether boys or girls: be consistent, send clear message'
Interview by Mike Woitalla A youth coach for nearly three decades, Theresa Echtermeyer is a director of coaching with Colorado United and also coachesthe Mountain Vista High School boys and girls teams. She is a National Staff Coach and Instructor for the NSCAA. Echtermeyer spoke to us for the Youth Soccer Insider’s ongoing interview series […]