Coaching Education

By Tim Bradbury, Director of Coaching, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association

I spend an enormous amount of time and energy in discussions with coach educators, coaches, and parents about player development. Many of these conversations start with defining what player development is, then evolve to best practices in the arena and conclude with all the hurdles that get in the way.

Player development is the umbrella phrase that is used to describe the philosophy, behavior, and attitude of a coach who believes teaching players the skills and key game concepts to a player that may lead to a lifelong love for the game is more important than winning.

Best practices involved in helping player development include all below.

• Developmentally-appropriate activities and practices.
• Connecting with players as people first and athletes second.
• Displaying a genuine interest in their well-being and level of enthusiasm
• Enormous amounts of ball-rolling time and player engagement in a practice.
• Detailed feedback and demonstration of the fundamental skills of the game.
• Variety of methods used by the coach to help inspire new levels of enthusiasm.
• Good understanding of the idea that winning and player development do not mean the same thing.
• Greater pleasure over skills performed and passes played in a row plus key concepts displayed, for example switching the point of attack and creating a 2v1 on the weak side than winning.
• Appropriate game format and rules. Why have throw-ins if the players are unable to control a bouncing ball?
• A coach who understands that players must be taught to read and understand the game and make decisions when they play with a deep belief that telling them what to do as they play prevents them from thinking.
• A coach who constantly reminds parents that developing skills and competing are key to long-term development and sports for life.
• A coach who understands that sometimes rest is more important than having another practice.

The two most important factors that negatively impact player development are the win-at-all-costs culture that prevails in youth sports and coaches who feel that winning is what they must do before all else.

A prime example of this is the “trickler” pass seen in the second season of 7v7. Where a large number of teams ask their goalkeepers to roll out a very slow pass so that the nearest attacker (yes, they are all attackers as they have the ball) whacks it as far as they can. What a great way to destroy a developmental idea like the build-out line.

Throw-ins are another classic example where most teams throw the ball down the line to one attacker surrounded by four defenders. A throw-in is a restart of a game where the team taking it should be able to keep possession and form another attack.

We must all do more to ensure that our youth players are in environments where they can learn and perform the skills and key concepts of the game. It is at this point that they begin to love playing and sport for life becomes a real possibility.

By Tim Bradbury, Director of Coaching, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association

I have written numerous articles recently on player development and the curse of the win-at-all-costs mentality. It is slightly scary that when I talk with other technical directors around the country, it is the very same topics that they also write most frequently about. The same message regarding player development, a possession-based approach to playing the game, and teaching players the skills of the game before stressing about the win-loss record is echoed by US Soccer, US Youth Soccer, United Soccer Coaches and all other youth soccer organizations across the country.

With the message being repeated so frequently by so many experts in the game, it is very sad that so seem to be doing the most appropriate thing. There are many who pretend too, who play a few passes in the attacking third and hide behind the win-loss records. These coaches along with parents who pressure them to play this way are developmental impostors. They play a style of direct soccer that is based around having a few athletes with pace and strength. They go quickly from back to front and are not really interested in player development at all.

As a coach who still works with teams on a regular basis, to go a whole season with a team playing more than 15 games and to play only one team that is really attempting to develop players is really disappointing. To be told by so many “professional trainers”

“Coach we get it but if we play the right way, the parents will demand a new coach as we may lose.”

Is truly an indicator that a number of parents within the group are only interested in winning. They pressure the kids and the coaches to play in a style that means only a few develop and the vast majority are destined to stop playing by high school. There is no gray here, you are either part of the solution or the problem.

For those confused and even more to expose those who look to confuse others by stressing the wins as an indicator of player development, I suggest ALL use the areas of development and the key indicators below as a means to truly get a picture of the type of team your son or daughter is playing on.

