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
Dr. Wendy LeBolt: Dangerous headers are just stupid
Everyone in youth soccer -- parents, players and coaches alike -- is fearful of the risk of head injuries. But are we equipping our kids with the skills to gauge and avoid dangerous heading situations on the field of play? Dr. Wendy LeBolt delves into this important topic, where our players need proper technique and sound judgment to head off serious risks.
An alternative to our youth soccer development structure – more free play
Every once in a while, some of the comments on our original articles and blog posts will be so good, that they deserve to be their own article. Today is one of those days! Enjoy this blog comment turned original post by reader Kirk Cypel in response to Dr. Wendy LeBolt's take on our recent interview with Julie Foudy.
Effort Injuries are Taking Kids Out: is “positive” parenting to blame?
The 16 year old slams down next to me on the bleachers. She’s sporting a knee sleeve on her right leg, the one that still bears the scars from the ACL repair she had 9 months ago. Now that knee is poking through the sleeve, and it is purple and obviously swollen. “I got clobbered,” she tells me, “by my own goalie.”
LeBolt: University of New Mexico Hazing – a Sad Sign of the Times?
Dr. Wendy LeBolt explains how the University of New Mexico women's soccer hazing incident is just one type of unhealthy pressure that young athletes are having to face in America.
The business, and politics, of US Youth Soccer regional tournaments
The comments are still rolling in on our expertly reported piece about former Region I Director Bob Palmeiro’s resignation (and some of the reasons behind it). Must of the discussion directly addresses the oddity at which the nation’s biggest US Youth Soccer region chooses field venues for its championship finals, and justly so....
Opinion: Why on earth is USWNT playing friendlies during NWSL playoffs?
Has something trickled into the water supply at Soccer House? Forgive us for being so forward, but some of the decisions — at least when it comes to the women’s game — coming out of the stately Chicago mansion that houses the offices of the U.S. Soccer Federation have us wondering if a few of the inhabitants have lost their minds
