Coaching Soccer Successfully

In the first edition of Coaching Soccer Successfully, Roy Rees and Cor van der Meer combined nearly 90 years of international experience for the ultimate coaching guide. Now they're back with a brand-new edition offering even more insight on the tactical side of the game.

A former professional player in the English Football League, Roy Rees has more than 40 years of coaching at the youth, college, professional, and World Cup level. Cor van der Meer got his start in the Netherlands on the Dutch National Youth team, and now his career spans a half-century as a coach, player, and administrator. Together, these two veterans of the sport cover every aspect of the game, from tactical instruction to the planning, preparation, and performance evaluations essential for building a stronger team.

Coaching Soccer Successfully is loaded with photographs, diagrams, and tactical options designed to give you the game-winning edge in actual match situations. From offense to defense, Coaching Soccer Successfully offers effective methods for teaching individuals, small groups, and whole squads with drills that make practice fun, interactive, and gamelike.

In addition to diagrams and photographs that highlight successful game play, Coaching Soccer Successfully gives you the tools you need to build a better program, determine your coaching philosophy, and communicate effectively with players and parents. From preparing young players to planning for matches, this book takes you into the trenches for the inside edge.

Whether you teach girls' or boys' soccer at the junior high level or beyond, you'll love the direct, nuts-and-bolts approach to soccer instruction provided in this book. In Coaching Soccer Successfully, Rees and van der Meer share a wealth of knowledge and experience on effective leadership, organization, and evaluation advice. This is an excellent guide to getting the job done, on and off the field.

Roy Rees, director of coaching for Southwest Soccer Club in Temecula, California, had a long career as a professional soccer player in the English Football League before becoming a full-time soccer coach. He has coached soccer at the youth, college, professional, and World Cup levels. From 1961 to 1982 Rees worked as an English Football Association staff coach at various national coaching schools in England. He also served as coach of the British Universities All-Star team, which played annually against Holland, Belgium, Germany, France, and Ireland.

While coaching in England, Rees led the Skelmersdale United team to F.A. (Football Association) Amateur championships in 1967 and 1971. During his years as head coach in Altrincham (1971 to 1977) the team won the Vauxhall Conference championship twice and the F.A. trophy once. Roy also coached the national teams in Iraq, Iceland, Sudan, and Algeria and was coach of the British team in the 1978 World University Games. From 1985 to 1993 he coached the U.S. national team under-17 age group.

Roy is the author of the best-selling book Manual of Soccer Coaching. He holds both a master of education degree and a master of arts degree from Liverpool University.

Cor van der Meer's involvement in soccer spans nearly 50 years and includes experience as a player, coach, referee, and administrator. He began playing soccer as a child in the Netherlands, where he was on the Dutch National Youth team for two years. In 1960 van der Meer emigrated to the United States and began coaching and working with soccer organizations in Vancouver, Washington. He not only helped organize the Columbia Youth Soccer Federation (which grew from 36 players to more than 6,000 under his leadership), but he also coached Team Vancouver, a semiprofessional team in the Pacific Northwest Soccer League. He also served the Washington State Youth Soccer Association (WSYSA) as district commissioner, vice president of organization, vice president of competition, and vice president of development.

In 1982 van der Meer moved to Spokane, Washington, where he coached the Spokane Youth Sports Association's elite Skyhawks Club. As head soccer coach for the Community Colleges of Spokane since 1985, he has led both the men's and women's clubs there to several successful seasons.

Van der Meer is the author of Soccer Guide for Coaches and Keeper of the Goal. He also writes two newspaper columns, Nutrition for Athletes and Playing to Win. Van der Meer was named Coach of the Year by the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) in 1989 and 1992. The Northwest Collegiate Soccer Conference also named him Coach of the Year in 1992.