Yes, a basketball video – because the content is completely in parallel to soccer. Besides, sometimes we have to change our view to improve our vision. Stan VanGundy from the Miami Heat discussed the importance of skill development in our youngest players. No matter the sport, the principle remains the same: at our youth stage, [...]

From the 19th Century, when Defense was virtually unheard of, to the superpowers of the modern game, formations and the shape of your team can and does determine the outcome of a Game, any Game, including yours. This article builds on the soccer formations overview article. Of course, when choosing the formation and shape of [...]

Volunteer turnover is a problem in almost every youth sports organization.  Most youth sports leagues are 501 (c) 3 non- profit organizations and rely heavily on volunteers to handle most mission critical tasks ranging from registration, communication, team building, board members and the list goes on. At Blue Sombrero, we work with thousands of youth [...]

As coaches, the only way we can develop players from stage to stage is if we can build on what they’ve learned. No matter if it is tactics or technical – we have to be sure before we move on. As we rush to put on our training sessions and move through our ‘session plan’, [...]

As coaches, we try to evaluate a soccer match based around what we see during the game. I found this neat little video, which tests your observation skills. Check it out and see what you think: How did you do? A special thanks to Mark Roberts over at Statzpack for sharing this with me.

The first part of our “ How to effectively scout a soccer team “ edition saw us look at the benefits of what a good scouting system can offer you as well as looking at certain areas within scouting, specifically team shape. The second part covered practical tips for scouting an opponent. This week we [...]

In a previous article, we already outlined the benefits of scouting. Now, we’re going to dig in and consider the important factors to consider when we are scouting. With the outcomes of our reports more important the further up the ladder we go, here are some scouting tips to hopefully help you prepare yourself to [...]

Scouting on both an individual player basis and a team basis is one of the most rewarding parts of the game. It can also provide a team and coach a real advantage – if it is done correctly. The modern day soccer scout uses a combination of both his own eyes along with the analysis [...]

Guest author and parent-coach, Barry Saltzman, takes an in-depth look at evaluating and selecting youth soccer coaches – and it’s impact on the game. He highlights some awesome resources for coaches and makes some excellent suggestions for teams and clubs to step out of their comfort zone to improve the game. Click to read about how you can improve your soccer program!

I’ve received a number of requests from readers to share my own personal coaching philosophy. These requests mostly came from the article about “How to Develop a Coaching Philosophy” as well as people who signed up to receive our free soccer coaching book. This is my letter of introduction to the parents of a competitive U11 soccer team. It also weaves my coaching philosophy throughout.