#112 Youth National Championships

We started back to training this week. It seems earlier than usual but that’s just how the calendar came together. There are still a lot of families on summer vacations so attendance has been spotty. That affects what I try to cover because I don’t want to have to repeat myself once I have everyone back. I also want to give the players a chance to adapt to training again rather than throwing them straight into the deep end on day one. I’ll talk more in next week’s episode about what I cover in the first few weeks of the season and how I structure them. This week’s question is from Bridget. She’s asking what parents should expect from their coaches and club regarding evaluations. Bridget says, “My question is: what should I expect from the club or coach as far as feedback or a developmental plan for my son? My son plays select U12, div 1, and has been there for 1.5 years and has recently been passed up on playing opportunities (playing on an additional team) but we get no feedback whatsoever. I have requested it but get no response. It’s hard to feel secure that the club is developing my son fully without any evaluations or communication regarding. Is this a big red flag or do some clubs feel this is not important to do or share with the parents?” Thanks for the question Bridget. This is an important question not just for parents but for coaches and club directors to consider. It would be idea for each player to have a Personal Development Plan. These plans focus on the what each individual needs to do to improve their individual performance. Personal Development Plans are common in the US Soccer Development Academies and other high level programs. Most club coaches are working with too many players to make creating these for each player unrealistic. At the very least every player should expect to receive an evaluation at least once a year. These should provide meaningful feedback on what can be improved and how to go about improving it. Our club uses ZoomReports to distribute and track individual player evaluations. You can go to ZoomReports.com for more information on their service. In This Episode The US Youth Soccer Nationals are happening this week in Texas. Some coaches feel that youth national tournaments are unnecessary. Others say that there are too many different ones so none of them are truly a ‘National Championship’. Today I look at each of these events and talk about the positive and negative aspects of them. Future Episodes Next week I’ll talk about what my early season training sessions look like for the different age groups that I coach. Getting the players off to a good start can set the tone for your entire season.