As I’ve written about youth soccer over the years, I’ve always been surprised how few youth soccer parents there seem to be who are active online related to youth soccer. The coaches are and obviously some parents can be very vocal online. But overall, you get a sense of silence online from youth soccer parents. It’s hard to describe. I’ve wanted to try and do my small part to change that by encouraging commentary here at OTP and putting together other things that give soccer parents, especially those at the Rec and lower competitive levels, a place to interact and share.

I know ther are regional and local forums for youth soccer than can be very active, though even those tend to have a fairly homogenous demographic. So I put together a set of youth soccer forums in the hope that a segment of soccer parents from across the country could interact with each other, share stories, etc. It hasn’t caught on just yet, but I’m not one to give up on something I believe in (I’m stubborn that way). So over the next few months I’ll be trying different things to better integrate the forum with the blog and try to get some dialogs going.

My first attempt will be ‘Tales From The Pitch‘. Each weekend, I’ll startup a new thread where parents can share their funny stories, highlights, shout outs, touching moments, etc. from the previous weeks worth of matches. We’re parents - we love to talk about our kids, their teams, and what is happening with them. So I thought it might be neat to have a running commentary from a wide spectrum of soccer parents about what they experienced in youth soccer.

So if you have something to share from the previous week in youth soccer, hop over to Talk On The Pitch and post something in the ‘Tales From The Pitch’ thread. While you’re there, check out the wide range of forum topics and share your thoughts and opinions in any that interest you. Remember - if you’ve created an account at On The Pitch, it works over in the forums as well. Also - the forum software we use has RSS feeds for just about everything - latest posts, tags, topics, threads, users, etc. - so if you use an RSS reader, you can easily keep up with whatever specific things or topics interest you most.

One of the more interesting things I’ve seen some bloggers do is hold virtual question and answer sessions with their readers. Ives does it often and I still don’t know how he finds the time to answer them all, but they’re always a fun read. So I figured I’d try it out occasionally here at On The Pitch. 

We’ll call it Q&A With SoccerDad. Just post any question you’d like to ask in the comments below or you can email it to soccerdad@onthepitch.org. Put OTPQA in the subject somewhere. I’ll collect questions for a week (maybe longer if we only see a couple by next weekend) and I’ll do my best to answer them. Fell free to ask about general youth soccer stuff or even my own personal experiences in youth soccer.

Anne Glamore writes about her trip to her son’s first soccer tournament. Needless to say, it did not go well:

The boys were understandably upset after their loss.

“They didn’t play fair,” some said.

“Why didn’t the ref call it when they shoved us?” others wondered.

But you know, in my view a big part of sports is to use them to teach the kids about life. It’s easy to teach them how to win. It’s more challenging to show them how to lose with dignity and shake the hands of the other team when tears are streaming down their faces.

There are few opportunities as blatant as this to teach one of the most important lessons of all: Life Isn’t Fair.

Exactly. My U11 girls went through something similar last fall. The best part of Anne’s post wasn’t necessarily the description of the lesson’s learned, but the accompanying Venn Diagram:

That’s fantastic. Anne - make up T-Shirts of those on CafePress - people will buy them!

US Youth Soccer has finally gotten a handful of people to post regular articles on their variety of blogs. As I get more time, I have a whole bunch of their posts I want to write about. But with little time now, I had to quick link to this post by Susan Boyd, who blogs for the USYSA from a ‘parent perspective’. One of her recent posts talks about the huge backlog of yardwork and the root cause of it all:

My deck taunts me with its reminder of all the projects I have left undone using winter as an excuse. Or perhaps I should say seven or eight winters as an excuse. My home is so bad that even aluminum siding sales people don’t bother with me.

Winter is a good excuse, especially in Wisconsin, but my real excuse for this procrastination is soccer. Over the past thirteen years I can count on one hand the number of full weekends I have had totally free of soccer, and I can count on my hands and feet the number of weekends where I had just one of the days free of soccer. Whenever I drive into a new town and travel down the boulevards and lanes of that borough, I can quickly spot the homes where families with kids in sports dwell. The good intentions are evident, but the follow through doesn’t exist.

These houses have a rake lying mid-stroke on the lawn, half of their shutters painted, and plants in their plastic containers lined up alongside a garden bed. [...] These otherwise handsome homes exhibit a barrenness of orderliness and polish. The fallen tree branches of last autumn join the fallen tree branches of spring to create a thatched barrier stretching from one end of the lawn to the other. [...] The derelict look of these homes belies the joy that exists inside.

Sure, a number of families can hire landscapers and maids to handle the housework that gets left undone due to soccer. But for the rest of us, it just goes undone. My neighbors definitely know when soccer season starts and ends. The end of the spring season is easy to recognize. The yard gets mowed before it reaches a foot in height and flowers suddenly appear in the flower beds, replacing all variety of weeds.

