Youth Soccer Fun

Getting players to pay attention

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 09:27:14 -0800

By Mike Woitalla (from Soccer America's Youth Soccer Insider)

It's perfectly reasonable that children who show up to soccer practice might have a difficult time paying attention when the coach has something to say. They have, after all, spent an entire day at
school listening to adults. And now it's playtime.

'Crazier than it's ever been' (Jimmy Obleda, Fullerton Rangers, Q&A)

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 09:22:42 -0800

According to Jimmy Obleda, the 2011 NSCAA Youth National Coach of the Year, the U.S. Soccer Development Academy has made the youth soccer landscape an "absolute mess."

Interview by Mike Woitalla (from Soccer America's Youth Soccer Insider)

The Great Halftime Pep Talk

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 23:09:32 -0800

By Mike Woitalla (from Soccer America's Youth Soccer Insider)

If you're watching a game on TV, and a team stages a second-half comeback, you'll likely hear the commentators speculating on what brilliance the coach imparted during halftime, on what motivational technique he used:

Girls vs. Boys: Should coaches communicate differently? (Part 4)

Sat, 19 Jan 2013 23:13:48 -0800

By Mike Woitalla (from Soccer America's Youth Soccer Insider)

A few years ago, I asked a man with plenty of experience, and a fair amount of success, coaching both genders about whether he takes a different approach. He didn't want his quotes attributed, but ...

Girls vs. Boys: A Difference in Social Dynamics? (Part 3)

Sat, 12 Jan 2013 23:06:11 -0800

By Mike Woitalla (from Soccer America's Youth Soccer Insider)

Girls vs. Boys: 'It's about how the individual ticks' (Part 2)

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 23:03:23 -0800

In Part 2 of our series we speak with Minnesota coach Julie Eibensteiner, who has coached both genders at the youth and college level for more than a decade.

By Mike Woitalla (from Soccer America's Youth Soccer Insider)

Girls vs. Boys: Should they be coached differently? (Part 1)

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 22:59:42 -0800

By Mike Woitalla (from Soccer America's Youth Soccer Insider)

'Top players play on their own' (Q&A with Todd Saldana, Part 2)

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 22:54:03 -0800

Todd Saldana grew up playing youth soccer in Southern California in the 1970s, when his club coach was Sigi Schmid. Saldana played for the USA at the first U-20 World Cup it qualified for, in 1981,
and signed pro out of high school with the old NASL's Los Angeles Aztecs, where his coaches included Rinus Michels and Claudio Coutinho.

By Mike Woitalla (from Soccer America's Youth Soccer Insider)

Club Cooperation Pays Off in So Cal (Q&A with Todd Saldana, Part 1)

Sun, 02 Dec 2012 22:47:35 -0800

Southern California club South Bay Force had its application to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy rejected, but Director of Coaching Todd Saldana still found a way for his players to play at the
highest level of boys soccer in the USA.

Interview by Mike Woitalla (from Soccer America's Youth Soccer Insider)

MLS should mandate minutes for homegrown players

Sat, 01 Dec 2012 22:42:09 -0800

By Mike Woitalla (from Soccer America's Youth Soccer Insider)

Strides made; improvement still needed (Steve Swanson Q&A, Part 2)

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:28:05 -0800

In September, Steve Swanson coached the USA to the 2012 U-20 Women's World Cup title. A women's college coach since 1990, including the last 13 seasons at University of Virginia, Swanson has also coached in the U.S. national team women's program at the U-16, U-17, U-18 and U-19 levels since 2000. Swanson spoke to us about his U-20 team's victory and the state of women's and girls soccer in the USA.

Interview by Mike Woitalla (from Soccer America's Youth Soccer Insider)

College recruiting starts too young (Steve Swanson Q&A, Part 1)

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 22:25:09 -0800

Steve Swanson, who guided the USA to the 2012 U-20 Women's World Cup title in September, has coached women's college ball since 1990. After stints at Dartmouth and Stanford, he has coached the
University of Virginia since 2000. He spoke with us about the perils of a recruiting system that has girls commit to colleges when they're still sophomores or 9th-graders.

Interview by Mike Woitalla (from Soccer America's Youth Soccer Insider)

Tom Sermanni: 'Technical takes priority over physical'

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 23:53:52 -0800

New U.S. women's national team coach Tom Sermanni touches on what role he may play with the USA youth national teams and fields questions about youth coaching and
youth development.

Interview by Mike Woitalla (from Soccer America's Youth Soccer Insider)

Combating an injury epidemic (Dr. Bert Mandelbaum Q&A)

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 23:50:35 -0800

Dr. Bert Mandelbaum, the team physician for U.S. Soccer national teams, has been a pioneer in researching ACL injury trends among female athletes and creating injury prevention methods for soccer players. We talked to him about what youth coaches can do to decrease the chances of injuries and the FIFA 11+ warmup procedure that he's promoting through the Sports Injury Prevention Program.

Interview by Mike Woitalla (from Soccer America's Youth Soccer Insider)

'Relate to the kids' (Q&A with NSCAA's Ian Barker, Part 1)

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:27:34 -0800

Ian Barker became Director of Coaching of the 30,000-member National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) in February. A longtime ODP coach, he served as Minnesota Youth Soccer Association Director of Coaching (1997-2007) and spent more than two decades coaching college ball. In Part 1 of our interview we spoke with Barker about youth coaching in America.

Interview by Mike Woitalla (from Soccer America's Youth Soccer Insider)