Each time your team plays a competitive game record the key indicators below

1. Number of quality first touches that allow the player to keep the ball.
2. Number of passes completed.
3. Number of passes in a string (average and max).
4. Number of times GK attempted to play out of back and build through possession.
5. Number of times players attempted to take players on 1v1.
6. Number of times the team attempted to switch the point of attack.
7. Number of times that you see a definite change in shape from a big attacking shape to a more compact defensive shape.

In addition to the game indicators listed above, you can also consider the best practice criteria listed below:

1. Sessions completely absent of LAPS, LINES AND LECTURES
2. Sessions full of ball-related activities.
3. Sessions where players are at the center of the action. They get to think, solve problems, experiment try and fail.
4. Economical Sessions: Wherein the activities used have a technical, tactical, physical and psycho-social piece embroidered into their foundation.
5. Sessions where a possession-based approach to attacking with all players encouraged to master the fundamental skills of passing and receiving is at the core of all ball work.
6. Sessions full of well-designed questions used to elicit high-level thinking from the players.
7. Sessions devoid of elimination games where the weakest player is knocked out first and forced to watch the stronger kids play.
8. Sessions with lots of activity and brief breaks where they play more than they stand around.

To seal the deal and to ascertain without a shadow of a doubt that your child is truly in the care of a coach that is deeply concerned about player development, the following coaching habits should be frequently displayed:

1. A coach who asks questions and guides players to think for themselves.
2. A coach who stresses that effort is applauded ABOVE ALL.
3. A coach who encourages players to compete honestly and fairly at all times.
4. A coach who treats players with respect at all times and demands that his players treat all in the same manner.
5. A coach who is able to give specific and accurate feedback in a way that helps players improve.
6. A coach who firmly and unwaveringly puts player development before winning.
7. A coach who believes that their primary aim is to produce a lifelong love for the game and sport. The by-product is soccer excellence.
8. A coach who inspires his/her players to always give their very best effort and to also enjoy the process.

By 12 years of age, a truly developmental team will be scoring well in all categories above. If this is the case your child is in good hands, and you have managed to find one of the rare coaches who truly can develop your child. Hang on to these environments because in all honesty, they are a rare find.

By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association

August 27, 2024-I was refereeing two girls small-sided games at the end of the season and those matches could not be more different.

In Game #1, a team played “We Are the Champions” while they were warming up. In Game #2, both teams simply warmed up.

In Game #1, the parents of the team that warmed up playing “We Are the Champions” were wearing Soccer Dad and Soccer Mom T-shirts with the team logo. In Game #2, the parents were not wearing any specially-made T-shirts.

In Game #1, the coach told his team that they needed to win the game to become division champions. No such commentary was made in Game #2.

As an experienced ref, I easily recognized that the coach was overemphasizing winning in Game #1. But the coach’s attitude was much better in Game #2. And if there was a discipline issue during the match, it would much more likely come in Game #1 rather than Game #2.

The best player on that team in Game #1 never came out of the match while the best player on the team in Game #2 was substituted, even though she is the coach’s daughter.

The squad in Game #1 won their match and I overheard the opposing coach say to his players to try and cheer them up, “We played well but we simply lost the game.” The other coach had his winning team in Game #1 hold hands and run over to their parents who were applauding them. Then the players started singing “We Are the Champions” which includes this line of “No time for losers because we are the champions of the world.” And how do you think the other team that lost to them felt?

The squad in Game #2 won their match as well and the coach said to them, “Congratulations, girls, you are division champions.” That was the only time during the entire game that playing for a championship was mentioned. No songs and no T-shirts.

The Math is very simple: Only one team can win the match but both teams should be having fun. When winning replaces fun and fundamentals as the goal, issues arise such as unhappy players and parents when they do not win which in turn causes problems for match referees as they are often targeted during the frustration in not winning. We lose many refs every year due to teams overemphasizing winning.

Nobody should be making winning the ultimate goal at any age but particularly in the Girls-Under-9 and Girls-Under-10 age groups that these games entailed. If your child has a coach who overemphasizes winning, it’s time to find a new coach.

