So in the U8 age group we are not supposed to keep score, but the card the referees give us to sign always has a score on it. Last night they brought it over and it indicated we had just played a 4-4 draw.

“Wait a second,” I said. “We won 4-3, right?” The other coach stood there silently, giving all indication with his body language that I was correct.

“No coach,” the 13-year old referee replied. “When Danny scored that last goal that made it 4-4.” Danny was this blonde-haired terror for the other team. He was the beginning, middle and end to their team and all they had for our efforts to spread the field and knock the ball around (I kid you not, you should see this group of 8-year olds).

“I thought that made it 4 to ….THREE.” I repeated. “No coach” I was told.

Suddenly the other team’s coach got animated. “That must be right. 4-4.” He said loudly. Than he started crowing to his team. You guys were the first team to tie this team. They have met their match today.”

I don’t who I was angrier at. Me for losing count of goals or this neanderthal coach for saying something so stupid so loudly. I’m confident our group is learning something about the game, while his team is depending on their one superior athlete to run up and down the field while the coach stands on the sideline yelling for him to “GOOOOOOOOOO DANNYYYYYYYYY.”

I guess this is why we don’t count goals, so we don’t reward stupidity.

Not that I’m bitter or anything…..

I’ve officially become interested in a subject I never much cared about before - FIELD DEVELOPMENT.

In the past two weeks we’ve had three matches and three training sessions washed out by April showers. I realize you can’t control the weather and that any outdoor activity is going to be affected by the spring season, but when fields are still unplayable three days after the last downpour.

In the case of our club, they have had a very prized piece of property for several years and have done next to nothing to develop the 15+ fields that sit on it. So travel and rec teams alike are dealing with bumpy surfaces on weed-infested, multi-type grass. We’ve learned to grin and bear it re the field conditions, but now it’s gotten worse with the realization that there is no drainage to speak of on this property. Surrounding properties in the area have had some flooding as well so it may be an area problem, but an aggressive field development program is needed. I know this costs money and I have to confess I really don’t know our club’s financial condition. They did just build an indoor facility, which isn’t a bad thing, but the condition of the outdoor fields needs to be #1 priority.

Has anyone out there seen some success stories where a complex or club’s fields have gone from mediocre to excellent? I’d love to hear about it.

You folks in Florida and Southern California don’t know how good you have it. Yesterday we played in a college showcase in sub-freezing temperatures and it was brutal.

Despite the turf field keeping things from being too slick, it was just an unhappy experience. I couldn’t get the girls to think about anything else but trying to keep warm, and their focus basically wasn’t that good.

The other team didn’t appear to be quite so bundled up, but they were looking much more lively and focused. We’ve played this team before and the games were always pretty even, but yesterday they were a much better team than us.

Now in fairness, it WAS cold. But what are some secrets to get teenage girls, or any other players for that matter, to quit thinking about the adverse conditions?

I read so much about how we need to tighten up our player development system in this country. I hear how we play too many games and don’t have enough training, and I see how USSF put in the Academy system to try and deal with that for kids of older ages.

Now I see we want to do something like that for younger ages so they are getting developed the right way at the prime ages.

I’m down with all of that, but you still want to have coaches who know what they are doing for kids at those younger ages. You can say all you want to about parent coaches but the fact remains parents will still be part of this coaching setup in this country for the foreseeable future. There are just too many players to have pro coaches cover them all, and at the younger ages who is to say which kids are going to go on to great things and which ones are destined for nothing but Rec soccer?

So my question is, where is the blueprint or manual for just how to develop those players. Do we even have consensus on what players should know by a certain age, let alone how they should be taught these things? I’ve seen some documents on the USSF site and I know there are some independent skills programs like Coerver, but wouldn’t it be in our best interests, especially since our soccer evolution is so helter skelter anyway, to establish a thorough curriculum for youth development and coaching?

My apologies if there is one, and I’d be very glad to hear about it if there is. I haven’t found it.

Do you think a standard coaching and youth development curriculum is needed in this country? What can we do to upgrade the coaching and development for younger-aged players, especially for parent coaches?

In many parts of the country, including mine, the winter is most definitely here, making outdoor soccer pretty much an impossibility. If the cold temperatures don’t get you, the unplayable field conditions will.

The way we’ve dealt with that in this country is the phenomenon of indoor soccer. I don’t know what the complete history of the indoor game is, but it seems this is the only country where it has had such a role to play in the professional game.

For a long while in this country indoor was pretty much all we had. Even in the days of the North American Soccer League, indoor soccer was a fairly popular thing in some places.

As a result, when it gets cold outside, some places still turn to indoor soccer and that is too bad, because indoor soccer is a barbaric bastardization of the game.

I know a lot of coaches around the country made their living and reputation playing indoor soccer, and I don’t mean this as a negative toward them because that’s pretty much the only choice they had. It still takes talent to play that game, so don’t get me wrong.

What I’m talking about is youth player development, and the game for that is not indoor soccer. There are too many parts of the game that are not the same as what goes on in the outdoor game. The presence of the boards, the rule differences and the seeming lack of any rules regarding physical contact make it very easy for players to resort to various practices that are not what would serve them to develop as players in the outdoor game.

The indoor game that CAN help young players is Futsal, and I’m glad to see it becoming more and more popular. Futsal is a Brazilian game and is all about developing ability on the ball. The rules require good close control and a lot of quick, short passing, plus the ability to dribble and run at players. It’s supposed to be non-contact and the heavy ball helps keep players from just launching it upfield.

But sometimes old guards resist change, and insist on the old bang-it-off-the-boards indoor game (which often is tied into someone’s money-making indoor facility - Futsal is best played on a court rather than a field). Futsal is a better skill developer on every level, and it’s fair play for members of a club to ask when the program is going to start including Futsal.

