The one thing that separates the successful athletes who reach their highest potential level from those who don’t are the ones who lack focus. Focus defined is the concentration of attention or energy on something: i.e. a goal. As an athlete looking to make it in their respective sport, whether its high school, collegiate, professional or Olympic level, having a focused and clear goal-oriented mindset is what will propel the athlete towards success.

Learn how to do a Cruyff turn in soccer in this week’s Online Soccer Academy soccer training video. A Cruyff turn, sometimes misspelled Croyth, is a classic soccer move used to escape defenders when dribbling a soccer ball.

Learn how to shoot a soccer ball in this week’s Online Soccer Academy soccer training video. This soccer training video teaches you how to shoot for power using proper shooting technique. Enjoy!

The role of a soccer coach goes beyond being a good teacher of technical skills and tactical formations. A great soccer coach is about helping your players achieve their dreams and goals. At Soccer Classroom, we adhere to a “player first” mentality, where coaches facilitate the learning and where players are the stars of the show. Developing a coaching philosophy is central to creating a successful experience for your players and team.

There are clearly many myths surrounding youth team goalkeeping. The obvious (outdated) of course is that it is only ever the largest, overweight, tallest, last to be picked, most unpopular, perceived worst outfield or indeed craziest kid who gets ‘stuck’ in goal. This is not and should never be the case. But, how should this be handled?

Soccer demands effective communication to build excellent teams. While there are several different aspects of communication, I’ve set to focus on the three in which I feel are most important: getting to know your players, complementing and creating a positive atmosphere, and communicating on the pitch. Check out how to improve communication with your team!

When I finished college, my friends approached me about taking their Golden Retriever/Lab mix. With a second newborn and 900 square feet of duplex to share, it was just overwhelming. I didn’t realize when I took on the challenge of Kita that she was singlehandedly putting me through “Coach’s Boot Camp.”

Volunteers are the lifeblood of the soccer community. But with 90% of parents willing to sit on the sidelines and do nothing because they’re “too busy” or “don’t know soccer”, we’re regularly burning out our volunteers. Soccer Classroom examines the root causes and proposes an innovative solution.

As a young, straight out of college know-it-all hotshot player and first-time coach, I made a bonehead coaching move in the second game that caused me to lose my self-respect. Luckily, the mistake also provided me my greatest lesson.

Listen to this quick interview where he speaks about the three components to build a great soccer player – the answer will probably surprise most parents and coaches. I think it’s also important to note the ages he mentions in identifying players…