I’m sure my neighbors don’t appreciate my sports timed yardwork, but I’d rather spend a cold rainy day on a touchline than a sunny warm day pulling weeds. No contest

This isn’t the first time we’ve talked about equitable playing time here, but we recently had a ras hof parent complaints in our Rec league, so we took some action and that spawned an interesting debate among our coaches.

Our league mandates that all Recreational players should play a minimum of 50% of the match, except at the youngest ages where there can be more than double the number of kids on a roster - so we encourage as close to equitable playing time as possible. But for U8 and above, roster sizes are such that it is easy to get kids 50%, even if you leave a couple players in most of the match. Our goal in choosing ‘50%’ over ‘equal time’ was that it gave coaches some flexibility to coach. While some advocate mandated substitutions (every 12.5 minutes everyone subs), we felt it better to let the coaches maintain control over substitutions, while ensuring kids got a fair amount of playing time. For the most part it has worked, but the complaints were increasing, mostly in U8 of all places. So the league decided to add some teeth to the existing 50% rule.

» Read the rest of this post…

Figures I’m late with this post. My parents and players know all about ‘coach time’ because it seems I often can’t tell time. Oh well.

Hard to believe it’s been three years of blogging about youth soccer. My five readers have hung in there through thick and thin (I kid - we’re up to ten, but three of the originals have moved on). My first post was such a page turner!

In all seriousness, thanks to all of you who stop by on a regular basis to read what SoccerDad has to say. I’ve found blogging about youth soccer to be a great way to learn more about the game when researching posts, thinking things through as I write, as well as gaining insights from people around the world. I’ll admit it’s still funny to introduce myself to a coach before one of my travel team’s matches and they know who I am because they read OTP.

For those of you who frequent The SoccerSphere, kind of cool to know that ‘D’ started The DCenters a couple days before I started up OTP. And imagine - there was only one post on SoccerBlogs that day.

It’s so nice that the drought seems to be over or at least improving. We’ve had a lot of rain this season, compared to almost none last Fall. But it sure would be nice if it rained earlier in the week. Lately it seems like it is always raining Thursday, Friday, and Saturday - wreaking havoc on the match schedules of leagues across North Carolina.

Anyway - we had a makeup match scheduled for Sunday, which had a chance of thunderstorms in the forecast. But when we left town, it was sunny and warm. When we arrived at the soccer park our match was at, the clouds were omninous and thunder could be heard far off occasionally. As we warmed up, coaches and referees watched and listened for signs of more thunderstorm activity, only to have the skies open up and a pretty hefty toll of thunder roll through. So we delayed the start 30 minutes and everyone headed for the cars while it rained. Obviously, the players scattered into whatever cars/vans had the best movies, DVD players, snacks, etc. Lunachicks in groups and idle time on their hands. What possibly could go wrong?

» Read the rest of this post…

Bear with us this morning - finally doing a long overdue upgrade, so a few things might break for a bit. Hope to have everything running smoothly, and hopefully faster in an hour or so.

UPDATE: Things seem to be working well. The site and forums are running on the latest version of software now. The blog still has a few quirks that I’ll have to iron out later today.

• The Email links don’t work (but you can use the Share This link to email a post too)
• Printing is also broken. That should be fixed later today. 
• There are a lot of weird A characters that seem to be all over posts which will take some time to fix in the database. Hope to see those vanish in a day or two (requires sort of dangerous database queries).
• The post ratings stuff is acting odd (due to a missing image I think) Will fix that soon
• The sidebar is still messed up. Hope to restore it soon.
• Site response will be a little slow - have the caching plugin disabled while I test/make changes. 
• Related Entries are missing.
• The Archives Page is blank - plugin isn’t compatible with the the latest version of WordPress. May never be, so I’ll probably revert to the standard WP archives view…
  

If you notice anything else broken or acting weird, let me know!

Look Ma! No Sidebar! Yay - I managed to wipe out all my widgets, so the sidebar will be gone for a bit till I a) fix the widget plugin I’ve been using and b) recreate them. Fun! Still working on a new version of the plugin, but the widgets are back!

Over the past few years blogging about youth soccer, I’ve often wondered what other things we could do here at On The Pitch that youth soccer parents and coaches would find useful. As a youth soccer coach and administrator, I find myself answering may of the same questions every year. So I figured a comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions list for youth soccer would be useful. However, instead of a static list of questions, I wanted something more interactive for the OTP community. I found a few FAQs online, but none that seemed to be comprehensive and peer reviewed. So I’ve setup an interactive Youth Soccer FAQ using the FAQ-Tastic Wordpress plugin - which is, yes, a fantastic plugin.

