Absolute Beginner's Guide to Coaching Youth Soccer

As a parent, it is an exciting and proud day when you watch your children join their first sports team. It is important to you to be involved, which may be leading you to think about coaching. Nervous about the possibility? Don't be! With the Absolute Beginner's Guide to Coaching Youth Soccer, you will quickly and easily learn how to become a successful youth soccer coach. This comprehensive, user-friendly reference guide will help you create a fun and effective learning environment. You have limited practice time and resources, and you need to know how to make the best of them. With this book, you will cover several key concepts that often elude rookie coaches, including:

• Identifying your role and expectations as a coach
• Tailoring instruction to meet the varying physical abilities of different age groups
• Creating a safe playing environment
• Knowing how to effectively coach during both practices and games
• Learning how to communicate and form alliances with parents, league administrators, game officials and players

On top of all this great material, we will also provide you with access to a website where you can download practice plans, emergency information cards, injury reports, awards and certificates, and season evaluation forms. Ensure that you and your child's first soccer season are a success with Absolute Beginner's Guide to Coaching Youth Soccer.

Tom Hanlon has 19 years of professional writing experience - as a journalist, an editor of two coaching magazines, a curriculum writer for a coaching division of a publishing company, and as a book writer and ghost writer for nationally-prominent authors. Tom ghostwrote Teens Can Make It Happen (Simon and Schuster) for Stedman Graham; this book made the New York Times bestseller list in 2000. He has written all or major portions of 39 other books, including seven sport officiating guides, numerous coaches' guides (including baseball; softball; soccer; basketball; and volleyball, among others), and a wide assortment of related sports titles.

Peter O'Scanaill has played soccer at the high school and college levels as well as professionally for the Golden Eagles in Phoenix, Arizona. He played for, coached, and managed the Long Beach Tigers in California, and has been a player and manager of two over-30 men's teams. He is the travel commissioner for the Westfield Youth Soccer Association's boys travel program. He lives in Indianapolis.