Choosing a Formation in Soccer
Formations are the way a soccer team lines up its defense, midfield, and forward line at the beginning of the match. If you want to get technical, you could produce dozens of formations due to the mathematical [more…]
Knowing When and How to Dribble in Soccer
The most basic of all soccer skills is dribbling, the ability to carry the ball past an opponent while being in control, whether by using a series of simple taps or a fantastic move around a foe. If a [more…]
Developing a Soccer Coaching Philosophy
Creating a coaching philosophy is fairly simple. Living up to it all season long is the tricky part. What's a coaching philosophy? Basically, it reflects the standards you set for yourself and your team [more…]
Understanding Soccer's Three Basic Passes
There are three basic passes in the game of soccer — forward, square, and back.
The forward pass is the most aggressive and most risky of all three because the attacking team moves the ball toward the goal [more…]
Goalkeeper: Defending the Soccer Goal
In soccer, the goalkeeper is a designated player with the job of directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by defending the goal. To get a good soccer goalkeeper for your team, remember this: [more…]
Looking at European Soccer Rivalries
Americans call them rivalries. On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, they are called derbies (pronounced darbies). Among the most enduring European rivalries: [more…]
Getting to Know the League You're In
Youth soccer leagues around the country are as different as the millions of kids who strap on shin guards to play in them. You can find outdoor and indoor leagues. Numbers go from 4-on-4 to 11-on-11 leagues [more…]
Balancing Parenting and Coaching
Being a parent is a difficult job, but here's a surprise: Coaching your son or daughter's soccer team is equally tricky. After you step inside the white lines, and your child straps on the shin guards, [more…]
Making the Season Memorable
A child's experience in organized soccer can be a defining moment in her young life. Years from now, she isn't going to remember her team's record or how many goals she scored during the season, but she'll [more…]