The Youth Soccer FAQ is broken up into a number of sections to make it easier to find information. Clicking on a given section will list all the current questions in that section of the FAQ. If you can’t find the question you are looking for, each FAQ section has a question form where you can submit the question you were trying to find an answer for. If we feel the question would be useful, we’ll research an answer and publish it in the FAQ. If you are an experienced youth soccer parent or coach and have a question and answer you would like to see included, you can simply include both the question and answer in the question form. We’ll review it and publish it if we fell it should be included, and the answer checks out.

Each FAQ question and answer set is on it’s own page and includes a normal comment form so readers can ask for clarifications, suggests improvements to the answer, and highlight any errors. If there is a question you are interested in or that you submitted and had published, you can monitor the comments for it by subscribing to the comment RSS feed linked after the question and answer. Individual questions and answers can also be rated, giving the OTP community to opportunity to rate the FAQ answers. Over time the top rated questions and answers will rise to the top of their given section.

I hope you all find this useful. Be sure to share it with any new youth soccer parents and coaches you encounter. To link to it directly, use the URL http://onthepitch.org/faq/

Right now the FAQ is not very large - just about 30 questions, but I’ll be adding answers to it on a regular basis, so I hope it will grow quickly. The more people who submit questions, the faster it will grow. Don’t be surprised if I post up a few questions to get community input on the answer!

The Youth Soccer FAQ is just one of a number of new and exciting things we’ve been working on and hope to announce in the coming months!

­­­­You’ve all been at a match like this. The kids are playing, trying their best, and a parent or two are stalking up and down the touchline, shouting instructions to their children constantly. Sometimes their kids ignore them, other times they are distracted by it. Their coach seems indifferent to it. You want to say something, but feel out of place as the parent is from another team. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone else could say something if their coach won’t? How about the referee? And even better, what if during halftime, that referee chatted with the parents and gave them a little Laws of the Game quiz to see how well th­ey understand the rules and perhaps learn something. itsaboutthekids over at the NC-Soccer Forum did this very thing recently:

After two game of this I’ve heard enough [parent coaching]. Prior to game #3 I make an announcement to the parents. Something to the effect “Parents, I’m challenging you to resist the urge to coach your players during this game. The constant comments from the parents takes away from the enjoyment of the game for the players. It creates confusion when conflicting directions come from opposite sides of the field. Soccer is a fluid game in which players have to make split second decisions. Soccer is unique in that regard - the players have to think and execute. Please allow the boys to enjoy their game without coaching from this sideline”

There were a few parents that seemed shocked that this meant them. There were some that thanked me for taking that step. At half time I spoke again to the parents. I thanked them for their effort in the first half then gave them a brief “Laws of the Game quiz”. We had fun, they learned a little something (I hope) and the boys got to play this game with minimal interference from mom & dad. After the game I thanked the parents for their effort. I think some were amazed that a ref would talk to them. Usually the ref only speaks to parents when their behavior gets out of hand.

Parents want to do the right thing for their children. As a referee if I can help make the game more enjoyable for everyone (including me) I think it’s the least I can do. I would encourage more refs and more coaches to take the time to educate the parents. It take so little time to make a difference for the kids.

What a fantastic idea.

» Read the rest of this post…

The NCYSA is looking to fill a gap between the Youth I/II Modules aimed at U6/U8 and U10/U12 coaching and the ‘E’ License which is aimed at coaching older players in 11v11 matches. So they have developed a new one day (8 hour) course called the ‘F’ License:

The Coaching Education Department of NC Youth Soccer Association will be offering a NEW Coaching Education License, the ‘F’ License.

This course is designed specifically for the coach working with, U12 players and older, as an introduction to 11-a-side youth soccer. The curriculum focuses on the development of the player both individually and as part of the team. Working with larger practice numbers and systems of play will also be addressed within the course. Coaches are expected to participate in all activities; field/lecture/discussion. The course is an 8 hour course usually from 9 AM to 5 PM and the cost is: $45 for an NCYSA Members/$55 for a Non-members. This course serves as a preparatory course for the ‘E’ License course.

This is an interesting concept. The ‘E’ course definitely didn’t cover the ins and outs of handling a full size team, though I wonder if stuff like that will really take 8 hours. You’d think there would have to be some overlap with the ‘E’ course. if any of you take it, definitely post some comments!

Insert obligatory joke here about being ‘F’ certified

To sign up for this or any NCYSA coaching course, see their coaching education page.

Dozens of people responsible for youth soccer schedules across North Carolina starting screaming in unison. Why you ask? Because we just had another weekend of soccer rained out - the third weekend this season… so far. Travel teams are looking at 1-2 weeks before the end of season tournaments/seedings begin and many still have 3-4 matches left to play. We’ve postponed so many Rec matches, we’re going to have to start having teams play twice in one day or weekend (common for travel teams - but Rec? Not so much).So this Sunday, the 7th day, has been a non-stop ‘how can we reschedule all these matches’ fun fest.

