New Coaches Guide

(Recreational Leagues)

Coaches at the recreational level have several significant disadvantages. 

1. They tend to have little background or training in the sport
2. They are given a very limited time with the players to prepare a team and execute a game plan 
3. They do not get to pick the players, so personality conflicts and varying skill levels make team management take up a significant portion of the time
4. The coach often has limited resources and little to no training equipment
5. Families may not take practice/games seriously, so attendance and punctuality suffer

To help new coaches, we have put together a list of the basic equipment and some suggested reading.

Equipment list:

• Must haves:
  • Disc cones (At least 12 of one color) - NOTE: Dome cones can used as an alternative
  • Pylon cones (4 to use as goals)
  • Practice Vests (enough of one color for half the team)
  • Enough balls for the  drills (expect 50%-75% to have balls at any given practice with that number shrinking as the season progresses)
  • Game Ball (a higher quality ball for use only in the games)
• Nice to haves:
  • Disc cones (at least 12 of a different color, the more the better)
  • Pylon cones (Bigger cones are better for goal, but can get in the way in other drills)
  • Practice shirts (having the whole team in the same color makes many things easier - I usually ask all of the players to wear white if the team does not want to buy matching shirts)
  • Practice Vests (enough for the whole team in one color and an alternative color for at least half the team)
  • A practice ball for every player plus three game balls (One to play and a spare for each net)
  • Agility trainer (either flags, a ladder or speed rings)

Suggested Reading:

• Baffled Parent's Guide to Coaching Youth Soccer (Bobby Clark)
• The Rules of Soccer: Simplified (Bill Mason and Larry Maisner)
• www.avidsoccer.com