Youth coaches are typically parent volunteers with a child on the team. Yet, less than four in 10 youth coaches are adequately trained in sports skills, motivational techniques and safety needs.1 How to Coach Kids, a free, 30-minute online course for coaches, helps fill this need for training with a unique learning opportunity to make an impact on young players. Learn more here.

Coaching a youth team as if it is a Division I collegiate program is likely to lead to player frustration and maybe even tears. A basic knowledge of the stages of youth development – physical, cognitive, emotional and social – can help coaches gear practices and game day expectations to the developmental level of the players. Plus, understanding why youth are playing can help a coach make a better connection with them. A 6-year-old may participate in recreational soccer just to be with friends from town. A 13-year-old might be on an elite soccer team in preparation for play in high school.