E M A G G N I V L O THE EV February, 2013
Issue 4 Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Coaching Newsletter
The Critical Role of the Club Director of Coaching with Young Players Youth Soccer in the United States is changing and evolving every day and with the changes the responsibility of the director of coaching must grow to meet the needs of players, coaches, parents and administrators.
Mike Barr EPA Youth Soccer Director of Coaching
An important issue that they must address is ge=ng quality instruc?on to the zone one players (U6 to U10). Establishing a firm technical founda?on assures success at the older ages in much the same as exci?ng, engaging and informed elementary teachers prepare students for middle and high school. Why not hold your director of coaching and your paid coaches to the same standards and accountability a community holds their teachers? Establishing a club wide mission statement to meet the needs of these young players and to make sure the informa?on is provided to parents on a ?mely basis, makes this objec?ve easier to implement within the club. Part of that mission statement should address the following:
E License at Penn Legacy
• Quality instruc?on for young players with US Soccer licensed or equivalent licensed coaches • A suppor?ve, fun and rewarding environment for all players no maQer what their skill level
• Outcome based individual objec?ves for each player • Small sided matches 3v3 at U6 to 6v6 at U10 • Posi?ve parental support during training and matches through a parent educa?on program • Designing a code of conduct in order for players to respect the game, teammates, coaches and referees • Monitoring of coach’s demeanor, following the curriculum, and engaging players through ques?ons in training and games • Thorough background check of all coaches and all volunteers including: team managers, field workers, concession stand workers and any adult involved with the club or a team Many clubs now have full-‐?me directors of coaching. These full-‐?me directors must pursue con?nuing educa?on trends in player development instruc?on, establish posi?ve rela?onships with their coaching staff, and provide proper guidelines and honest answer to parents as they aQempt to navigate the changing soccer landscape. Strong organiza?on at the younger ages provides smooth transi?on to travel and elite play at the older ages and will make the director’s job easier moving forward.
• Equal par?cipa?on in training and games
National Coaching License Program Updates United States Soccer Federation - reviewed and updated the National E License at the US Youth Soccer Workshop in January. The feedback was very positive from all the state technical directors. All the small issues have been resolved in the workbook and pre-requisites and new video content has been added to. The updated D License is being beta tested and will be implemented in July 2013. From the presentations I have seen, it compliments the National E license. Gary Stephenson EPA Youth Soccer Assistant Director of Coaching
The United States Soccer Federation has also stated that the E License is the starting point for the coaching pyramid. This removes the waiver program for playing college or years of coaching unless you played for the senior national team or on a FIFA recognized professional team.