As we will soon kick off the Fall Season, applaud good play by both teams and make sure your kids have a good coach who cares about them and that they are having fun. The rest will take care of itself.

With over 100,000 youth soccer players––both boys and girls––and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 10 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. ENYYSA exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old, and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators. All levels of soccer are offered––from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Children With Special Needs. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. ENYYSA is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and US Youth Soccer. For more information, please log onto http://www.enysoccer.com/

By Tim Bradbury, Director of Coaching, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association

Understandably, the excitement and genuine joy that surrounds the Paris Olympics are enormous. The applause and excitement should be loud and real. What an amazing accomplishment! So many other countries now have evolved women’s soccer programs. The level of competition and the standard of many of the opponents shows how strong the women’s game is becoming. The level of interest, viewing figures, publicity and public interest should undoubtedly help the game grow again. Any and all soccer fans are safe in the knowledge that the world’s game continues to thrive and expand.

It is early days but I am sure like myself, governing bodies, leagues, clubs and coaches are all designing strategies on how best to use the win to inspire the next generation of young female players. The excitement should be huge. The concerns should be obvious.

As everyone reading this will know, Crystal Dunn is a New York kid. She developed in an environment that no longer exists with some crucial contributing ingredients that are difficult if not impossible to find within the youth game. How do I know this? Simply because I was her club coach from ages 10 through 16 on two Rockville Centre Soccer Club teams – the Rockville Centre Power and then the Rockville Centre Tornadoes. To add to that, I also led the Eastern New York ODP Girls Program where Crystal played and I coached her for one season within that program (she moved on to play ODP with other coaches and made the Regional team and then the Youth National Teams).

I think it is important to note Crystal’s attributes as a developing player as they are the cornerstone of all that she has achieved. Even as a 10-year-old, she had an exuberance to play. She was excited to compete, would not be shackled within an environment devoid of fun and if necessary, would create the fun herself. She was brave and relentless. Would thrive on challenges and carry on until working until the skill was mastered.

As a concrete example, we would begin each session with some juggling to help the players become masters of the ball. This was a skill she struggled with at the beginning – no worry because once introduced, along with the reason why, she quickly became the best in the young group. She was creative and intelligent. Able to create solutions due to her skill and athleticism that others could not see. She was a walking billboard for a GROWTH MINDSET and simply put, behaved in a fashion that told me there is nothing in this game I cannot master. What a joy to coach!!

She moved on to play for the Rockville Centre Tornadoes and this is where the developmental journey becomes interesting as the Tornadoes had some key things in place that helped Crystal excel, some of which are perhaps things of the past.

1) A team manager who had no other agenda other than in ensuring the girls had fun at practice and were learning the game and how to work as team. She had no ego and no agenda and her support for me was total. (Thank you, Donna!)

2) A youth coach who firmly believed that winning was less important than developing players. I was then as I am now absolutely convinced that youth players must be given the chance to learn the game before being asked to focus on winning the game.

3) A youth coach who knew then as I know now that I was learning the craft of coaching. Figuring out how to lead players and lead the team. The Tornadoes forced me to work everyday on my craft to ensure they got the chance to develop in the right environment. I meet coach after coach nowadays who believes, based on a few wins, that they have mastered their craft.

4) An incredible group of parents who were more concerned about player development and personal growth than they were about winning. The Tornadoes who played in the Long Island Junior Soccer League started their soccer journey with two losing seasons. The parental support for the program and the journey we were on never faded. They asked questions, listened and supported.

5) A unified youth soccer environment. When Crystal played the only youth soccer program was US Youth Soccer. All the players were under one banner. This meant that it was much easier to get a high-quality group together. Through both the developmental process and adding players that wanted to be part of the program, we were able to ensure that every session was competitive.

Ultimately this unified youth program led to the Tornadoes playing in the only ELITE level league of the day – the now defunct US Youth Soccer Region 1 League. There are now more “Elite” leagues than there are rings in the Olympic logo.

