The other day I read a quote that said “Youth coaches will impact more kids in 1 year, than most people will in a lifetime.” Growing up I moving a lot. Born in Texas, moved to Colorado and Michigan all by age 7. Once I was settled in Texas, I started to play sports. Besides my family from grandparents, aunts,…
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Understanding which youth soccer league is best for you in each age group is important. Please remember I am speaking to a national audience, so I’ll touch on most levels and ages from 6-17. U-10 is where many parents find out that youth club soccer is a bigger deal than they thought. The biggest problem for U10-13 is, many parents think…
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Growing up playing different sports, it was always important for me to learn and know the playing positions. Whether it was soccer, basketball or football, I wanted to know the positions. It was important to know what coach was talking about if he switched my position. Nowadays US Soccer wants to go by this soccer position numbering system. This is…
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Thinking back to when I first played soccer in Evergreen, Colorado, I still remember going to the store to get my uniform and shin guards. To this day, it was one of the most memorable times, probably because soccer has been so good to me. Once I turned 11 or 12, I remember watching pro soccer and wondering what exact…
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Everyone knows that eating healthy is important. Not many know the best times to eat and what to eat. When I first started GFT I would pass out a laminated sheet that parents and players absolutely loved! These soccer player eating tips before and after games are exciting and encouraged health. Some of my clients have kept that laminated sheet…
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One thing that is slowing development at this age is the number of players on an academy roster. Not only do players lose playing time, but they don’t get enough reps or individual attention. Soccer drills for ages 7-9 done the right way puts players at a greater advantage to make select, middle and high school team one day. So…
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Youth sports specialization is a sensitive subject for some and for others it’s totally foreign. What is sports specialization exactly? Is it where a parent only has their child play one sports and focus on that one sport to develop the next star? If so, I’m not a fan of that. At the same time, what if a 8 year…
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