The Baffled Parent's Guide to Coaching Youth Soccer

Bobby Clark is director of men's and women's soccer at Stanford University, where he coached the men's varsity team to national runner-up in the NCAA Division I for 1998. A former coach of the New Zealand national team and for Dartmouth College, he began his coaching career while playing championship soccer in the Scottish professional league, when he served as youth coach for the Aberdeen Football Club. He honed his positive, teach-through-games approach to coaching soccer over a career that spans nearly 40 years. Bobby now lives on the Stanford campus with his wife, Betty. Their three children, Tommy, Jamie, and Jennifer, have all played or coached soccer professionally.

Foreword by Bob Bradley

Preface: Fitba' is King

Introduction

1. Creating An Atmosphere of Good Habits

Establishing Yourself as Coach

Drills to Promote Good Habits on the Field

Questions and Answers

2. Before Hitting the Field: Soccer in a Nutshell

How Many on a Team?

Basic Rules

Modified Field Size and Rules

3. Setting Up the Season

Get Some Help

Meet the Parents

Establish Your Policies

Uniforms and Equipment

Questions and Answers

4. Essential Skills--and How to Teach Them

The Fundamentals

Getting Started

5. The Practice

Preparation Is Key

Format for Practice

6. Sample Practices

Basic Beginning Practice

Advanced Beginner Practice

Intermediate Practice

Advanced Intermediate Practice

Advanced Practice

Questions and Answers

7. Game Time

Rules of the Game

Game Basics

Running the Game

Taking Stock

Questions and Answers

8. Dealing with Parents and Gender Issues

The Role of the Parents

Addressing Gender Issues

Questions and Answers

9. Games and Drills

Warm-Up

Ball Handling

Passing and Receiving

Ball Control

Shooting

Heading

Goalkeeping

Attacking and Defending

Appendix

Official Soccer Field Features

Referee Signals

Glossary

Resources

Index

About the Author