Lots of American adults consume caffeine. It’s estimated that 80% of U.S. adults consume at least some caffeine each week, with 55% consuming caffeine daily (usually coffee) and 25% consumingoccasionally. The average intake is about 200mg caffeine or about 2 small cups of coffee. A very large number of teenage and adolescent athletes also consume […]
youth girls
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
Low-back pain in the teenage athlete: Early intervention is the key
I’m seeing more young athletes with low-back pain, it seems that the incidence is increasing. Many times, mid-back and low-back pain is muscular. This is typical at the beginning of the season– perhaps combined with the weight of a heavy school backpack. This type of low back issue is a mild to moderate achiness that […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
Your crucial preseason checklist — first-aid kit and emergency action plan
With the spring season kicking off, this is the perfect time to make sure you’ve got the first-aid kit in order — and have prepared an Emergency Action Plan (EAP). Your First AidKit Every youth coach should have a very basic sideline first-aid kit. You should have this at each training session and game. Remember […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Youth: U.S. U-16 girls train in Southern California
California and Texas are represented by four players each, and Georgia by three, at the U.S. U-16 girls national team training camp in Carson, California, March 4-10. Coach KaceyWhite‘s 28-player roster is comprised of 26 players born in 2002, one born in 2003 and one born in 2004. U.S. U-16 girls nationalteam GOALKEEPERS (4): Taylor […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
Director of Coaching: What's the job?
The role of the Director of Coaching (a “DOC”) of a youth soccer club is often misunderstood — by players, parents, and sometimes even coaches themselves. Unfortunately, it is not even uncommonfor the people that actually hire a DOC to be somewhat confused as to what exactly they are looking for from this position. In […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
What turf toe is — and how to treat it
The term “turf toe” originally was used to describe injuries of the big toe joint sustained by American football players on artificial turf in the 1970s. The firmness of artificial turf caused the bigtoe joint to bend upward beyond it’s normal range. This often occurred when a player was tackled from behind or stepped on […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
Coaching Girls: How to deliver feedback effectively
Mia: My daughter’s club volleyball coach is amazing; he thanks players for running for an out of bounds ball that they have no hope of getting. They would walk through firefor him. I asked him when we headed over to the team dinner one night if he had always coached this way. He told me […]
Posted inStory
Teenagers, get good sleep! It has a major effect on athletic performance
Most teenagers don’t get enough sleep. And here’s more challenging news for the young athlete: your sleep schedule plays a big role in your athletic performance. I came across a study published a few years back that found that when you normally get up may play a critical role in game time success. Researchers analyzed […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
College-bound seniors: A checklist for an exciting and busy time
Between finals, proms and graduation ceremonies, you really want to make a smooth transition from high school to college. High school seniors are consumed with everything from completingfinals, graduation announcements to attending those “once-in-a-lifetime social events.” Soon, you will be off to college and starting a new chapter of your life. So, in between capand […]
Posted inOff The Post, Story
Soccer's numbers game — big registration numbers don't always yield great national teams
One of the most intriguing problems of soccer is to find out the number of players playing the game both at the national and global level. Naturally, you have to break down these numbers intoregistered and unregistered players as well as professional vs. amateur, men vs. women, youth vs. adult players. The last time FIFA […]