Tweet According to Yanks Abroad, the USMNT will compete in the Copa America for the first time since 1995. While many feared US Soccer would wait to hire a new head coach before accepting the invitation, it appears they thought better of it. Smart move. “In order to continue our progress at the international level, […]
Entries for October, 2006
Respect Those Rec Coaches – They ARE Saints
Tweet Over at BigSoccer, a poster discovered firsthand that being a rec soccer coach is NOT easy: Since my hubby blew out his ACL…he volunteered me to be the assistant coach for my daughter’s rec team. fair’s fair i guess since i volunteered him to start!! today they played their third game of the season, […]
A Home on the Field
Tweet Thanks to a few down days when it was raining and the Challenge season took a pause for a weekend, I was able to read A Home on the Field by Paul Cuadros. Of course those down days were quickly followed by absolute chaos so I didn’t get a chance to finish this review […]
Carnival of American Soccer #6 – Get Writing!
Tweet The Kin of Fish has selected the topic for the sixth Carnival of American Soccer so it’s time to get writing (Here is the BlogCarnival profile). And what an excellent topic it is: You’ve just been handed the plum position of MLS Marketing Director. Many of the tickets that your clubs sell or distribute […]
QOTW: Should Kids Be Allowed To Multi-Roster?
Tweet This week’s question revolves around leagues which allow players to play on a travel team and a recreational team during the same season. Our league allows it and so far it’s been a good experience for the kids. They get to do this whole new ‘travel’ thing when they hit U10, but can also […]
Having Trouble Getting Concessions Volunteers?
Tweet I know some leagues don’t do concessions, but for those of you that do… If you’re having trouble getting volunteers, buy a space heater for the concession stand. Once the weather turns cold, they’ll flock to it in droves. Last night we had FIVE people behind the counter drinking coffee and huddling around the […]
Journal of a U7 Coach
Tweet I find one of the more difficult things you encounter as a recreational youth soccer coach is to know how you and your team are doing compared to teams outside your league. I don’t mean that as ‘Yeah Man! My team ROCKS!’ Rather, just to know what other coaches encounter, how they deal with […]
A Blog For Soccer Parents
Tweet Sometimes my niche of youth soccer blogging can seem awfully lonely! So I was happy to find another soccer parent has joined the fray to try and share some of their soccer parent experiences and advice. The aptly named Soccer Parents blog came online this month hoping to help soccer parents avoid common mistakes. […]
Equitable Playing Time – Reloaded
Tweet Wow. This puts the equitable playing time rules common in youth soccer leagues into a whole new perspective. PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A father pulled a gun on a youth football coach because his son wasn’t getting enough playing time, police said. Wayne Derkotch, 40, was arguing with the coach Sunday morning during a game […]
Friendships That Will Last A Lifetime … Or Will They?
Tweet Joanna over at Secondhand Sun sent me an interesting article from the Washington Post that talks about the friendships we form through our children’s activities and what happens when they all leave home. Sociologists call these “contingent communities” and they often are a rock in your world even if the friendships aren’t much beyond […]
Showing The Ref Some Love … Or Not
Tweet I can’t help but think that while the vast majority of youth soccer referees make honest mistakes, some just relish being jerks about it. While this has been, in my experience, far and away the exception, it’s still causing parents heartburn. Referees tolerate a LOT of abuse from fans/parents which is uncalled for. But […]
How To Give Your Coach Heart Failure
Tweet As many of you know, late October is a busy time for soccer teams. Seasons are winding down, team are jostling for position in the standings, and getting ready for end of season tournaments, etc. Coaches are working their teams hard trying to get them hitting on all cylinders. Needless to say, the coaches […]
QOTW: Most Unusual Thing In Your Bag
Tweet This is for all the coaches out there. Many of us cart around sports bags filled with a variety of things to practices, matches, pickup games, etc. Well, I know I do. Just off the top of my head I know I have the following in there: Cleats, first aid kit, sleeve of water […]
It’s Amazing Kids Risk Playing Soccer
Tweet You know that line that separates the sensible protections of our children from the absolutely insane, our kids should walk around in armored bubbles, protections? Well it has been crossed in a BIG way. Officials at an elementary school south of Boston have banned kids from playing tag, touch football and any other unsupervised […]