North Carolina has been in a record setting drought, and all this rain has been sorely needed. But does it always have to rain Thursday through Sunday? Can’t we get the storms on Monday or Tuesday so the fields are ready for matches on Friday and Saturday?

Of course, making things even more exciting for us - we play most of our Recreation matches on Saturday mornings. We just found out today that one of our school districts needed to makeup a winter weather cancellation, and chose a Saturday in April to do it. So we just had to reschedule a fourth weekend of matches. The fun never ends!

As soccer coaches, we often get fixated on the core skills (dribbling, passing, shooting), tactics, and other stuff. Sometimes we forget that it’s often the little things that can make a difference, even ones we think are obvious - but to the kids, they’re not. So here are some little things to keep in mind, especially if you’re a new coach just getting started and trying to learn as you go…

• Don’t let your defense stand at the top of the goal box. You give the opposing team too much room to maneuver, and they can bring the ball too close to your goal with little resistance. Have them push up towards midfield on the attack, even if there is no offside (Just say no to cherry picking!)
  
• Put your fastest/best ball handlers on defense more often than not. The opposing team will struggle to score, and it helps boost the confidence of your average players to be up front. Give your defenders permission to make runs at the goal, knowing their teammates are there to back them up.
• Discourage taking goal kicks from the corner of the goal box. Players will instinctively run directly along the side line of the goal box, making it difficult to direct the ball at an angle. Instead have them place the ball 1-2ft away from the corner along the top of the box. Then they’ll have to line up however they feel most comfortable instead of being drawn to run along the line when they kick.
• When you are talking with your team late on a sunny day, make sure you’re the one facing the sun, not them. They’ll pay more attention to you.
• Anytime you do something like toe taps, stretching, jumping jacks, etc. where you would count, have the kids count instead. Loudly. This helps them get over being shy about yelling out on the soccer field during matches.
• If you have your team do toe taps during warmups, stress that they look you in the eye. Even better, instead of counting off the taps (once they get over their shyness), hold up your hand and have then shout out how many fingers you have up - change every 3-4 seconds. Do this with dribbling drills as well - great way to keep their heads up.
• If appropriate to your plan for the practice, have them put pinnies on at the beginning of practice as they arrive to save time later splitting up the team for a scrimmage or other team oriented drill.
• Instruct your players to always place the ball where the arc intersects the touch or end lines on corner kicks. Kids always want to put it in the middle of the arc, then can’t figure out why the corner flag is in their way. Putting it at the intersection gets them the farthest away from the flag.

These are just a few off the top of my head. I’m sure I’ll add more. For those of you that coach, what other ‘little things’ would you add to this list that can make a big difference in a players development or during a game?

Probably the most stressful thing about being a league administrator is making the decision to play or postpone. We’ve had a crazy amount of rain this season (compared to almost none last season) We’ve gone from drought to soaked in short order. Even more fun is when you know the rain is coming, in torrents, but it probably won’t reach you until after your game times. So you can either postpone, or estimate when it will arrive, and go for it - hoping you don’t have to close the complex while everyone is there. Needless to say - a picture is worth 1000 words, etc. We’re right where the ‘R’ in Raleigh is:

Cue the theme music from Jaws…

I’m guessing we won’t be playing tomorrow - but we’ll continue to hope that it breaks up overnight!

Radar map from the awesome Weather Underground.

Over at The Administrator, they have an article up related to security at the 2010 World Cup which they preface with some thoughts on security at youth soccer complexes:

Facility security is a crucial yet often overlooked concern for youth soccer organizations. For many clubs, facility security is limited to a volunteer (armed with a walkie-talkie) on site during games.  This is simply not enough an­ymore, the risks are too great.  Fortunately, with a relatively small financial outlay the club can acquire the assistance of an off duty officer during facility hours.  By simply parking a police car at the entrance, the club will realize a huge reduction in potential threat.  Furthermore, the club can highlight their local officer on the club’s website, to add an additional layer of preventative security.  Your members will recognize the club’s efforts, and will be thankful for protecting their most valuable asset.

I’m curious what other leagues do to handle complex security. I’ve seen a police presence at big tournaments, but usually just at the large sites. But even then it’s maybe an officer or two. It also depends on the size of the complex, its location, and the number of people attending at any given time. As an example, our soccer complex is 4 full size fields. On a given Saturday, we might have 7-10 matches going on in the morning on the small sided fields with probably 300-500 people milling about including the kids. We don’t specifically request security, but city police do roll through occasionally. A couple of years ago, due to some parent issues on the sidelines, we had an officer at the entrance on match days (usually Saturday) at the request of the City Council. But that doesn’t happen much any more and our sidelines have improved gradually over time.

The main question is, does having a police presence at the complex every day improve security? Do you rotate the coverage around to make it ‘random’? What kind of issues are you likely to see that would call for a police presence vs league officials?

» Read the rest of this post…