6) Access to ODP which was the only clear pathway to the Regional and National Teams and was the only elite level support program available at that time.

I know we can’t turn back time and that creating a team environment where many of the above can be met is incredibly difficult. I am also acutely aware that now, while the songs are still being chanted, the excitement is high and young girls are inspired to be the next Crystal Dunn, is perhaps the best time to consider how we best help them.

By Tim Bradbury, Director of Coaching, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association

With the thought of a World Cup in two years and all the elite soccer recently on TV with both the Euros and Copa America, now seems like a suitable time to discuss why we are failing our elite players. All players within the talent spectrum deserve to have the best possible environment in which both fall in love with the game and fulfill their potential. This specific discussion is based on the elite portion of the game.

To try and build this in a logical manner, I will build it from the bottom up at least in terms of age and stage.

Imagine a young player whose name is Paul.

• Too often Paul is placed on a field that is too big with a large number of players on the field, which means few touches often guided by a coach who has no real knowledge of how best to develop 6- and 7-year-olds. All clubs need to do a much better job of helping develop coaches who work in the younger age groups and play more 3v3 than 6v6.

• At age eight, Paul is told it is time to make a competitive move and he must choose to try out for travel or basically stop playing. The insane drive to overly competitive travel soccer and win at all costs mentality ultimately hurts player development.

• If by some luck, Paul manages to develop through his first two travel years, then the battle of the elite player platforms begins. He is likely to be recruited to Premier, Elite, EDP, ECNL, Academy, MLS Next, Select and ODP. With our most promising players cast over so many platforms, our young players with the most potential seldom get to play together. It is a truth that for players to truly develop, the challenge provided by other players at a similar level is vital.

• More time traveling than playing and fun leaves the building. A consequence of all the platforms above is the fact that it soon becomes a situation at 10-12 years where players must travel 3-4 hours to play a 60-minute game. How does this make sense?

• By now, other coaches from other sports have identified Paul as an athlete so cross-sport recruitment is in overdrive. The phone never stops ringing as the lax coach, the basketball coach and, of course, the pickleball coach want their team to excel as well. Kids need rest and the multisport mania does not allow this.

• Somehow, Paul survives all the above so the next challenge that is thrown up is the ever-increasing demand of Middle and High School soccer programs. Designed to be incredibly intense with a number of practices and games in a short period of time, that is way beyond safe, often with a coach who has limited knowledge of the game and training principles to keep the environment productive. School seasons must respect periodization and should be required to have minimum coaching licenses.

• If by some miracle, Paul manages to survive High School and still has the desire to play, he goes to College where all the above are repeated. A brief and exhaustive season that leaves college coaches with little chance to consider player development.

• Post-College, Paul is recruited to MLS. A league with no relegation or promotion! Challenge and competition are key ingredients of elite player development even at this level.

We have some work to do if we are ever going to create world-class soccer players on a consistent basis so that both our men’s and women’s programs can regularly compete in the world’s major tournaments.

By Tim Bradbury, Director of Coaching, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association

For a long time, I have been concerned about the multi-sport bandwagon that many parents are rushing to jump on, and some are very eager to promote. My concern is not born out of the belief that the long-gone days of sports sampling were negative in any way.  Those days when parents made sure that sports did not overlap and that commitment to a team was always honored seem like a flashback to the times of Oliver Twist.

The idea that a developing child can sample different sports according to a well-planned schedule where activities complement and not compete against each other is ancient history.

Most youth sports such as soccer, lacrosse, basketball and baseball, have all become year-round, competitive environments. All with demanding schedules that include tournaments, doubleheaders and traffic jams of fixtures. This is the unfortunate but absolute truth. 

Most experts involved in the science of periodization–planning that considers physical and cognitive load will tell you that although there is limited evidence with the pre-pubescent athlete, the overwhelming data with overuse injuries, burn out and dropping out of sports by 12 years of age should be notice enough that too much does not work.