There is something to be said about players who are committed to one team for an entire career. It is hard to find the player who is truly loyal. One player who comes to mind is someone like Paul Scholes who has made a living playing for Manchester United. He has stayed with one club and trusted his instinct to stick with the club who has brought him up to become an International star.

The ever present question that all players face from the youth level all the way up to the Pro’s is do I stay or do I go? Another famous player originally from Manchester has apparently decided to leave the LA Galaxy and go to AC Milan, at least for a little while. His name is David Beckham. Everyone seems to have an opinion. Here’s mine on Loyalty:

From the perspective of the player … Most players want to know that they are on a team that can win and that can help them further their career. As a player we all want to feel that our career is progressing. The minute we feel we are reaching a point where our career is headed to nowhere we begin to look elsewhere. We want to be in the environment that makes us feel confident in our ability and the promise of success.

Sometimes as a player we have to make the decision that best fits our career. From the fans prospective this seems selfish and narrow minded. From the player’s prospective moving on to another club may mean hope and opportunity. David Beckham needs this transfer to Milan for one reason…OPPORTUNITY.

From the perspective of the coach … The coach wants to know he has a complete team which he can rely upon at a moments notice. The coach wants committed players. Many coaches forget that this unwritten code of commitment is not one sided. Often players are mislead by the coaches commitment to his end of the bargain. Not to throw the blame on anyone but there is a feeling here that we, as American soccer, have failed in this department. A coach must be able to lift the standard of his team through quality teaching, training, and player management. This goes for all levels of soccer.

Too many coaches forget that most players who look to move on are not leaving just because his/her friend is on the other team. Players move most often because the coach has let them down. Whether it is holding the team to a better standard in training and games or simply not following through with promises, coaches must be held with the responsibility of getting the most of their players and retaining them. A good coach is one who players are attracted to, because the team can win and the players are given an environment where they can develop and be successful.

Is loyalty important to you?

Well, I have spent so many years talking to many different “soccer experts” about players that they like or dislike…I am talking about professional coaches and scouts, college coaches, national team coaches, club Directors, club coaches, Moms, Dads and everyone in between. When the topic of what qualities people like in soccer players, it always comes down to personal preferences.

What traits and qualities a certain coach, GM, scout or Director place a premium on will tell you a lot about their teams, their program, their style of play and ultimately, what type of players they choose. We are talking about qualities like physical ability, pure speed, work rate, ability to maintain possession, tactical know-ho2, superior technical ability, speed of play, versatility, coachability, and many more. What people value is ultimately the type of players that they prefer. It really is just as simple as that.

This simple fact is often the number one reason why many athletes “disconnect” with teams and programs. We have seen time and time again where a certain player fails miserably at one club and then flourishes at another with no real noticeable change to their game. Finding the right fit is critical to being happy, playing well and having your game liked and appreciated by those in charge. Whether you are choosing a club team, a college program or a professional club, make sure you go and check out the type of players that they “prefer”…if you are a player that likes to maintain possession and likes to play one and two touch soccer and the team you are watching never plays through their midfield, I would say that is not a good fit for you. If you are a small, technical player and the team plays a style that features physical play and high pressuring soccer, I would say that is not a good fit for you. Remember, it all comes down to preference and you need to know what “the flavor of choice” is before making a final decision.

With my U12 team I’m trying to find the balance between 1v1 play and team ball. I hear so many opposing coaches yelling for their players to pass any and all the time, which makes me think they must be frustrating their more creative players.

On the other hand I know there are parents out there who tell their players it is all about them, and that they should only work on their individual abilities - that the team is basically there to showcase the child’s individual talents.

Isn’t there something in the middle? That’s what I’m trying to find. We have 3 guys who have some exceptional qualities. I don’t want to turn them into robots. On the other hand, players need to be able to work together, especially as they get older. Just letting them dribble ad nauseam isn’t the answer either.

Any tips from all you veteran coaches out there on how to strike the balance?

When did playing defender become such an undesirable thing?

I know that every sports has its glamor positions. There’s pitcher or center field in baseball, quarterback in American football, point guard in basketball, but in those sports the other positions played are pretty widely recognized as meaningful and valuable to a team.

The way my parents act in soccer, anything other striker or maybe center mid are like assigning their child some kind of leper status. It’s like checking in to a hotel and the manager leads you and another family along a hallway. They get to a door and say to the others “Welcome to the hotel, here is our grand master suite. (Striker position)” Then they take you along the hallway, down the stairs out a service door and behind the trash dumpster. They throw your stuff down and say “You’ll get nothing and like it (defense, outside mid, holding mid).”

The kids can sometimes be like this, but it seems the parents are the ones most vigorously attaching status to where someone plays on the field. I want to show them all a Franz Beckenbauer video or something.

Do your parents and players get bent out of shape about where everyone plays on the field?

I feel like one of the great things about coaching is the chance to have a positive impact on a young man or woman through the teaching of character. I know teaching and results really matter, but at some level it becomes empty if you haven’t positively shaped or impacted the young lives you are entrusted to be a part of.

Last week we had a discipline case where a player basically bagged practice without telling anyone, then later said he hadn’t been feeling well. Even his mother more or less said he made it up. His father was more coddling, saying he should have notified us, but speaking about it like an error in judgment that maybe “some extra laps” would punish.

We’ve done our job to establish our principles of teamwork and mutual responsibility. We’ve explained our standards of participation and communication. The kid knows he is not supposed to do what he did.

Now my dilemma is finding the suitable punishment. I want to uphold the standard in fairness to the rest of the team, but I don’t want simply exasperate the young man and push him away. I need to find the right balance.

How do you handle matters of discipline in your squad? How much is too much, or too little?