Commentary
TCM Survey: Youth soccer players who don’t practice at home are more likely to quit
Results from The Coaching Manual's survey.
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All Commentary Articles
Track record shows NJ Stallions Dynamite among nation’s best non-ECNL U-17 squads
Coming off a year in which NJ Stallions Dynamite captured an NPL Finals and Region I Premier League championship, and won the top divisions of some of the nation's most prestigious showcase tournaments including Jefferson Cup, National Elite Women's Soccer Showcase (NEWSS), PDA Invitational, Dallas International Girls Cup and Disney Soccer Showcase, it would be hard to argue that the team based out of Clifton, New Jersey is not the best non-ECNL U-17 travel team in the country heading into 2015.
LeBolt: The real secret to success … quitting?
What if the secret to success was quitting what we love doing most? That's the foundation of the counter-intuitive lesson Dr. Wendy LeBolt offers up in her latest "Kicking Fit" blog post.
LeBolt: Are national team players born or made?
The NSCAA are studying the characteristics, traits, experiences and developmental pathways of U.S. Women’s National Team players in search of methods that can improve U.S. soccer player development. So reports an article published in the November/December 2014 issue of the Soccer Journal. Dr. Wendy LeBolt investigates.
The Tipping Point in Youth Sports: Patience vs. Expectations
Bestselling author and Soccerwire.com featured columnist John O'Sullivan examines the balance, or all too often, the imbalance of patience vs. expectations for parents and children in youth sports.
LeBolt: The high cost of loyalty in today’s youth soccer culture
Academy programs with multi-tiered systems and elite leagues with vast reaches are supplying top notch competition, offering professional coaching and more flexible opportunities, but at a much greater expense to families. Change is here, but opportunity doesn’t come free. The question is, is it worth it?
O’Sullivan: Youth sports coaching is not a job, but a calling!
Featured columnist John O'Sullivan explains what it really takes to be a youth sports coach.
Women’s World Cup TurfGate: FIFA, listen up!
What if Canada threw a World Cup and no one showed up? That might be what's needed to get FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association to give serious consideration to the lawsuit brought against them by Abby Wambach and dozens of other professional women's soccer players alleging gender discrimination in the decision to play the 2015 Women's World Cup on artificial turf. Do these pros have a point?
Hummer: Quick thoughts on USWNT’s win over Haiti in CONCACAF Championships at RFK
Watching the United States Women’s National Team play lately is frequently one of the most frustrating things I do… So frustrating is their constant reliance on overly direct play out of the back, turnovers out of the midfield, and poorly aimed floating crosses, that getting through 90 minutes is basically impossible for me unless there is something on the line. I would have missed tonight's second half if World Cup qualifying wasn't on the line, and I'm glad I didn't because the soccer was better in the second 45.
