Live The Pitch

Let’s tackle the issues you will have with the parents as a coach.  Parents at the youth level are very competitive because soccer is not a very well known sport to the average person.  Most parents will think they know more than you, can do a better job than you and will criticize your every move.  You cannot let this happen.

Coaches need to keep parents involved as much as possible so they see how much you are putting into the team.  Whether it is a weekly e-mail or a short meeting after matches,  parents need to hear from you.  This will give parents the feeling that they are involved in some way.

Let the parents ask you questions, give you advice and make sure they are comfortable approaching you to speak their mind.  Happy parents will translate into happy players.

The biggest issue Parents will complain about will be playing time for their child.  Playing time can be tough to manage depending on the size of the roster you are working with.  At the youth level all players should have equal playing time.

There will be instances where a few players will play more than others, but this issue needs to be spread around the season so when the season is complete everyone has had the same opportunities on the pitch.  A good way to keep track of this is the weekly e-mail or meeting.

U.S. Mens National Team coach Bob Bradley has confirmed he is interested in the opening at Aston Villa in the English Premier League.

Bradley remains under contract with the national team until the end of the year and is currently in the midst of talking with the United States Soccer Federation about an extension.

There are many who believe that Bradley is out as U.S. coach.  Bradley has done a decent job overall with the national team, but his roster decisions at the World Cup were disastrous.

Aston Villa would be going out on a huge limb by signing Bradley, which would leave no room for error for the manager.

What do you think?  Can Bradley hang with the Elite managers in the EPL?

The U.S. Mens National Team will take on Poland in their next match on October 9th at Soldier Field .  This will fall upon an international fixture date which will allow the European based players to play with the team.  Although, there is a major MLS scheduling issue as some key players will play with their clubs two days prior to the match.

As of now, Bob Bradley is still in charge of the national team.  Let’s hope to see a new face leading this group so we can get some different players on the pitch.  Bradley has done a decent job as coach but it’s time to move in a new direction.  Bradley’s roster decisions have not been the best and his ability to get his team prepared was awful this summer.

How great would it be to never see Robbie Findlay on the pitch again?

Look for the U.S. to add another friendly match on October 12 or 13.

As the recreational fall soccer season approaches, coaches both new and experienced will face tough challenges ahead.  Here we are going to give you advice on how to overcome situations that may arise as you go through the season.  There are ways to treat players to get the respect you deserve for your time that you give to develop our youth. Both on and off the pitch.

For new coaches coaching youth soccer can be a terrifying experience.  Usually players under the age of 10 play in local recreational leagues across the country.  Most coaches in these age groups are voluntary positions usually held by a parent of a child on the team.

At first it may seem like an easy task to handle.  Most parents take this responsibly with absolutely no idea of what’s ahead.  The main thing to coaching at this level is that you treat all players and parents equally.

The issue that coaches at this level fall into is that they will rely heavily on one or two “star” players to lead the team to glory.  Parent coaches will get too worried about results and not the development of players and teamwork.  All players should receive the same amount of playing time and the same amount of attention as all other players.  If you stray from this motto, big problems are right around the corner.

Even at a young age if you treat your best player like they are better than everyone else it could stick with them for the rest of their lives.  I have personally witnessed this with numerous players who would dominate at the younger age groups, but never actually learned the team aspect of the game.  The team aspect is the most important thing to teach at this age.  A good theory to live by is, “we win as a team, we lose as a team.”

The French Football Federation has handed down a stiff punishment to the leaders of the French National team who were  blamed for the inappropriate behavior at the World Cup.  The FFF suspended striker Nicolas Anelka for 18 matches, former captain Patrice Evra for five matches, Franck Ribery for three matches and Jeremy Toulalan for one match.

Sources say Anelka and former coach Raymond Domenech were involved in a heated exchange in the locker room at halftime of the 2-0 loss to Mexico.  Domenech and the FFF decided to send Anelka home while the majority of the players disagreed with the move.  The French players chose to skip the following day of training in protest and were sent home after the knockout stages from the Cup.

New French manager Laurent Blanc, dropped all 23 players from the World Cup roster in a friendly against Norway, which they lost 2-1.  Blanc has extremely talented players at his disposal in France but needs to get his players on the same page. Only time will tell if this overhaul of the national team will do any good.

Give us your comments and tell us what you think.