Post-puberty, the evidence is strong and most of the facts are simply ignored. The idea of 72-hour rest after a 90-minute game of soccer is one clear example.

You would need to go a long way to find a youth sports parent who would encourage a day’s rest rather than get out and train.

Much of the above is complete folly and those who suffer the most are the children we are all trying to protect. I spend a huge amount of time trying to figure out why and how this situation has been allowed to prosper and is now more common than not. Below are some of the factors that I think must be considered and addressed.

1. Win at all costs and always doing more is the only way to get there.

2. Playing three sports at the same time is trendy- parent pride, bumper stickers, keep them busy and all that drives parents to enroll in more and more.

3. The belief that being on a team is increasingly a selfish journey where individual growth is more important than team development.

4. Due to the above, the decline in certain core values like resilience, sacrifice and commitment reliability are all in the decline.

5. Those parents promoting the multi-sport at all costs dynamic as they believe kids never get tired and have not bothered to do the research.

I implore all parents to do the research and consider what is a sensible sports diet and what blend of sports at the same time is simply too much. Our children deserve careful research before we overextend them.

By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association

May 1, 2024-Two Boys-Under-15 games that I officiated that were played in the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) on the same day on two different fields in the same town. The similarities pretty much end right there.

The first game was played on grass, the second was played on turf.

The home team coaches had lined the field and put up corner flags on the grass field. There’s little to do to prepare a turf field but nobody even bothered to put up corner flags.

The home coach at the grass game took the time to welcome and briefly talk to the visiting team coach and the teams’ coaches could be seen amiably talking to one another at the halfway line a bit during the match. The coaches on the turf field stood far apart from one another until after the game when they decided to have a lengthy argument.

The grass game had no yellow or red cards and the turf game had four cautions.

There was a good deal of high-quality, entertaining soccer in the game on grass, not so much on turf and the challenges there were more robust. A much better quality soccer for the game on grass even given that a grass field is imperfect and that match was a lower division than the game on turf.

I really enjoyed myself during the grass game, the turf match not so much.

The games were so different as the attitude of the coaches were so different. The coaches for the grass game concentrated on fun, fundamentals and being good people, plus they wanted to win the match as well. The coaches for the turf game were solely concerned with winning.

It’s the great contradiction of youth soccer that only concentrating on winning works against that goal as kids play tight. 90% of the games that I ref that have a result are won by the team with the better ball control, not tactics or halftime speeches.

The quality of play in local youth soccer would improve if we forget about Got Sport rankings and the elusive goal of a college scholarship and just had fun. Plus more players would probably show up for the games as well.

With over 100,000 youth soccer players––both boys and girls––and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 10 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. ENYYSA exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old, and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators. All levels of soccer are offered––from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Children With Special Needs. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. ENYYSA is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and US Youth Soccer. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/

By Tim Bradbury, Director of Coaching, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association

I have been spending a considerable amount of time on fields with the younger age groups. For the purpose of this discussion let’s say five through 10 years of age. Much of the data I have collected is to help US Soccer with their ecosystem review study which is designed to be the cornerstone to help create programs that help develop the game. Some of my observations are linked to misunderstanding or lack of knowledge in the game from many soccer parents and coaches.

I am hopeful that all parents and coaches who are in the age group noted can associate with and understand the key points below.

Soccer is a game rich in thousands of decisions each game and to make these decisions kids need to be able to look up. To look up, they need to have confidence in their ability to deal with the ball. They can only deal with the ball and begin to look up if they feel confident in their level of ball mastery. This mastery at 4-6 years of age comes through thousands of touches in adventure-like activities. They need to fall in love with spending time with and manipulating the ball so that the dawn of looking up and making decisions is arrived at by ages 6-7.

So, parents who constantly shout at the little ones as they play perpetuate the idea they don’t need to look and think, just kick it when Mom and Dad shout out.

Kids learn by doing and in soccer terms that means by how many times they repeat player actions in a game situation. (Player actions being dribbling, passing, receiving, shooting, etc.) The more touches, the more decisions and therefore, the greater the level of development.

