Coaching Education
Practical Coaching, Explained
Research-backed articles on soccer coaching — session planning, tactical development, and the reasoning behind both.
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Coaching Principles
How players learn, and how to coach them in the moment: decisions, scanning and what you say.
6 articlesSession & Curriculum Design
How to plan and build a session, from structure to small-sided formats.
3 articlesAge & Development
What changes as players grow: formats, group sizes, attention and what matters most at each age.
1 articleFormations & Team Shape
How the common shapes work, what each one asks of players, and how to choose between them.
1 articleCoach Development & CPD
Coaching the coaches: mentoring, observation, and seeing your own coaching clearly.
1 articleExplore a Series
What Actually Shapes a Youth Practice
Before the Decision
Featured
7v7 Formations: 2-3-1 or 3-2-1, and How to Choose
Neither the 2-3-1 nor the 3-2-1 is the official 7v7 formation. What U.S. Soccer and the FA publish, what each shape asks of players, and what's unmeasured.
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7v7 Formations: 2-3-1 or 3-2-1, and How to Choose
Neither the 2-3-1 nor the 3-2-1 is the official 7v7 formation. What U.S. Soccer and the FA publish, what each shape asks of players, and what's unmeasured.
How to Plan a Soccer Training Session: A Practical Guide
A lot of session plans describe what happens when everything goes right. The part that decides whether a session works is what you'll change when it doesn't. A step-by-step way to plan a youth soccer session, and the research behind each step.
Coaching U6–U10: What Matters Most at This Age
When young players rated what makes soccer fun, winning came well behind trying hard, being a good sport and positive coaching. What changes between six and ten, what matters most at this age, and what matters less than coaches think.
How to See Your Own Coaching (When You Can't From the Inside)
Coaches tend to misjudge their own coaching behavior, and that's normal rather than a failing. Four practical ways to see what you do in a session, and what to look for.
Small-Sided Games for Young Players: Who Gains Most From 3v3 and 4v4
Smaller teams mean more touches, but the more interesting finding is who gets them. What the research on 3v3, 4v4 and 7v7 with young players shows, what small games can't give you, and how to choose a format.
First Touch and Receiving: Why Players Can't Look Up Until the Ball Stops Needing Them
A player whose first touch needs watching can't be looking at anything else. Why the first touch comes before scanning, what a useful first touch does, and how to build one without endless drills.
Teach It or Let the Game Teach It? When Direct Instruction Is the Right Call
Game-based coaching assumes players can already do enough to take part. When they can't, some direct teaching comes first. How to tell the difference, and what the research on both sides shows.
Scanning: Why Information Comes Before Decisions
In the research, perceiving is something a player does: a head turn, a scan. That makes it trainable the same way STEP trains decisions. What the scanning studies show, and where they stop.
The Fundamentals of Soccer Coaching
A well-run activity and good coaching aren't the same thing. What actually separates them, what the research comparing drills and games shows, and why a coach's job changes by age group.
How to Coach Without Stopping the Game Every Two Minutes
After building the environment and choosing your words, there's a third decision: how you interrupt play to say it. Six ways to step in, what each one costs, and what the research can and can't tell you.
How Much Should You Actually Say?
Even with the environment built right, most of us talk more than it needs. What the research says about how much coaches instruct, when to stay quiet, and when Instruct is the right call.
Why Your Soccer Practice Feels Like Chaos (And How to Fix It)
When a youth soccer practice feels chaotic, the environment is usually the first place to look. How I use STEP to fix it, what the research says, and what a game can't teach on its own.