So, shouting at a kid to boot it, whack it or kick it are all anti-development.

Soccer is an invasion game, not a war or American football where gaining ground is the most important idea. The ground gained is pointless if we don’t have the ball as scoring without the ball, you will have noticed, is a real challenge. The more times your child presents the ball to the other team, the more damage they do to their team’s development and their own.

So, getting excited with shouts of “Big foot” or “Good boot” are anti-learning and development

By the ages of 7/8, kids begin to perceive space and they understand the idea of sharing and spreading out. This is an organic process that can be helped with possession-based games. It is no way aided by placing kids in positions in parts of the field like foosball players as though someone skewered them with a metal pole.

They must be taught the first two moments of the game: We all attack, try to score and get a big shape (width, depth, close support – triangles and diamonds when we have the ball).

When we don’t, all defend: We try and win the ball back, get wonderfully compact (take spaces away) when we defend.

Pinning kids back in a third of the field is cruel, prevents development and reduces understanding of the game. The idea of positional play is based-approached when all four moments of the game can be understood.

Soccer training sessions can really be divided into one of three main categories – learning, performance and fitness.

Learning sessions are those designed around teaching concepts and skills that can be transferred directly to game play. These sessions are reality-based and activities within typically look like a slice of the game (1v1, 2v1, 2v2, 3v2, 3v3, etc.)

Performance sessions which may impact confidence plus competence and support some technical foundation for the mechanics of a skill that may be performed in a game. Passing against a wall, drills, dribbling around cones. Regarding fitness, most wise coaches play 3v3 etc. to improve fitness for soccer. No fitness sessions of any type should be happening for the ages noted at the head of this article.

By Tim Bradbury, Director of Coaching, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association

I spend a good amount of time on fields all over Long Island and am lucky enough to work with a staff of 16 fellow educators who spend a similar amount of time around fields all over the state. We talk frequently about the inherent joy in coaching, the challenges of teaching courses and the coaching we see on the fields.

However, with our recent grassroots mandate, we have created a tipping point with travel-aged players. No such tipping point has been created for the huge number of intramural players involved throughout the state and the unfortunate truth of the environments these young players are being taught the game in is quite scary.

The most common issues seen are:

• Too many players on the field. Fewer players, more touches, more decisions, more goals, and as most kids do not begin to understand space until age seven watching 10 kids crowd around one ball should make it clear how unproductive games with larger numbers can be at the ages of 4, 5 and 6. It is worth noting that US soccer is currently piloting 2v2 and 3v3 games with ball never-out guidelines. There are so many evidence-based articles on the difference in the number of touches and associated fun that as I write this, I wonder what drives the move to bigger games.

• Young children doing stretching routines and running laps around a field. Their young bodies are quite elastic and stretching young players is a complete waste of time. Nothing is less needed than running laps without a ball.

• Developmentally-inappropriate training. Young players love activity, they need a huge number of fun activities with the ball so they can become comfortable enough to start to look up and see options, which is the start of decision-making. They hate lines, sitting out, waiting to take a turn, not being involved and being coached like a miniature child.

• Training Companies supply coaches who have zero expertise or knowledge of the skills needed when coaching players aged 4-7.

• Clubs in collusion with training companies who have decided that dragging 2-year-olds out to organized soccer is a good idea.

• The move back to LAPS, LINES AND LECTURES, none of which have any place in teaching young players. I have witnessed firsthand a young coach employed as a professional trainer spend 3+ minutes explaining a line-based activity to a group of 4-year-olds.

All should remember that their first steps in the game are VITAL. They must love the experience and look forward with smiles to the next training session. The sessions should be filled with howls of joy and constant activity. Only then will they keep coming back and learn to love the game.

I have written lots of activity-driven curriculum for these age groups and if you have any interest in looking at it, please e-mail me at tbradbury@enysoccer.com